Thursday 16 October 2008

An open letter to Jacqui Smith

Dear Ms. Smith,

As Home Secretary I am sure you have many difficult choices to make in life. Your support of the law was displayed earlier this week when you decided to extradite Gary McKinnon. Sensible
people are happy to see him go and face trial in the United States.
However, there are those who are bent on destroying our will. His family has talked about chaining him and themselves to a fence to prevent the due process. Others talk about the possibility of his being harmed in a US prison. That is mere speculation. And even if it occurs, it
is part of a process called punishment. Fellow prisoners may decide to teach him some common sense, for which his mother may be glad. American prisoners are among the best in the world. They police themselves as a matter of fact, keeping an order among the inmates that is as good
as some top international companies. Prisons fall under your command, so I am sure you have taken into consideration all relevant factors, and by sending him to one in the US, you have given him a better lifestyle than what he might expect in a facility over here. But do not expect him or his mother to be grateful at first.
However, in the years to come, they may both come to appreciate you wisdom. The press may choose to ignore it, but much of what happened in Abu Ghraib was for the good; so much so that Moslems from all over Iraq actually signed a petition to thank us for rehabilitating their hardened criminals, and envied our techniques. And Camp X Ray, far from being the little shop of horrors that Robert Fisk and his buddies make it out to be, has been a home away from home for many men whose standard of living in their own homeland was way below what we expect in the West.
Your homeland, like our homeland, needs to put security before misplaced sentiment. Thank you for your sensible approach to a difficult matter that is now under way of being resolved.

Sincerely,

Mike Pasture

3 comments:

Genco21 said...

Exacty how much time have you spend in US and UK prisons Mr Pasture?

Mike Pasture said...

I have not spent any time in US prisons, they are for Gary McKinnon, and if he gets beat up and raped that is part of justice.
How much time have you spent?
Just asking...

Genco21 said...

None as a custodian.

Too little in a work capacity to give an informed opinion.

You comments in your letter are a little at odds with those in other posts, but I guess that's just light-hearted quips or Gary-McKinnon-supporter-baiting.

"if he gets beat up and raped that is part of justice"

I think I've read enough.