Cries of the Vintage Warrior
"The Rights of Terrorists"

    Recently, I saw a news report saying that the governmental people were discussing whether or not the treatment of a terrorist they have in prison was torture. According to the news report, this terrorist was being given very little sleep, roused at two AM for interrogation sessions that often wouldn’t end until midnight, kept awake with loud music, subjected alternately to extreme heat and cold, and even denied a toilet.

    And they’re debating about whether or not this is torture? What is this country coming to?

    We declaim terrorists for killing innocent people. Then we torture the suspected terrorists. Where are our lofty ideals now? Do these people deserve this torture? Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I agree with you that they’ve done some awful things, and that September 11 was a horrible crime. I agree that we should be doing whatever we can to stop it. But that ‘anything’ does not include breaking our own laws. The government is not above the laws. “By the people, for the people” is the phrasing often used to describe the way it should be. Well, no matter how much you may dispute it, terrorists are people too.

    We are guilty of dehumanizing the terrorists. If you want to fight your enemy, you first remove his humanity. Make him into some big, dark monster- something you can easily fight. This is what we are doing. To do so, we go against our own Declaration of Independence, which begins “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among those rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I had to memorize that years ago. Whether we like it or not, the terrorists are still men. We owe them at least the same humane treatment that we give to ordinary criminals.

    Possibly the only differences between the terrorists and the ordinary criminals is that the terrorists are out to scare and kill people while the ordinary criminals are acting for revenge, money, or love, or they’re mentally disturbed, and that the terrorists are from another country while the common criminals are from this country. The ordinary criminals get a full trial and are considered innocent until proven guilty. The terrorists get abused and tortured. I smell a great deal of xenophobia here.

    The other argument in here is the Geneva Convention. Specifically, the third Convention, Article 3, which states that POWs shall be treated “humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria." It goes on to define what counts as inhumane behavior, specifically "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular murders of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture." We are calling it a war on terror, but President Bush is saying that these are not POWs. Well, shouldn’t we stop calling it a war, then? And if they’re not prisoners of war, and it’s all right to torture terrorists, then why were the photos from Abu Ghraib considered to be anything wrong? Either we are in a war or we aren’t, people. You can’t change your mind whenever it’s convenient. Obey the Geneva Convention or admit we aren’t in a war. According to another section of the Geneva Convention, “Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.” We haven’t had any competent tribunals, so these people are still considered POWs by the Geneva Convention anyway. Therefore, we are breaking the law.

    What is this world coming to? We talk about equal rights for all, but we don’t believe it.
   
Afterword
I’ve worked three days on an article to represent a hated opinion, without even being sure that Ren would actually let me publish it (although that wasn’t for lack of trying to find out), and in the process I’ve gotten frustrated at myself trying to figure out why I’m defending terrorists. I know that will almost certainly be one of the most common questions that the readers will have, so I’ll just make an effort to answer it now. I’m really not sure why, except that I believe we should be consistent and we shouldn’t be breaking the law like we are now. I know I don’t feel safe talking about this in public, which makes me wonder where the whole “freedom of speech” thing is going. I’m sure I must have more of a reason, but right now I can’t think of it. Thanks for reading, if you’re open-minded enough to have gotten this far.

 
  Kira Schiavone is a high school student who's working on becoming a professional writer, and enjoys reading and writing rants for the Fedora Chronicles.