James Joyner at Outside the Beltway ("We’re an online journal of politics and foreign affairs analysis. For the most part, our views are Classical Liberal: a strong belief in free trade, limited government, and respect for human rights. We aim to have informed, polite conversation about the issues which we find interesting.") has his heart (and his head) in the right place.
Money quote(s):
"I’m less eager than Carpenter to arrest and rehabilitate terrorists — hunting them down and killing them will do just nicely"
"Terrorists, guerrillas, insurgents, and other non-state actors who are waging war are combatants, pure and simple. And combatants can be targeted for killing rather than arrested. There’s no doubt about that under existing law."
&
"The primary gray area in international is what to do with enemy combatants who are captured in an asymmetric war. Are the entitled to precisely the same protection as uniformed, privileged belligerents? Can they be held for indefinite detention — or for the “duration of hostilities” in a war without end? That’s something that needs to be settled as a matter of practicality."
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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2 comments:
I thought the Hamdan ruling essentially resolved the issue regarding captured enemy combatants - which I think has resulted in a clear political incentive for there not to be any captured combatants.
The Hamdan ruling clarified (for some values of clarification) what U.S. law would be regarding captured unlawful combatants, but Mr. Joyner is refering to international law in a broader context.
But your point about the pointlessness of capture is on, er, point.
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