Stahl Worries U.S. May “Deprive” Him of Sleep, Make Him Hot/Cold

Media Research Center ^ | 12-15-03 | Medial Reseach Center

[FlyLow]

CBS’s Lesley Stahl is worried the U.S. might “torture” Saddam Hussein by depriving him of sleep or making him “very cold” or “very hot.” Interviewing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for Sunday’s 60 Minutes, Stahl wanted Rumsfeld to confirm: “The Red Cross can see him soon?” She soon raised the notion of “torture,” demanding to know: “Would we deprive him of sleep, would we make it very cold where he is, or very hot? Are there any restrictions on the way we treat him to get him to cooperate more than he has been?” When Rumsfeld insisted we would we follow the Geneva Conventions, that wasn’t good enough for Stahl who pressed: “Sleep deprivation, that kind of thing. You're ruling it completely out, is that what you're telling us?”

That elicited a classic Rumsfeld response: “I'm not telling you anything other than I have just told you.”

For 60 Minutes, CBS put Rumsfeld on the Face the Nation set in Washington, DC while Stahl quizzed him from a set in New York City.

When Stahl raised the conditions in which Hussein is being held, Rumsfeld assured: “His circumstance is he is at an undisclosed location for obvious reasons. He is being accorded the protections of a prisoner of war and his treatment will be governed by the Geneva Convention.” Stahl wanted to know: “The Red Cross can see him soon?” Rumsfeld: “Those are judgments that will be made by the lawyers as we go along, but one need not worry that he'll be treated in a humane and professional way.” Stahl: “There have been some suggestions that he might try and bargain -- in other words, he'll say okay, 'I'll tell you something about weapons of mass destruction or whatever it is, the insurgency, if you will spare my life.’ Would we engage in a negotiation with this man?” Rumsfeld: “The treatment of a person in his circumstance, it seems to me, is going to end up being discussed by the coalition at a high level, and lawyers will be involved and I think it's a bit early to begin making snap decisions about what might be done. But I think that in the last analysis here's a man who has killed so many tens of thousands of people who will have to be held accountable and brought to justice in some form in some way.” Stahl: “Now, you said that he would be treated as a prisoner of war, but what if-” Rumsfeld: “No, he would be accorded the privileges and as though he were a prisoner of war, not that he necessarily is one. And I say that advisedly.” Stahl: “What’s the distinction?” Rumsfeld: “We don't know yet, but to the extent that he was involved in the insurgency, that one would, a lawyer might say something either different from or in addition to. That's why I just said he would be accorded the protections for the time being of a prisoner of war and certainly his treatment would be governed by the Geneva Conventions.” Stahl bemoaned how Hussein might not get 5 star hotel treatment: “Let me raise the whole question, for lack of a better term, torture. Let's say he's not forthcoming. Would we deprive him of sleep, would we make it very cold where he is, or very hot? Are there any restrictions on the way we treat him to get him to cooperate more than he has been?” Rumsfeld retorted: “You know, to even raise the word torture in terms of how the United States military would treat this person seems to me is a unfortunate. We don't torture people and here's a man who has tortured to death tens of thousands of people, conducted rape and brutality the likes of which it would be difficult to find a more vicious and brutal dictator in our adult lifetimes. And I just told you that he would be treated according to the Geneva Conventions and to suggest that any one would be engaged in torture or conduct inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions seems to me isn't on the mark at all.” Stahl: “Sleep deprivation, that kind of thing. You're ruling it completely out, is that what you're telling us?” Rumsfeld: “I'm not telling you anything other than I have just told you. He'll be treated according to the Geneva Convention and given the protections of a prisoner of war.”

CBS has posted a transcript of the interview, but I noticed some errors in comparing it to what aired: www.cbsnews.com

[gathersnomoss]

"CBS’s Lesley Stahl is worried the U.S. might “torture” Saddam Hussein by depriving him of sleep or making him “very cold” or “very hot."

Lesley could be a bunk buddy with Sadman and give him a nightly rub. J F'in Kerry Liberals....Hanging for treason for both of them would do our country good.

Wahhhh.

[The Raven]

>>No, we'll just play the Barney song into his cell 24/7.

Better yet... speeches from Dems

[Poohbah]

"Yoko Ono's Greatest Hits."

[verity]

I say we just beat the tar out of him her.

[Atlas Sneezed]

"...one need not worry that he'll be treated in a humane and professional way..." -Rumsfeld.

---

Read this for what it actually says. I was worried Saddam would be treated humanely, but am relieved that he won't.

[alrea]

CBS’s Lesley Stahl is worried the U.S. might “torture” Saddam Hussein by depriving him of sleep or making him “very cold” or “very hot.” Interviewing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for Sunday’s 60 Minutes

The mistake was in letting 60 minutes have an interview.

[fortunecookie]

I don't remember Ms. Stahl making a big fuss over the gassed Iraqi Kurds or the men and women hauled off and tortured or thrown into mass graves, or just executed in stadiums for 'sport'. All documented by people of her profession.

And to add insult to injury, how is it she can just insinuate that surely our government would torture him. That takes real cojones.

[meow]

Come now, Rumsfeld said we would not violate the Geneva Convention. Not even Saddam deserves that kind of torture.

[stevem]

I say we just beat the tar out of him.

Actually, the best way to say that is: They should beat him up. They should just beat him right up.

My guess is that won't happen though.

[woofer]

what was up with Peter Jennings last night and the way he kept cutting off Sec. Rumsfeld's answers?

They weren't the answers Jennings wanted to hear and the answers he got couldn't be used against Rummy or Bush.

[fortunecookie]

Saddam Hussein knew the Leslie Stahls of this sometimes overly-civilized (-feminized) nation would take very good care of him. He knew there was no way he'd be uncomfortable -- especially compared to that hole in the ground -- much less "tortured."

Thus, the coward had no qualms about surrendering.

Excellent point. He was probably hoping to stay hidden until the next pres election in hopes that a Dem would be elected. Then he could just be free and protected and maybe even get good guest speaking parts like X42. Maybe even be ruler again, after 'proving' how a coalition without him would fail (guaranteed by his meddling..).

Yeah, Katie and Leslie and Baba Wawa will take gooood care of him.... (barf...)

[Bedford Forrest]

The "Peoples' Pool" [at the Marine Corps E&E School, Pickel Meadows] was a tad rougher than that and much quicker. All Marine single seat drivers were required to attend The Most Excellent Pickel Meadows Sierra Mountain Birdwatching and Alpine Wonder Tour. Yes Indeed.

[Rummyfan]

With a little reformatting:

When Stahl raised the conditions in which Hussein is being held, Rumsfeld assured: “His circumstance is he is at an undisclosed location for obvious reasons. He is being accorded the protections of a prisoner of war and his treatment will be governed by the Geneva Convention.”

Stahl wanted to know: “The Red Cross can see him soon?”

Rumsfeld: “Those are judgments that will be made by the lawyers as we go along, but one need not worry that he'll be treated in a humane and professional way.”

Stahl: “There have been some suggestions that he might try and bargain -- in other words, he'll say okay, 'I'll tell you something about weapons of mass destruction or whatever it is, the insurgency, if you will spare my life.’ Would we engage in a negotiation with this man?”

Rumsfeld: “The treatment of a person in his circumstance, it seems to me, is going to end up being discussed by the coalition at a high level, and lawyers will be involved and I think it's a bit early to begin making snap decisions about what might be done. But I think that in the last analysis here's a man who has killed so many tens of thousands of people who will have to be held accountable and brought to justice in some form in some way.”

Stahl: “Now, you said that he would be treated as a prisoner of war, but what if-”

Rumsfeld: “No, he would be accorded the privileges and as though he were a prisoner of war, not that he necessarily is one. And I say that advisedly.”

Stahl: “What’s the distinction?”

Rumsfeld: “We don't know yet, but to the extent that he was involved in the insurgency, that one would, a lawyer might say something either different from or in addition to. That's why I just said he would be accorded the protections for the time being of a prisoner of war and certainly his treatment would be governed by the Geneva Conventions.”

Stahl bemoaned how Hussein might not get 5 star hotel treatment: “Let me raise the whole question, for lack of a better term, torture. Let's say he's not forthcoming. Would we deprive him of sleep, would we make it very cold where he is, or very hot? Are there any restrictions on the way we treat him to get him to cooperate more than he has been?”

Rumsfeld retorted: “You know, to even raise the word torture in terms of how the United States military would treat this person seems to me is a unfortunate. We don't torture people and here's a man who has tortured to death tens of thousands of people, conducted rape and brutality the likes of which it would be difficult to find a more vicious and brutal dictator in our adult lifetimes. And I just told you that he would be treated according to the Geneva Conventions and to suggest that any one would be engaged in torture or conduct inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions seems to me isn't on the mark at all.”

Stahl: “Sleep deprivation, that kind of thing. You're ruling it completely out, is that what you're telling us?”

Rumsfeld: “I'm not telling you anything other than I have just told you. He'll be treated according to the Geneva Convention and given the protections of a prisoner of war.”

[Rummyfan]

Rumsfeld: “I'm not telling you anything other than I have just told you. He'll be treated according to the Geneva Convention and given the protections of a prisoner of war.”

Leslie, you dumba**, don't you get it?

I love Secretary Rumsfeld!!

[Amelia]

I'd bet that Saddam hasn't been sleeping well for several months now.

[kaylar]

Leslie Stahl is the piece of genetic garbage who, a few years ago at a newsmedia conference, whined about how US readers are turning off the mainstream media, despite years of "telling them what we think they should know." I cannot remember the exact phrasing she used, but that's the gist of her whine.

[olinr]

"This pontific goofball needs a few films of the tortures SH did. Better yet, she needs a few of the survivors of tortured families having a visit with her."

I am coming unglued! This is a country based on religious beliefs. ANYONE who understands the torture and deaths of civilian men, women and children (in Iraq) and is not willing to do something, to prevent this atrocity, is doing the work of Satan! Fire and damnation to those. Our country has gone beyond respect and claiming "God's work".

Yes, it is over, where are our Priests, Ministers, Rabbi(s)? Hypocrites all. Nothing but the wrath of God and revolution is left.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Drop Lesley into the plastic shredder and see if her concern for Saddam's comforts is as ardent.

[Aquinasfan]

“Would we deprive him of sleep, would we make it very cold where he is, or very hot?

I couldn't read past this. What a freakin' idiot.

[Lucky2]

Drop Lesley into the plastic shredder and see if her concern for Saddam's comforts is as ardent.

The rape room would work wonders as well.