[The Avon Lady]

Making my point:

Black Five Blog: Remind me why I liked Powell. Highlighted quote:

He <Powell> continues to weasel his way left with one of the most profoundly stupid statements I can recall an educated person making.

• “The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk.”

The first sentence is simply incomprehensible as it is written. The moral basis for fighting terrorism is that killing innocents is evil, stopping those who kill innocents is good, period. Powell’s letter wasn’t so long that he couldn’t have taken the care to say what I assume he meant, The world is beginning to doubt the techniques we use in the fight against terrorism. The idea that our tactics in this war could ever undermine the moral basis for opposing terror is foolish and if somehow it happened it would simply be a reason to ignore the thoughts of those unable to sanction opposing evil.

His last sentence is at least a debatable point, although again incorrect in my mind. The idea that our actions in relation to the treatment of prisoners has any impact on our enemies treatment of our prisoners is an oft-repeated trope that has no basis in fact. Since the Geneva Conventions have been in effect we have fought a number of wars and in each one our enemies tortured and killed our POWs with very little regard for these rules.