National Review writer endorses first global concentration camp

Deroy Murdock writes at National Review that we should expand Gitmo to be a global drop-off point for convicted terrorists and terrorist suspects. And it should be a blackhole beyond the rule of law, where once you're there you're never released. And he's for torture, too. And he's proud of Gitmo, as all patriotic Americans should be.

Sheesh. As Andrew Sullivan puts it

If you want to read a piece that endorses indefinite detention of anyone deemed suspicious of "Muslim fanaticism" anywhere on the planet, including the US, and subject to torture as long as it is "non-fatal", then welcome to National Review.

Yes, yes. This is how you spread democracy and win hearts and minds, by creating a concentration camp and indiscriminately tossing in Muslims while making a mockery of the human rights principles upon which the nation was founded.

You'll notice I didn't bother responding to the numerous false assertions in Murdock's article. As I said before, I'm done wasting my time rebutting such nonsense. Folks such as Murdock have shifted off into some alternate universe where facts and figures conform to their ideological view, and communication between that realm and this one is becoming increasingly difficult. Suffice to say, the claims he makes have been sufficiently rebutted by this point that they do not merit being given serious consideration.

Update: Is this what Americans are supposed to be proud of?

In a post detailing the rise of anti-American sentiment in the world, Glenn Greenwald observed

The role that the U.S. has played in the world for decades is critically important. The ideals and political principles which this country for decades has symbolized have been -- even when we have deviated from those principles -- a critical anchor for our security and standing in the world as well as a vital source of inspiration for people on every continent. As the world's sole superpower, the face that we choose to show to the world, the principles which guide our actions, are incomparably important.

When we adhere to those values and exemplify those principles, people around the world see that and judge our country accordingly. When we repudiate those values and violate those principles, our moral standing and credibility collapse.

If the Deroy Murdocks of the conservative movement have their way, the Statue of Liberty will no longer be the symbol that people think of when they think of America. Instead they'll think of our concentration camp in Cuba, and of tales like Murat Kurnaz's.