US army conduct disgusting: Advani

The Times of India ^ | SATURDAY, MAY 08, 2004 04:37:45 PM | IANS

[VinayFromBangalore]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani on Saturday described the torture of Iraqis by US soldiers as "shocking" and "disgusting" but in the same breath called it an "internal matter" for the US.

"What has happened is shocking and disgusting and one gets a feeling of revulsion," he said.

Advani was reacting to Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony's observation that had India been ruled by Indira Gandhi, V.K. Krishna Menon or Rajiv Gandhi, New Delhi's condemnation over the American behaviour would be stronger.

Advani said "it is up to the Indian government to decide what to condemn and what not to condemn.

"Antony's observation is subjective. We also do not comment on everything, just as the US does not comment on every internal happening in India."

[VinayFromBangalore]

Advani is a right-wing, pro-US leader in India.

[Voice in your head]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

You made that up.

[verity]

What's the ZIP code? ;~)

[Polybius]

US army conduct disgusting...

Actually, the "US army conduct" is that the U.S. Army conducted a full investigation when the conduct of these individuals was reported by an American soldier and is holding these soldiers and their commanders accountable.

Contrast that to dowry deaths in India and the fact that the harassment, beating and in some cases murder of women over dowry is both common and commonly ignored or even tacitly condoned in official circles—by the police, the courts, politicians and media.

[Semper Paratus]

Are they still burning brides for insufficient dowrys in India?

[DustyMoment]

First - let's clarify some terms. The US media is trying to position the treatment given the Iraqi prisoners as "torture" In the broad scheme of things, it was not. Based on Rumsfeld's testimony the other day, it appears that a relative handful of prisoners might have been tortured (certainly the ones that died in our custody would agree with that statement) but, from the photos we have seen to date, that's not torture - it's abuse and humiliation.

Secondly, I have an issue with the broad sweeping inference that the entire US Army engaged in this conduct - they did not. A handful of very bad apples did and they will be dealt with harshly. Again, I think a lot of anti-American folks (including the US media and the Dems) are using very broad terms to try to make this look a lot worse than it is. I don't mean to minimize it but, in the broad scope of the War on Terror, this isn't that big. It looks bad, and the prisoners certainly didn't expect it or deserve it from us, but it still pales considerably in comparison to Saddam's streatment of these same people.

We need to maintain some perspective.

[E Rocc]

Advani is a right-wing, pro-US leader in India.

He's a leader of the "Hindu Taliban", the RSS. That group hates western influence in general and Christians in particular, and loves the disgraceful "caste" system. They just hate Muslims even more, so they see the US as an ally of convenience....most of the time.

-Eric

[cake_crumb]

I was afraid it was going to be another America bashing piece.

Everyone agrees with Mr. Advani that the treatment of those prisoners was shocking and disgusting. In addition, I'm grateful for his coolheaded observation that this is an internal matter for the US. Contrary to popular belief, we do police our own and this rime will be no exception.

[cake_crumb]

That was supposed to be "time", not "rime". Undercaffeinated here.