BackboneAmerica

By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net)

In speaking with men who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the common theme is “We are having to fight with our hands tied.” Why would this be? I experienced the same phenomenon in Vietnam. Without a doubt it is owing to organizations like the ACLU , the National Lawyer’s Guild and a hostile mainstream media who use adverse publicity and our legal system to harass the military while it’s trying to do its job.

It’s time we recognized these groups as enemies of our democracy and our way of life. We will NEVER be able to defend our interests and yet please the lawyers and the media moguls who are working with our opponents. It’s time we stopped trying. In fact, what we need is sweeping legal protection for our troops.

We have allowed our concept of the “rule of law” to grow to a tangled thicket of legalisms that would prohibit even the very survival of our society. It’s time to prune them all away and restore prudent basic common sense.

There is this concept of “aiding and abetting the enemy” as very close to treason. This is what these groups are committing. Aren’t there laws that can be invoked to shut down these groups and to convict and imprison its members. Ask yourself these questions:

* Are these terrorist organizations signatories to the Geneva Convention? If not, why do we need to grant terrorists the rights?

* What rules of engagement are imposed on Al Qaeda? If none, why do we impose them on ourselves to try to please our detractors?

* How have these terrorist groups treated their prisoners? (Do orange jumpsuits and snuff videos on Al Jazeera ring a bell?)

* When was the last time the ACLU or the mainstream media expressed outrage at the dozens of murdered bodies that turn up daily in Iraq?

* When was the last time the ACLU and the media expressed outrage at the murder and mutilation of our kidnapped soldiers? How does their reaction compare with their outrage over Abu Graib, when prisoners merely had their pants removed instead of their eyes, tongues and heads?

It’s time the American people recognized that if this continues, the American democracy with its precious gift of liberty and prosperity will be completely lost forever.