| about the purpose of the Geneva Conventions. They were created in an attempt to make war more "civilized". The distinction between civilians, military members, spies, and terrorists/saboteurs is very clear (within the conventions) and it's clear for a good reason - those who hide amongst civlians do not and should not receive the protection of the conventions. To put it another way - soldiers are mandated to wear uniforms not because they like them or want to look cool, but so that their enemy can distinguish them from the civilian population. Soldiers make it easy for their enemies to target them so that those who are NOT soldiers will be safer. To have other groups turn around and use those same civilians as shields and as camouflage is a cowardly subversion of what modern, "civilized" warfare is supposed to be. Those who do not abide by the conventions should not be protected by them. If you disagree with that, let's see you explain why you think the Geneva conventions allow for the immediate execution of spies, as well as the indefinite detainment without trial of saboteurs. |
