Justice for SV/Quest Crew Announced

[Capt Phil]

By our standards, you are correct, DOJ... the inequity arises when the prison term provides a better standard of living in every way than living free in another society does. With the Somalis, they are far better off in a US prison than they ever would be roaming the streets of Mogadichu or or the coast of Somalia.
Much of the rest of the world plays by different rules than the western countries. Different values, different expectations, different laws and different judicial systems and outcomes.
Trying to equate justice or quality of life between the two really is comparing apples and elephants. Phil

[Sand crab]

This was a federal crime so they will do all of that life because there is no federal parole. It's different in the state cases. And BTW most of the really bad guys are in the state pens because it's somewhat hard for murder to be a federal crime. Has to be terrorism, piracy, or take place on federal lands, etc. and there is not much of that. Thank goodness.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

By our standards, you are correct, DOJ... the inequity arises when the prison term provides a better standard of living in every way than living free in another society does. With the Somalis, they are far better off in a US prison than they ever would be roaming the streets of Mogadichu or or the coast of Somalia.
Phil

LOL. Why don't you write them and ask what they think?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

By our standards, you are correct, DOJ... the inequity arises when the prison term provides a better standard of living in every way than living free in another society does. With the Somalis, they are far better off in a US prison than they ever would be roaming the streets of Mogadichu or or the coast of Somalia.

Being locked up forever is still being locked up forever - me would risk a shorter life span in Somalia than the certainty of being locked up forever (even if in the luxury (lol) of a US prison).....especially as not to say that either Somalia will always be like it is, or that just because someone is born there with the sh#tty end of the stick means they stay that way, in a dog eat dog world some come out on top.......and some migrate further afield, including to the west (legally or not). Besides I have seen US TV , a lifetime of that would be "cruel and unusual punishment".

Not saying I would swap where I am for Somali!, but that is not the choice.

Much of the rest of the world plays by different rules than the western countries. Different values, different expectations, different laws and different judicial systems and outcomes.
Trying to equate justice or quality of life between the two really is comparing apples and elephants. Phil

Don't worry, am very well aware that foreign can mean more than a different colour, lingo and hairdo . But like everything, plusses and minuses to that........

[Thackaringa]

Blah! Blah! Blah! You are all armchair experts distributing justice without the need of any evidence or facts. You can all vent your prejudice and hatreds and display your intolerable ignorance. I will let you in on a secret. There are no good guys in war. It is murder regardless of which God you pray to.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

By our standards, you are correct, DOJ... the inequity arises when the prison term provides a better standard of living in every way than living free in another society does. With the Somalis, they are far better off in a US prison than they ever would be roaming the streets of Mogadichu or or the coast of Somalia.
Much of the rest of the world plays by different rules than the western countries. Different values, different expectations, different laws and different judicial systems and outcomes.
Trying to equate justice or quality of life between the two really is comparing apples and elephants. Phil

That doesn't matter , firstly they are deprived of their liberty and will probably never see their families again . That in itself is a severe punishment. Secondly, we punish and imprison to our standards not theirs

Dave

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by engele

Who would have ever thought I'd find people defending a group of people who killed others who had done them no personal harm? Reading between the lines it seems there are people here on the forum who feel that the killing of Quest's crew was justified simply because they were American. The loss of any life that is innocent of causing harm to others is a tragedy.

Shame on anyone who would justify these killings because of actions done by other people in another time and in another place. None of the crew of Quest were involved in Blackhawk Down to my knowledge.

Why would you value the life of those sailors any less than the lives of any other murder victim? What good feeling can you possibly receive from making excuses for a group of men who decided to kill people who had done them no personal wrong?

Being American does not reduce the value of your life.

Don't remember anyone defending them...
Some voicing their opinion that what they got was appropriate as opposed to the easy out... Yes.
Then some of the more vociferous threw stones in a glass house... silly thing really... and personal views on various extraneous subjects entered the discussion... and suddenly the discussion turned to US policy overseas... and... being as a few of us come from there we gave our view from the other side of the wall..
Maybe we should have a section restricted to US Threads and Opinions only... or just no furriners... Period.
As Murray Roman said way back in the 70's... "You cant beat people up and have them say'I Love You'.."

[atoll]

it is such a shame that the middle east has been flooded with weapons from the usa,uk,china and russia,guns don't kill people ,it's the person behind the trigger,and foreign policy that does...................

[sailorboy1]

I Love You

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Don L

I Love You

long time,GI,sorry wrong war

jig jig efendi

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Don L

I Love You

And we Love you to Don... MMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmWahhhhhh

[atoll]

i love america!,especially american girls

[Gadagirl]

Love you all too! Mwhaaaa! But 500 posts more and we'll have world peace and foreign policy solved. Let's plow through this.

Seriously, it's a bell curve that will take most of the worlds population hundreds of years to catch up to, the fact that not all have to submit to any one's religion or religious laws. Here in America, some in the south won't let go of the fact they lost the civil war, the right to own slaves! Really! Still! They cling hard to what they were taught. True they're a dying breed, but they are going down hard just the same. And screwing with our politics and innocent lives just the same.

Because I'm the bleeding heart type I have taken in some that had grown up in very difficult circumstances. Oh how i tried to help them! But what they really needed was substantial counseling on how to perform independently and compassionately in their community. They had become so warped by their upbringing that they really needed way more than I could offer to achieve functionality. Very dysfunctional people. Hard for the lay person (UN-trained in psychology) to bring around. Which would be incompetent me.

I can't imagine that that people raised in war zones, trained from birth that killing or dieing is a noble cause, can be "saved, persuaded, or otherwise reformed" by spending time in our prison system. I can't imagine any system that would erase such a child hood and bring about good. Being in prison would protect the rest of society from them, yes. But reform them? No.

[Andrew B.]

The beatings shall continue until morale improves.

[Capt Phil]

I must admit being shot at does tend to warp ones opinion... although I'm now an 'armchair type', I did my time and managed to not get killed unlike many of my brethern on middle east assignments but I have little time for those who haven't been there, lived in constant fear 24/7 and carry the memories of those times. The unfortunate thing for me is that those making foreign policy decisions today don't know their ass from a hot rock and have never been east of New York... good luck with that! Where was our State Dept when the phone rang at 3:00am? Phil