Arabs in U.S. could be held, official warns

[Imran Siddiqui]

FASCIST!

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ned
Once I barely understood Roosevelt;s Japanese concentration camps and thought they were a mistake. I now am more understanding.

I don't want any of them (persons of Arab ancestry) here. They are a dangerous element. There is no way to determine their loyalty. ... The danger of the Arab was, and is now-if they are permitted to come back-espionage and sabotage. It makes no difference whether he is an American citizen, he is still an Arab. American citizenship does not necessarily determine loyalty. ... But we must worry about the Arabs all the time until he is wiped off the map. Sabotage and espionage will make problems as long as he is allowed in this area. [/paraphrase]

[Felch]

My friend's dad was born in one of the Japanese Concentration Camps. His mother is Arab, although like many Arab-Americans she is a Christian, and it would be funny in a gallows humor sort of way if both of his parents ended up in American camps during different millenia.

[Bereta_Eder]

The average american arab citizen has no intention of blowing himself up, people, people.....

[notyoueither]

Why Imran?

When all of the men who flew planes into buildings were wandering around the United States prior to the attacks. When the latest catch in the war on terror happens to be a young man who grew up and was educated in Canada. When the enemy is within, something beyond wringing the hands and wishing it to go away may be required.

AFAIK, no Japanese in the United States ever fired a shot on behalf of Japan. That makes their detention somewhat... distasteful. It was largely done based on histeria.

However, in this case the enemies of the United States may very well be living next door to you. Are there no circumstances where you could imagine preventative detentions being beneficial to the peace and security of your country? Are there no circumstances where the US should detain people prior to an attack? Say based on associations, activities, or other indicators of likely threat.

BTW. The US is not alone in having detained people. Canada detained Japanese Canadians. Britain detained a lot of German immigrants... etc.

[Kramerman]

Originally posted by Ned
Once I barely understood Roosevelt;s Japanese concentration camps and thought they were a mistake. I now am more understanding.

They weren't concentretion camps

And the Japanese had a fanatical loyalty to their empror like many Arabs have to their 'leaders', who manipulate their minds with a propaganda machine that would make Hitler proud.

Anyway, the detaining of Japanese was very unfortunate, as the vast, vast mjority were harmless Americans. It would also be unfortunate if the same happened to Arabs, though we are at war and must go through the natrual hystaria that comes with it (like japs in wwii, and the red scare of the cold war). Though i think it is very unlikely that anything like the japanese detention camps would happen to arabs due to the world response of today.

Kman

OT
This war sucks. We will never be able to win, because we will never be able to brake our enemies spirit, as the only way to do so would be 'inhumane' and, no thanks to global communications, we would be hated by the world. The only reason why we were able to overcome the Japs, whos 100 million homeland population pledged to fight for their emperor to the bitter end, was becaused we nuked them and killed 100s of thousands with seemingly ease (almost all civilians). Their spirit was destroyed. When Rome faced rebellion, it slaughtered men wemon and children, razed the region, and salted the earth so nothing would grow. You could be damn sure it would be a long time before that area rebelled again. Unfortunately, the US nolonger can utterly destroy our enemy who grows faster than we can hurt them, becuase it is 'uncivilized'. Though, in reality, nothing is more civilized than protecting ones own civilization from barbarians....

[Felch]

They were concentration camps on the Boer War model, but not on the Nazi model. They concentrated people, but they didn't kill them.

[Giancarlo]

Kramerman, The US will win, even if it requires nuclear weapons. The US might drop an atomic bomb over Baghdad and that might end this war.

[Imran Siddiqui]

nye:

To jail people simply because they are one 'ethnicity' is reprehensible and disgusting. It is racial profiling taken to the extreme.

WHO CARES is perhaps it 'might' save a life. So would jailing every single American & Canadian. Would you go to the jails first? After all the greatest causers of crime are white males.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The US might drop an atomic bomb over Baghdad and that might end this war.

That would simply START the real war.

[Bereta_Eder]

To jail people simply because they are one 'ethnicity' is reprehensible and disgusting. It is racial profiling taken to the extreme.

WHO CARES is perhaps it 'might' save a life. So would jailing every single American & Canadian. Would you go to the jails first? After all the greatest causers of crime are white males.

Imran

and I thought this was so obvious as the summer sun (in Greece)

[Imran Siddiqui]

It should be paiktis. It should be.

Ah, the summer sun... nice, isn't it?

[notyoueither]

Imran.

Jailing people simply for being Arab is not what I am advocating. Actually, I'm not advocating anything at all.

But, I am asking. Would it be resonable to detain people who contributed to a known terrorist sponsoring organization? Would it be resonable to detain the known associates of someone who is known to be involved with a terrorist group? Are there other circumstances where someone might be resonably detained prior to an overt hostile act?

Simply detaining people for where they were born, or worse, where their parents were born should not happen. I don't think that would happen, at least I hope not. However, there are other actions that support and condone these people in their attacks on the United States and her allies. Should such acts be grounds for detention under some extreme circumstances?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Then what are you arguing for? This whole ruckus started when Ned over there said that he didn't understand rounding up Japanese-Americans during WW2, and now because of 9/11 he does. I was saying Ned was a moron.

[KrazyHorse]

I thought we all already knew that.

EDIT: see my sig...