A source on politics, war, the Middle East, Arabic poetry, and art.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Full text: Rumsfeld's speech in Miami on Guantanamo prison: "different rules have to apply." Now Rumsfeld explains that the enemy in Afghanistan fought in civilian clothes (which is a violation of the rules of war). He said: "The circumstances in which individuals are apprehended on the battlefield can be ambiguous as I'm sure people here can understand. This ambiguity is not only the result of the inevitable disorder of the battlefield, it is an ambiguity created by enemies who violate the laws of war by fighting in civilian clothes." But US own military rules also allow for soldiers to fight in civilian clothes, but it is called "relaxed grooming standards." And this article brags about US soldiers in Afghanistan following "relaxed grooming standards." Inconsistency? No. Of course, not. "Different rules have to apply" for the US.