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Double Standard Trouble
U.S. News and World Report ^ | 5/31/2004 | John Leo

Posted on 05/22/2004 7:26:44 PM PDT by JohnEBoy

First the shock of the Abu Ghraib prison photos, then the aftershock: a surprising debate over whether they should have been published at all. Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online argued that details of the prisoner abuse were about to pour out anyway. He said the inflammatory pictures were unnecessary. In response, Aaron Brown of CNN said: "You don't appreciate what happened in that prison until you see it."

(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: doublestandard; johnleo; mediabias; msm; overloadonphotos
His example of a double standard on the right, is poor, flawed thinking. He claims that Don Rumsfeld's relation to Iraqi prison abuse should be compared to Janet Reno's abuse of Branch Davidians at Waco, and both should have been forced to resign and we on the right are employing a double standard by supporting Rumsfeld.

However, I see the two events differently.

1. Reno gave the direct order leading to the deaths of 80 Americans including children. Reno took responsibility for the orders and results. So far as we know, Rumsfeld gave no orders for actions observed in the photos.

2. People died at Waco. People were merely humiliated in the Iraq prison.

3. Even if we decry the methods used, the intent in Iraq was to gain information to save American soldier's lives. At Waco, the Branch Davidians had no comparable information.

Sorry, Mr. Leo, bad analogy.

1 posted on 05/22/2004 7:26:46 PM PDT by JohnEBoy
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To: JohnEBoy

Double standard? Rats have no standards.


2 posted on 05/22/2004 7:31:06 PM PDT by evolved_rage (Where they take an arm and a leg.)
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To: JohnEBoy
People were merely humiliated in the Iraq prison.

Correction, people died in the Iraqi prison.


3 posted on 05/22/2004 7:32:51 PM PDT by Archangelsk (15 out of 19. The House of Saud must be driven into the desert.)
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To: JohnEBoy
"The senator expressing the most outrage over Abu Ghraib is Teddy Kennedy. Recently, he proclaimed, "Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management." The party of treason has struck again.

When will Sen. Kennedy release the Chappaquiddick torture photos? In fact, every time he whines about that photo of electrodes attached to a hooded Iraqi prisoner, MSNBC should air a side-by-side photo of Mary Jo Kopechne gasping for air while Teddy does the breaststroke to shore."

another brilliant gem from Joe Sabio

4 posted on 05/22/2004 7:33:32 PM PDT by rageaholic
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To: JohnEBoy

Oh the horrors! A naked man with panities on his head. Or a naked man cowering because a dog was barking at him. Then we have Nick Berg being decapitated. Hmm, bet ya Nick would have prefered this "abuse" rather than his grisley death.


ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ooops, the Iraqi prisoner "abuse" bores me. Wake me up when the media is done venting and distracting from real horror.


5 posted on 05/22/2004 7:35:08 PM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: JohnEBoy

"Even if we decry the methods used, the intent in Iraq was to gain information to save American soldier's lives"

That is what it seemed like until Friday when a US General said that they prisoners involved were not terrorist/insurgents/fighters (or whatever) but rather merely common criminals and that they had no intelligence information of value. Ms Trailer Trash, et al. had done it just for kicks.


6 posted on 05/22/2004 7:36:17 PM PDT by cavan
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To: Archangelsk

#3, LOL. What liberal news report did you dig this one up from?

Last I checked, loss of pride and humilation isn't fatal and that is ALL that happened to the Iraqi prisoners.


7 posted on 05/22/2004 7:38:17 PM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: nmh
Then we have Nick Berg being decapitated.

About two years ago, I posted a link to the graphic execution - decapitation - of a Russian soldier at the hands of Chechen rebels. I posted that this will ultimately happen to Americans and sadly (Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg) I was correct. The next step for the insurgents and terrorists is to export this practice to our shores and it will come. The solution is to wheel west and stop this practice at the source: Saudi Arabia. If the President wants to win this war, and I have no doubt that he does, he needs to divorce himself from the House of Saud and do whatever is necessary to finish this destructive conflict.

8 posted on 05/22/2004 7:41:34 PM PDT by Archangelsk (15 out of 19. The House of Saud must be driven into the desert.)
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To: nmh

From just about every news source carrying the abuse photos. Don't be a shmuck, denial just makes us weaker.


9 posted on 05/22/2004 7:42:37 PM PDT by Archangelsk (15 out of 19. The House of Saud must be driven into the desert.)
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To: JohnEBoy

Dims are afflicted with global dimming disease. Power outage.


10 posted on 05/22/2004 7:44:03 PM PDT by snooker (John Flipping Kerry, the enemy's choice in Vietnam, the enemy's choice in Iraq.)
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To: JohnEBoy
Once again, I do not care about what happened to our enemies at some hellhole in Iraq.

I don't know anyone else who cares, either.

W's biggest weakness is that he cares what his enemies think, or at least he allows them to define reality so that, if the New York Times says Americans are outraged by abuses in Iraq, he believes it.

He apologizes so that people who can never be satisfied, will be satisfied. He pledges our good faith in Islam so that mortal enemies, who don't care what he thinks, will care. He promises the sun, the moon, and the stars to his political enemies in the vain hope that they will like him, but they never will.

He is being driven by his enemies down a narrowing passageway to defeat.

He must lead, and destroy them-or he will be run over.

11 posted on 05/22/2004 7:45:33 PM PDT by Jim Noble (Now you go feed those hogs before they worry themselves into anemia!)
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To: evolved_rage
Double standard? Rats have no standards.

BINGO!

12 posted on 05/22/2004 7:46:30 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: JohnEBoy
"You don't appreciate what happened in that prison until you see it."...or at least you can't make a big issue out of it until you have pictures to grab people's attention - reports of this "abuse" were in the press last winter, and a number of Senators, including Specter of Penna, were also apprised of what was going on from the beginning - it just didn't rise to the level where political mischief could be made of it until the pictures became available......
13 posted on 05/22/2004 8:36:46 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: Archangelsk
Yep, I saw similar photos of dead Iraqi prisoners.

Also saw photos of dead American GI's

Screw the Iraqi's.... screw the press and anybody that tries to equate the US treatment of prisoners with the Iraqi's slitting of a throat, documented killing fields, shredding machine executions and "rape" rooms is so pathetic it borders on the insane.

14 posted on 05/22/2004 8:51:29 PM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck....but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is .)
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To: JohnEBoy

I agree. Terrible analogy. And the defense department (ergo rumsfeld) did NOT sit on the story. It was publically announced in January. And then there's the matter of the congress being informed of the story also. If they wanted more info all they had to was pick up the phone and ASK for a further briefing!


15 posted on 05/22/2004 9:18:09 PM PDT by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades...And panties!)
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To: JohnEBoy
Aaron Brown of CNN said: "You don't appreciate what happened in that prison until you see it."

Oh yeah?! Then why didn't you (CNN) play the video of Nick Berg being beheaded over and over and over again for weeks? Why do you no longer show pictures of the WTC and Pentagon attacks. Why did you show nothing but the most santized ones you could get away with at the time? Hmmm?

16 posted on 05/22/2004 11:46:05 PM PDT by El Gato (Federal Judges can twist the Constitution into anything.. Or so they think.)
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To: Archangelsk
The solution is to wheel west and stop this practice at the source: Saudi Arabia

West? Saudi is mostly south of Iraq on all the maps I've seen.

17 posted on 05/22/2004 11:48:53 PM PDT by El Gato (Federal Judges can twist the Constitution into anything.. Or so they think.)
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To: El Gato
OK, Southwest. but you know what I mean.


18 posted on 05/23/2004 6:35:55 AM PDT by Archangelsk (15 out of 19. The House of Saud must be driven into the desert.)
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