Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Bush says to Terrorists "You can't be totalitarian, only *I* can be totalitarian!"

whocarz · 10-07-2004, 03:19 AM

Wow this is a bit of an old thread.

I want to address the issue of the guys rotting in Gitmo. Basically, they are damn lucky they aren't dead already. Military justice states that any armed combatant in disguise or out of uniform can be considered spies and aren't granted the rights a POW recieves. They can be tried by a military tribune and executed. The Administration won't give it a green light though, because they know there would be a massive uproar about it. The basic idea is don't wear a uniform and fight, then fight to the death. If you get captured, you're basically fucked.

A side note about the crusades. The first crusade started because the Byzintine emperor went to the pope and asked him to help fight off the Muslims, mainly the Turks. The pope saw a chance for Christians to reclaim the "holy" land, or Antioch, Tripoli, Edessa, and Palestine, nowadays know as Israel, Lebanon, the western coast of Syria and a little bit of Turkey. So the crusaders gathered up and headed out in a few different bands, the plan was to meet in Constantinople and go from there. Peter the Hermit roused what was basically a peasant crusade containing some 20,000 people, and his was the first to cross in to Turkey, without waiting for the real crusaders. Well, they encountered a Turkish army, and some 17 to 18 thousand of them were slaughtered. Most of the rest, young boys and girls, were sold into slavery, with a few escaping, including Peter the Hermit. Don't feel sorry about that lot, however. They generally acted like a bunch of thugs and dicks, and basically got what was coming to them. Anyway, when the real crusaders arrived and heard about what happened, they were a bit upset. Now the whole thing is off to a bad start and the crusaders have some scores to settle, bloody vengence being a quite expected thing during the early medieval period. So they took Antioch first, which was in Turkish territory. They proceeded to kill every Turk in the city. Edessa was taken without a fight, but later had to survive a series of attacks by the Turks. Jerusalem was taken after roughly a month long seige, even though the crusaders were vastly outnumbered by the city's defenders. Before the crusaders arrived, all Christians had been expelled from the city, only Jews and Muslims remained. Well, the crusaders killed them all, but for a couple of the Muslim leaders. Tripoli held out for 6 years before surrendering, and there was no slaughter once they gave in.

Well, that was rather long winded and just a bit off topic, wasn't it. My basic point is that in that time period, brutality was the rule, not the exception. Neither side was in the right, and each did horrible things. After one took prisoners or a city, it was normally an all or nothing affair. Either you killed everyone or no one. However, the past is the past, and it is silly to point fingers and accuse one another for transgressions that occured almost a millenia ago. One might as well argue with the wind.

10-07-2004, 03:19 AM	#68 (permalink)
whocarz Jarhead Location: Colorado	Wow this is a bit of an old thread. I want to address the issue of the guys rotting in Gitmo. Basically, they are damn lucky they aren't dead already. Military justice states that any armed combatant in disguise or out of uniform can be considered spies and aren't granted the rights a POW recieves. They can be tried by a military tribune and executed. The Administration won't give it a green light though, because they know there would be a massive uproar about it. The basic idea is don't wear a uniform and fight, then fight to the death. If you get captured, you're basically fucked. A side note about the crusades. The first crusade started because the Byzintine emperor went to the pope and asked him to help fight off the Muslims, mainly the Turks. The pope saw a chance for Christians to reclaim the "holy" land, or Antioch, Tripoli, Edessa, and Palestine, nowadays know as Israel, Lebanon, the western coast of Syria and a little bit of Turkey. So the crusaders gathered up and headed out in a few different bands, the plan was to meet in Constantinople and go from there. Peter the Hermit roused what was basically a peasant crusade containing some 20,000 people, and his was the first to cross in to Turkey, without waiting for the real crusaders. Well, they encountered a Turkish army, and some 17 to 18 thousand of them were slaughtered. Most of the rest, young boys and girls, were sold into slavery, with a few escaping, including Peter the Hermit. Don't feel sorry about that lot, however. They generally acted like a bunch of thugs and dicks, and basically got what was coming to them. Anyway, when the real crusaders arrived and heard about what happened, they were a bit upset. Now the whole thing is off to a bad start and the crusaders have some scores to settle, bloody vengence being a quite expected thing during the early medieval period. So they took Antioch first, which was in Turkish territory. They proceeded to kill every Turk in the city. Edessa was taken without a fight, but later had to survive a series of attacks by the Turks. Jerusalem was taken after roughly a month long seige, even though the crusaders were vastly outnumbered by the city's defenders. Before the crusaders arrived, all Christians had been expelled from the city, only Jews and Muslims remained. Well, the crusaders killed them all, but for a couple of the Muslim leaders. Tripoli held out for 6 years before surrendering, and there was no slaughter once they gave in. Well, that was rather long winded and just a bit off topic, wasn't it. My basic point is that in that time period, brutality was the rule, not the exception. Neither side was in the right, and each did horrible things. After one took prisoners or a city, it was normally an all or nothing affair. Either you killed everyone or no one. However, the past is the past, and it is silly to point fingers and accuse one another for transgressions that occured almost a millenia ago. One might as well argue with the wind. __________________ If there exists anything mightier than destiny, then it is the courage to face destiny unflinchingly. -Geibel Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else. -Marcus Aurelius Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever? -GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly