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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review

Shutting Down Guantanamo Makes No Common Sense

By Heather Robinson


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Last week former Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration's national security policies, including holding "hard core" terror suspects at the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cheney's warning that granting rights to, and possibly releasing, hard-core terror suspects would be a mistake comes on the heels of President Obama's announcement that he plans to shut down Gitmo-a decision a majority of Americans disagree with, for good reason.

Americans are a people of common sense. And shutting down Gitmo doesn't seem to make very much.

Although the President has already made the decision, it remains to be seen what its ramifications will be.

High-minded arguments about civil liberties aside, the evidence suggests that the U.S. has, if anything, erred on the side of too much liberalism in its handling of the detainees at Guantanamo. And that high-mindedness has cost innocent lives.

Of those inmates released during the Bush years, at least 61 have returned to the fight. Last month it emerged that one of them, Said Al-Shihri, has become al Qaeda's number two man in Yemen, and is thought to have been involved in the September, 2008 bombing of the U.S. embassy there. That bombing killed ten innocent people, including guards and civilians waiting outside the embassy. Al Shihri is thought to have participated in this violence after the U.S. released him from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia, where he attended a Saudi "rehabilitation program" for jihadists.

Rehab? For terrorists? Maybe it's time we realized these are hard core enemy combatants, not Hollywood starlets with a taste for Valium.

Gitmo's most hysterical detractors paint a picture of the facility as the nexus of Dick Cheney's evil Death Star, a place where torture is taking place and people disappear, never to be heard from again. That description could aptly describe facilities in Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein, but not Guantanamo.

With all the emotion surrounding Gitmo, few people actually pay attention to the facts about what actually goes on there. Inmates have clean rooms, excellent medical care, access to books and writing materials, and decent meals that provide 4,000 calories a day. They receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as consultations with their attorneys.

Each detainee gets to appear yearly before an administrative review board comprised of three military officers. With the aid of their attorneys, detainees can present evidence to argue for their release or relocation. As of last month, a cumulative total of 520 detainees had been relocated or released as a result of this process--far more than the 250 currently being held, whom the Department of Homeland Security describes as "dangerous men" and "enemy combatants [who] represent a threat to the U.S. or our allies."

The reality is, shutting down Gitmo will usher in a raft of legal complications that will likely result in the release of some hard core detainees, according to Brooke Goldstein, an attorney and director of the Legal Project for Daniel Pipes' Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank dedicated to promoting U.S. interests in the mideast.

"If Guantanamo prisoners are moved to a domestic prison, they will be subject to U.S. law and will be afforded the same rights and constitutional protections of an American citizen," Goldstein said. "Based on the succession of past cases, it is certain that after they are tried in the U.S., some of these prisoners will be released. If they are released ... the chances of their rejoining the violent jihadi movement are high."

Goldstein adds that civil libertarians' objections to detainees being held without trial fails to take into account that jihadists have declared a war without end against the U.S.

"According to the Geneva Conventions, you can hold enemy combatants for the duration of hostilities until peace has been declared," she says. "It gets muddied because these guys have declared an indefinite war against the United States and Western civilization."

Further practical problems that might develop if detainees were moved to U.S. prisons include radicalization of prisoners in U.S. facilities.

"What effect will these prisoners have on other prisoners?" says Goldstein. "We already have a problem of radicalization in our prisons towards a militant version of Islam-do we want to add to that?"

Not to mention that relocating detainees to U.S. cities poses potential problems for communities located within the vicinity of a prison.

"Take into consideration the people who live in these areas," says Goldstein. "If you are moving people into domestic areas, what kind of threat will you place people who live in the area in?"

With attorneys to advocate for them, and yearly review of their cases, as well as the chance to pray six times a day, the detainees at Guantanamo have more rights and privileges than did German or Japanese prisoners of war during World War II. But unlike Japanese and German soldiers, who were conscripted into armies and had no choice but to fight unless they were willing to be shot for treason, jihadists voluntarily wage war on the U.S. and our allies.

Is it really appropriate or useful for them to believe that, should they be caught planning attacks, high-minded Americans will rush to agitate for their rights, and possibly their release?

It's just not good common sense.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Heather Robinson is a New York-based journalist. Comment by clicking here.


© 2009, Heather Robinson

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