Unbeliever

Just thought y'all might like to know about this: Children held at Guantanamo Bay


I'm somehow not surprised that children are being held by our government without due process. What outrage will we next learn about the Bush regime?
:banghead:

Loren Pechtel

There's nothing incompatible about being 16 and being a combatant. Just because we don't do it doesn't mean it doesn't happen in more primitive parts of the world.

Soyin Milka

You mean it's primitive to have 16 year-old combatants but civilised to have 16 year-old detainees?

Soyin

Loren Pechtel

If they were a combatant I see no problem with them being a detainee.

MortalWombat

Well the article said "children under the age of 16." Also, I'd like to know if that is that their age now, or a year and a half ago when the detentions started, or sometime in between. Because if they're under 16 now, who knows how old they were when they were first detained.

Randi

First of all, it is a violation of the Geneva Convention that they are there in the first place; the GC states that signatories of the GC cannot hand over prisoners to non-GC countries for detention, thereby circumventing the purpose of the GC in the first place. Another thing, the article was not talking about 16 year olds, but children under 16.

From the article:

US officials yesterday confirmed for the first time that children under the age of 16 years were among 650 suspected terrorists imprisoned at the naval base without legal access or guaranteed protections under the Geneva Convention.

It doesn't actually state the ages of the incarcerated children, but I suspect they picked "under 16" to insinuate that they are older teens, but that means 15 and under.

Soyin Milka

I wonder how much of a choice these boys had in becoming combatants in the first place and how they could be perceived as a threat by the USA, supposedly the most powerful nation on Earth.

I really don't get it.

Soyin

Loren Pechtel

They certainly can be combatants. I doubt there was a gun at their back but I suspect their upbringing had a lot to do with it. They also certainly can be a threat.

Chuck

I'd have to guess under 14 1/2 But seriously, this is very troubling. I have a hard time believing that we had no idea that these were children.

BTW, has anyone seen this on major American news? I haven't had a chance to watch much TV recently.

Chuck