Quandary
Mother pleads for kidnapped reporter's release - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
I realize this may be a callous thing to say, but they cannot barter for this person's release. Short and simple: we would set a precedent. I really feel for this person's family.
What we *really* should do (you're hearing this from a guy who doesn't support the death penalty generally, but I'm deviating from my normal stance) is tell these people that for every American they kill, we kill 10 of their people. Of course, this is just the Angry Me (tm) talking.
I remember an episode of "West Wing" (seems I refer to that TV show a lot) called "Proportional Response," where President Bartlett has to decide how to respond to Syria's attack on a peaceful target (they shot down a plane full of doctors). He wants to wipe Syria off the face of the earth, but his advisors warn against it.
Ultimately, at the end, Bartlett talks about how during the days of the Roman Empire, all you had to do was claim to be a Roman citizen and you could walk across the face of the known world unharmed. This is because Rome didn't believe in "proportional response."
Why the United States doesn't follow this philosophy is ... well, interesting. I *know* why: the international community would frown upon it. But I really think that the *only* way we're going to ensure our national security is to make this world where all you have to say is "I am an American citizen," and people leave you the fuck alone.
Of course, we know what kind of drastic measures this entails.
Now, why would someone who opposes the death penalty support something as wholescale war aginst ... whomever? Isn't it still killing? Yes, but it's the purpose. When you kill a guy on death row, it does nothing except maybe give a family closure. It doesn't bring anyone back from the dead, and people are still going to kill. We have probably one of the highest murder rates in the "civilized" (read: Westernized) world. But when you're waging a war for the security of our own people, THAT has a purpose. We did it against the Kaizer, we did it against Hitler. Nobody wanted to fuck with us after that...at least, for a while.
With that having been said, I think about what President Bush is doing in Iraq...
I realize this may be a callous thing to say, but they cannot barter for this person's release. Short and simple: we would set a precedent. I really feel for this person's family.
What we *really* should do (you're hearing this from a guy who doesn't support the death penalty generally, but I'm deviating from my normal stance) is tell these people that for every American they kill, we kill 10 of their people. Of course, this is just the Angry Me (tm) talking.
I remember an episode of "West Wing" (seems I refer to that TV show a lot) called "Proportional Response," where President Bartlett has to decide how to respond to Syria's attack on a peaceful target (they shot down a plane full of doctors). He wants to wipe Syria off the face of the earth, but his advisors warn against it.
Ultimately, at the end, Bartlett talks about how during the days of the Roman Empire, all you had to do was claim to be a Roman citizen and you could walk across the face of the known world unharmed. This is because Rome didn't believe in "proportional response."
Why the United States doesn't follow this philosophy is ... well, interesting. I *know* why: the international community would frown upon it. But I really think that the *only* way we're going to ensure our national security is to make this world where all you have to say is "I am an American citizen," and people leave you the fuck alone.
Of course, we know what kind of drastic measures this entails.
Now, why would someone who opposes the death penalty support something as wholescale war aginst ... whomever? Isn't it still killing? Yes, but it's the purpose. When you kill a guy on death row, it does nothing except maybe give a family closure. It doesn't bring anyone back from the dead, and people are still going to kill. We have probably one of the highest murder rates in the "civilized" (read: Westernized) world. But when you're waging a war for the security of our own people, THAT has a purpose. We did it against the Kaizer, we did it against Hitler. Nobody wanted to fuck with us after that...at least, for a while.
With that having been said, I think about what President Bush is doing in Iraq...
posted by xanadian at 8:37 AM
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