Lovable Ben Carson, who has been tapped by some for being a maverick outsider in the conservative wing of potential GOP presidential candidates in 2016, keeps demonstrating why he needs to be kept far, far away from the Oval Office.
In the article below, he apparently endorses a blind eye against war crimes committed by US soldiers in times of war (in the context of sending troops to Syria and Iraq):
"And our military needs to know that they're not going to be prosecuted when they come back because somebody has said you did something that was politically incorrect. There's no such thing as a politically correct war. We need to grow up. We need to mature. If you're going to have rules for war, you should just have a rule that says no war. Other than that, we have to win. Our life depends on it."
Certainly read on the face of it, Carson seems to be stating that if you decide to go to war, then no holds barred, and none of that "politically correct" Geneva Convention "rules of war" kind of thing. I mean, war crimes, shwar crimes, right? Our boys are fighting a hypothetical war, goshdarnit, and bad things happen in war, but we're fighting for right and survival, so anything goes.
Just what Jesus would do, no doubt.
Of course, as am apparent hawk on security matters, he also just suggested that if Obama (not the Congress but the President) plays games with the Department of Homeland Security funding bill over his "executive amnesty program," if he should "… stand in the way, particularly to things that are vital to the security of this country, then I think we can start talking about treason. […] If things are done that are contrary to the security of this country, whoever does them is guilty of treason" (http://goo.gl/1S8IVv)
Let me correct myself: Mr Carson needs to be kept far away from Capitol Hill, too.
Ben Carson: No rules against ‘politically incorrect’ acts of war
“We need to grow up. We need to mature,” the neurosurgeon says.
Carson should stick to medicine.
He has never worn the uniform of his country, therefore, he has astonishing knowledge of everything military and knows exactly what and how things should be done. He probably gets along great with Bryan Fischer – another military expert.
Carson wasn't calling for, I don't think, throwing the Geneva Convention out the window, though I guess that does make for some good spin. I guess since Carson has a college degree and all….
Besides, Obama seems to agree…
"As we move forward with these challenges, we all have responsibilities, we all have hard work ahead of us on this issue. We can’t paper over problems, and we’re not going to solve this if we’re always just trying to be politically correct. "
From Obama's speech on "Countering Violent Extremism"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/18/remarks-president-closing-summit-countering-violent-extremism
I don't know, that "No War" rule sounds good to me. It's not what he was getting at, clearly, but…
Mark; just because they both referenced the phrase "politically correct" doesn't indicate that they're saying the same thing.
+Mark Means Carson was rhetorically setting up two alternatives:
a. American troops being prosecuted back home for having done things that were called "politically incorrect".
b. The only rule of war being that we have to win.
If his words are to be taken seriously, the Geneva Conventions (among other things) would seem to fall under (a).
If he's just speaking to sound good and forceful, then in an era where American military conduct has been called into question, it's an asinine comment to make.
The full interview is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZiA7Ro3EFc
(The irony of Carson talking early on in a reasonable fashion about the need for bi-partisanship and the role of the president as a leader, while Fox News is throwing up all sorts of partisan "Fox Facts" on the screen, is high.)
My question back to Carson would be, "What prosecutions of military personnel have taken place regarding what you consider political correctness?" I.e., what is he lumping under that label?