Suicide: Act of War?
Let me see if I follow the logic here. We learned over the weekend that three detainees at Guantanamo Bay killed themselves. The commander of the base called the suicides "an act of asymmetric warfare against us", which is a fansy way of saying "an act of war".
So by this logic, does that mean that if I commit suicide it would be an act of war? According to the Bush Doctrine, the US is considered part of the battlefield. And since Bush's role as Commander-in-Chief gives him the authority to not only spy on us without warrants and to detain us indefinitely as "enemy combatants", would it not also follow that he has the authority to determine what constitutes an "act of war"? So if the US is part of the battlefield and any act which "aids" the enemy is considered "an act of war", my suicide would almost certainly fall under that category. Because not only would I be depriving the enemy of someone whose freedoms we are told they hate but I would also be depriving my government of a revenue source as well as a potential soldier should they ever decide to reinstate the draft.
And since my suicide would be considered "an act of war", would it not also be true that simply contemplating suicide would also be a crime? If I were to tell a therapist that I was suicidal, would they then be obliged to inform the government that I was contemplating committing an act of war against the US? Would my suicidal thoughts be enough for the government to hold me indefinitely as a "terrorism appeaser"?
Suffice it to say that when you declare war on something as abstract as terror, logic is usually the first casualty.
For more commentary on this see Califlander, David Luban, Georgia10, Katherine, Karena, Marjorie Cohn, The Heretik, and The Rude Pundit.
So by this logic, does that mean that if I commit suicide it would be an act of war? According to the Bush Doctrine, the US is considered part of the battlefield. And since Bush's role as Commander-in-Chief gives him the authority to not only spy on us without warrants and to detain us indefinitely as "enemy combatants", would it not also follow that he has the authority to determine what constitutes an "act of war"? So if the US is part of the battlefield and any act which "aids" the enemy is considered "an act of war", my suicide would almost certainly fall under that category. Because not only would I be depriving the enemy of someone whose freedoms we are told they hate but I would also be depriving my government of a revenue source as well as a potential soldier should they ever decide to reinstate the draft.
And since my suicide would be considered "an act of war", would it not also be true that simply contemplating suicide would also be a crime? If I were to tell a therapist that I was suicidal, would they then be obliged to inform the government that I was contemplating committing an act of war against the US? Would my suicidal thoughts be enough for the government to hold me indefinitely as a "terrorism appeaser"?
Suffice it to say that when you declare war on something as abstract as terror, logic is usually the first casualty.
For more commentary on this see Califlander, David Luban, Georgia10, Katherine, Karena, Marjorie Cohn, The Heretik, and The Rude Pundit.
Suffice it to say that when you declare war on something as abstract as terror, logic is usually the first casuality.
That's a great observaation, but to your point about acts of war. With your obviously irrational hatred of the current administration, merely thinking should be considered an "act of war".
Posted by
Anonymous |
6/13/2006 10:02:00 AM
I wouldn't say I have an irrational hatred of this administration. Then again, perhaps it is irrational to think that our leaders shouldn't lie to us about such grave matters as war and that they shouldn't consider themselves to be above the law or beyond accountability for their actions.
As to your other point about thought as an act of war, one wonders when we will be delving into truly Orwellian territory when mere thought becomes a crime.
Posted by
Anonymous |
6/13/2006 01:41:00 PM
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