Charen: Shame

Townhall ^ | 5-7-04 | Mona Charen

[Wu]

Hey Mona..........shut up.

[cgk]

Pinging Mona's list...

[John Lenin]

bump

[Argus]

Charen's usually more sensible than this. Chalk it up to cultural dissonance. The fact that it's females humiliating Arab males is indeed what has them screaming. They'd better get used to it if they want to join the civilized world.

Obligatory caveat: Of course I'm outraged at the lack of discipline that allowed perverted hijinks among a few of our prison guards in Iraq. It looks like a slave auction at a gay bathhouse, not the kind of image we want for our Army in any case. The solution is to keep the creeps out of the ranks, not to trash the 99.99% who are not creeps.

[Rutles4Ever]

What sets conservatives apart from liberals is the ability of conservatives to admit when things need to be fixed. Liberals would rather drive the world into the ground instead of admitting fault and correcting the problem.

Question: Would this be acceptable behavior towards American prisoners?

[don'tbedenied]

oh no its all over we're doomed, doomed.

Jeezuz H. Keerist I am getting tired of this crap.

By the time the perps are court-martialed we'll be off on the next crisis du jour. Anyone even remember the Joe Wilson scandal?

BTW the law of unintended consequnces may have kicked in again, notice that all of the pictures feature US women humiliating Arab men. The Jihadist may not be in such a hurry to encounter the US military.

[gcruse]

That's the best you can do, Wu?

[philosofy123]

I am proud of the foaming at the mouth conservative columnist Mona. I am not as foaming at the mouth, but I am a conservative, and I am also very upset at this picture. Only heartless godless idiots would think of defending such action or even reduce its severity. I have been screaming about the barbaric Moslems and their uncivilized behaviors, and now I am stunt.

[Rutles4Ever]

The solution is to keep the creeps out of the ranks, not to trash the 99.99% who are not creeps.

That's not the point. The object is to bring democracy to Iraq. The object is to WIN the war. No one on the Arab Street gives a crap about the 99.99% of our military who serve honorably. Everyone can crow about how unjust it is to paint the military with these broad strokes, but the fact remains, without the support of the Arab Street, we can't democratize Iraq.

They'd better get used to it if they want to join the civilized world.

I wouldn't put these pictures in a brochure about democracy and "civilization".

[philosofy123]

You need to tell that to the idiots on this forum who are defending this barbaric action of a lesbian looking bitch. To strip naked a bunch of guys and pile them on top of each others like dead animals, and drag them from a leash is undefencable except by heartless godless idiots.

[VOA]

bump

[philosofy123]

Just take a deep breath. It is alright to say and think that this barbaric action by this lesbian looking bitch was a big big mistake. If you find nothing wrong with draging a naked man by a leash, you need your head examined, or simply go and join the other hate filled Moslem fanatics. Any one who defend this barbaric behavior is a barbarian himself and not too far from the idiotic Islamic fanatics.

[gcruse]

a lesbian looking bitch.

Wow.  The foam runs freely in this one.   The girl looks like every other female soldier.  Was Demi Moore a dyke in GI Jane?
This girl's fiance might disagree with her being a lesbian, and you need to get your eyes, at the very least, checked.

[Mr. Bird]

Mona's comments are right on the money. I don't give a crap, personally, if some Iraqi bad guy was humiliated. Indeed, when I ponder the fact that these people were in military detention (as opposed to some random Iraqi off the street), I can only assume that the "victims" had done their share of evil in this world.

The problem is exactly as Mona states it: in a war for hearts and minds, it does us no good to appear just as bad as any alternative. I say whoever took the pictures is guilty of a greater crime than the chick holding the leash.

[Mr. Bird]

You need to tell that to the idiots on this forum who are defending this barbaric action

Can I ask a legitimate question? What about those of us who are apathetic about the actual events? My concern about the incident is primarily political (in a global sense). I have no reason to believe such activities are widespread in the U.S. armed forces and have every reason to believe it is unlikely to occur again.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

And yet, of all things to do to Arab men, to humiliate them sexually, particularly before female soldiers, is among the worst

I dunno. Given that Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli has just issued a ruling that the Koran permits Iraqis to keep as slaves any female British or American soldiers they capture, I think we need a lot more pictures of Iraqi fighters being sexually humiliated by western women.

[fr_freak]

Most Arab men would gladly endure physical pain or even death before such dishonor as we have caused.

This obviously isn't true, at least not in the case of the guys in the pile. If it were, the Iraqi prisoners would have refused to do it and there would have been no way to force them other than pain and death which, according to Maona and conventional wisdom, they would rather accept anyway. Since they are not dead and don't look beaten, one can only conclude that it was actually rather easy to convince them to do this. So much for the whole death before dishonor BS.

[hopespringseternal]

The problem is exactly as Mona states it: in a war for hearts and minds, it does us no good to appear just as bad as any alternative.

Anyone, Iraqis included, says we are as bad as the alternative they cannot be taken seriously. In fact, if he has half a brain cell your average Iraqi knows all to well just how much of an improvement we are over the alternative.

[don'tbedenied]

I do not remember defending this behaviour. I am just tired of the continuous self flagelation. BTW "lesbian bitch" what's up with that?