BBC: Inquiry finds Koran 'mishandling' ~~ at Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

BBC ^ | Friday, 27 May, 2005, 04:19 GMT 05:19 UK | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Inquiry finds Koran 'mishandling'

More than 500 detainees are held at Guantanamo

The US military says it has identified five incidents in which the Koran was mishandled by American personnel at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

But the jail commander said they had found no credible evidence that the book had been flushed down a toilet.

The denial follows similar allegations against US guards in a 2002 document made public on Wednesday, in which an FBI agent quoted an inmate.

Newsweek also made the claim, which the magazine was forced to retract.

The Newsweek report sparked protests across the Muslim world, and was blamed for riots in Afghanistan that killed at least 15 people.

The magazine withdrew its story, after saying it could no longer corroborate the report.

The White House rounded on the magazine, saying its report had done "lasting damage" to the US image in the Muslim world.

Deliberate and accidental

Brig Gen Jay Hood said he had found that the Koran had been mishandled on five occasions since late 2001.

Four cases involved guards and one was by an interrogator. The incidents appeared to be deliberate and accidental, he said.

Brig Gen Hood said those involved had not violated the rules they were working to at the time.

The inmate who made the original allegation about the Koran being flushed down the toilet had retracted it, he said.

A Pentagon spokesman characterised the incidents as mainly inadvertent handling of the Muslim holy book.

More than 500 people are being held at Guantanamo Bay, the US naval base on Cuba, suspected of links to the al-Qaeda network.

Some have been detained for more than three years, but have not been charged.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

You think people are buyin Korans for target practice nowadays? tempting.

[expatguy]

"Mr. Chairman, before I begin my actual testimony, I want to speak directly to Nazis in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for the book "Mein Kampf" is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be, tolerated by the United States. We honor the sacred books of all the world's great ideologies. Disrespect for the book "Mein Kampf" is abhorrent to us all."

[Cap Huff]

I wonder what they mean "deliberate and accidental?" Some were deliberate and others accidental? A little further down they say that they were mainly inadvertent. They don't explain why they use the word deliberate.

[anton]

The BBC needs to stop by my outhouse at the farm. They can shimmy down a rope and scape my last dump from the Koran at the bottom . Come to think of it, I'll need to sprinkle a little lime over that stew on Saturday.

[carumba]

And there is no truth to the rumor that Das Kapital is used in privies throughout the rural west.

[papertyger]

You think people are buyin Korans for target practice nowadays? tempting.

Before, or after they give them away?

[one of His mysterious ways]

No prisoners have ever had it so good. Even our own prisoners in this country don't get pampered the way these terrorists do. If our law was anything like their sharia law...

Hey, we could enact our own sharia type law for them just to make them feel more at home... we could call it di-sharrhea...

Sorry, just a late night, sleep-deprived thought...

[Lokibob]

The General said 2 were accidential, and 3 APPEARED to be deliberate, however, they occured before written instructions were given to the guards. Also, all 5 incidents were different, meaning not repeated, like perhaps one guard touched the book, anothr accidently knocked it off the table (examples are mine).

[expatguy]

You are deserving of "Das Boot" for that one ;-)

"Mr. Chairman, before I begin my actual testimony, I want to speak directly to Communist Chinese in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for Chairman Mao's Little Red Book is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be, tolerated by the United States. We honor the sacred books of all the world's great ideologies. Disrespect for Chairman Mao's Little Red Book is abhorrent to us all."

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[piasa]

Someone let the BBC know that America is POed at the 'mishandling' of people's heads. Namely, the heads of Nick Berg, Daniel Pearl, people of allied nations, etc, that the freaks the BBC loves and supports much have a habit of separating from their rightful owners.

To prevent further inadvertent or deliberate 'mishandling' of Korans, may I suggest from here on out we not pass out Korans or allow prisoners to have any copies that might potentially get 'mishandled?'

Perhaps we should go further and make sure the prisoners are only permitted to have copies of the Bible. How would the BBC like that?

[carumba]

Fridge magnet.

[TheCrusader]

The koran was "mishandled"? Five times? Oh my. Did our guys fail to put white gloves on before touching it, so as to not soil it with their Christian hands? Or did they forget to bow and stick their faces in the dirt after handling it?

But it gets even more interesting when the BBC says: "Newsweek also made the claim, which the magazine was forced to retract".

"Forced to retract"? If I didn't know better, I'd take this statement to mean that some outside force, (probably the evil 'Mister Bush'), forced them to retract the bogus story against their own will.

Why didn't the BBC just tell the simple truth and say: "After it was discovered that Newsweek printed the story without any credible source to substantiate it, they decided to retract it in an attempt to save face. Unfortunately, the unsubstantiated Newsweek story cost the lives of at least 15 people"????????

[expatguy]

Check out the last one at ~

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[Lokibob]

Type it in a little tiny font, seal it in a cookie, and anon slip into the sack with other fortune cookies..

[Dr.Hilarious]

"A Pentagon spokesman characterised the incidents as mainly inadvertent handling of the Muslim holy book."

And here I thought I was going too far using my Koran as a bacon keeper.