Jewish World Review Nov. 12 , 2002 / 7 Kislev, 5763

Dan Abrams

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Should human rights activists complain about the detainees' treatment?


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Photos of battlefield detainees on their way to sunny Guantanamo Bay were leaked to radio talk show host Art Bell. They show freshly captured prisoners hooded, strapped, handcuffed, and separated from one another. And I'm certain we're going to hear from a chorus of human rights activists complaining that this treatment is barbaric and violates the Geneva Convention.


Let's just nip that one at the bud right now.

If they'd been place in regular seats on the sides of the plane, there would have been a real danger that some or even one of them would have done something, anything to bring the plane down. Hydraulic lines and other key items are located along the side of the plane. They had to be detained in the middle, and they had to be isolated to prevent them from plotting together and for interrogation purposes as well. If one of them had gotten loose, that would have jeopardized the lives of everyone aboard, a risk the U.S. cannot and should not have taken.


Even the Geneva Convention does not demand that the U.S. put its soldiers and other prisoners' lives at risk. This is a different breed of prisoner, and at all times, they have to be treated as a serious threat. Again and again, they've used our freedoms and our protections against us. And for the brief period immediately following their arrest, our forces should be given a little leeway.


In the words of the Geneva Convention, "during the continuation of the circumstances which make such confinement necessary."



JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.

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