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| Senator John McCain Writes "In Praise of Do-Gooders" |
| 2004-06-01 |
| From The Wall Street Journal .... In recent days, some have labeled Red Cross personnel as "humanitarian do-gooders" whose presence in coalition-run detention centers is inappropriate while American soldiers are fighting and dying. Others have warned that the ICRC is on the path toward becoming a left-wing advocacy group and portrayed the Geneva Conventions as a hindrance to our ability to extract intelligence from prisoners that might save U.S. lives. It is critical to realize that the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions do not endanger American soldiers, they protect them. Our soldiers enter battle with the knowledge that should they be taken prisoner, there are laws intended to protect them and impartial international observers to inquire after them. America’s observance of the Geneva Conventions and our support for the ICRC in part determine the willingness of other nations to do the same. While our intelligence personnel in Abu Ghraib may have believed that they were protecting U.S. lives by roughing up detainees to extract information, they have had the opposite effect. Their actions have increased the danger to American soldiers, in this conflict and in future wars. .... Some also have argued that the Geneva Conventions have been rendered quaint by the new circumstances in which we find ourselves. We do face a new enemy in the global war on terror, and much of our ability to disrupt attacks and destroy terrorist cells depends on the quality of intelligence we gather from detainees. Yet nothing in the conventions precludes directed interrogations. They do, however, prohibit torture and humiliation of detainees, whether or not they are deemed POWs. These are standards that are never obsolete -- they cut to the heart of how moral people must treat other human beings. They also are the principles on which the liberation of Iraq is based. We are bringing to Iraq a new day, an era that is better in all ways than the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. This era replaces terror, humiliation and arbitrary rule with freedom, human rights and the rule of law. .... Rather than placing blame on the ICRC or other humanitarian groups, we must instead fix our gaze on those individuals who perpetrated abuses at Abu Ghraib. Had American officials paid heed earlier to ICRC reports of these abuses at Abu Ghraib, we could have limited the damage these individuals have done to America’s international standing. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #6 The Dershowitz article that RC posted in #3 is well worth reading. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-06-02 2:41:47 AM |
| #5 McCain is right about the INTENT of the Conventions, but it is less clear that they will be observed by the terror networks, except in selected instances where the PR value is deemed sufficiently high. I think we do need to set standards for ourselves and keep to them no matter how tempting it is to cut corners. That is at the heart of all military discipline in an army of free men and women. It's why the West Point corps of cadets enforces its honor code so stringently: A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do. Top cadets - even senior corps leaders close to graduation - have been kicked out of the Point for what some might consider minor infractions of this rule - lying about being out of their rooms after lights-out, for instance. Why? Because cadets who cut corners on this will cut corners in torturing a captive to try to save the lives of their soldiers. In the short run, this may seem defensible; in the longer run, it deeply undercuts morale and discipline in and out of battle. Having said that, I too am disturbed by what seems like increasing politicization of the ICRC. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-06-01 3:49:25 PM |
| #4 It is critical to realize that the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions do not endanger American soldiers, they protect them. Our soldiers enter battle with the knowledge that should they be taken prisoner, there are laws intended to protect them and impartial international observers to inquire after them. America’s observance of the Geneva Conventions and our support for the ICRC in part determine the willingness of other nations to do the same. What is up with this guy? If I didn't know who he was, I'd be seriously questioning his sanity. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-01 2:30:23 PM |
| #3 I posted an extensive fisking of this op-ed to Rantburg last night, but apparently it never took. McCain spectacularly conflates unrelated issues (utility of of GC, self-discrediting behavior of the ICRC) in his defense of the "do-gooders." He completely inverts the significance of the recent breach of confidentiality by the ICRC. There's a very disturbing and important issue here, and McCain misses it completely. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2004-06-01 11:32:02 AM |
| #2 How many Red Cross packages did McCain get while he was a POW? How hard did the Red Cross work to get them to him? Contrast this with Dershowitz's questioning the utility of the GC in the modern world. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-01 10:59:21 AM |
| #1 Yes thank you Mr Hindsight. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-06-01 8:27:11 AM |