‘Forget about this prosecution nonsense’

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12:29 PM Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I’ve been appalled at what some of my fellow Americans have said in this paper and on TV about the issue of the detainees at Guantanamo and other places they’re being held.

I think it’s wrong on all levels that anyone in the CIA or anyone in the military should be prosecuted for torture. For example, has anyone from al-Qaida prosecuted one of their own for beheading American prisoners? Not hardly. It makes me think that some of my fellow Americans have totally forgotten about Sept. 11, 2001. Was that terrorist attack not torture? Why is there no outcry for that?

Instead, all I ever hear about is how someone from the CIA must be held accountable for interrogation techniques, or how someone in the military should be court-martialed. Give me a break!

People who think we should be prosecuting our own, as far as I’m concerned, are traitors. That is the same as aiding our enemies. These do-gooders and pacifists have got it in their heads that if we stop the interrogations that somehow our enemies will just start liking us, or that our international image will be polished.

We’re putting these ridiculous ideas ahead of our own security, which is dumb, to say the least. It’s almost like there are those who are afraid to defend themselves or their country. America was not built on this sort of cowardice, and it won’t be maintained with it, either.

I also think that some of my fellow citizens need to be reminded that just because we have a different president, (it) doesn’t mean the war on terror is over, and we are fighting an enemy that doesn’t play nice. So why should we? Just because we’re Americans doesn’t mean we have to be nice.

Our enemies hate us not because of anything we have done or not done. They hate us because our religion is different from theirs. Their religion calls for the killing of nonbelievers. Talk about torture!

So my question is — do we want to keep prosecuting each other? Or do we want to win this war? I say, let’s win the war and forget about this prosecution nonsense.

Garrett Kessler

Carlisle

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