Posted on 06/16/2005 9:33:46 AM PDT by ambrose
US senator stands by Nazi remark
Thursday 16 June 2005 7:20 AM GMT
A US senator has refused to apologise for comparing the actions of US soldiers at Guantanamo Bay to those of Nazis, while others have decried or defended the mandate and method used to hold prisoners there.
US Senator Dick Durbin on Wednesday refused to apologise for comments he made on the Senate floor referring to Nazis, Soviet gulags and a "mad regime" like Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Illinois Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna had demanded he apologise.
"Senator Durbin's comments come as a great disservice to our military personnel in Guantanamo," he said. "They are also a great disservice to all US soldiers and veterans who have fought, and continue to fight, to overcome evil regimes and spread democracy around the world."
Durbin did not plan to apologise for the comments, spokesman Joe Shoemaker said.
"This administration should apologise to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorising torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure," Durbin had said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
Attack
During a speech on Tuesday, Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, quoted from an FBI agent's report describing detainees at the naval base in Cuba as being chained to the floor without food or water in extreme temperatures.
"You would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings"
US Senator Dick Durbin "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings."
Durbin is not alone in his criticism.
Human-rights groups have long accused the administration of unjustly detaining suspects at the prison camp. Amnesty International last month called the detention centre the "gulag of our times".
Rebuttal
President George Bush and other administration officials, however, have strongly resisted such comparisons and questioned Amnesty's objectivity.
"It's difficult to explain to a mom and dad who's lost their son or daughter how you can have someone in Guantanamo Bay, release them and then they kill your son and daughter"
"I take strong exception to any characterisations that try to diminish what our military is doing and the standards and values that they adhere to," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
The Bush administration calls the Guantanamo prisoners "enemy combatants" who are entitled to fewer legal protections than those afforded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.
Defence
According to US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales on Wednesday, the US government often considers whether it would be better to stop detaining prisoners at Guantanamo.
"That's a question that is evaluated, I would say, quite often," he said in Sheffield, England, where he will attend a meeting of G8 interior ministers on Thursday and Friday.
On Wednesday, he had said "there will of course be an end", but did not specify when.
He also pointed out that about a dozen of those who had been released had returned to fight against the US.
"It's difficult to explain to a mom and dad who's lost their son or daughter how you can have someone in Guantanamo Bay, release them and then they kill your son and daughter," he said.
Since the camp was set up after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, 167 detainees have been freed and 67 others released to the custody of their home governments.
About 520 detainees from about 40 countries remain at Guantanamo. Only 12 have been handed over to military commissions for investigation of possible war crimes and four have been charged.
Debate
In a three-hour hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, legal experts from the US military and the Justice Department said the US had a right under the Geneva Conventions to hold enemy combatants.
But committee chairman Senator Arlen Specter suggested lawmakers would have to clarify what he called a "crazy quilt" of laws and regulations governing the detentions.
Some lawmakers want the facility closed, saying it has become a liability that inflames Muslims against the United States.
"Guantanamo is an international embarrassment to our nation, to our ideals and it remains a festering threat to our security," Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said.
Survey
A Pew Research Centre poll, taken over the weekend, indicated most Americans agree that reports of abuse at Guantanamo are isolated incidents, and 39% think the news media is paying too much attention to the issue.
The poll found a sharp partisan divide on the issue - Democrats believing the abuses to be systemic and Republicans saying they were isolated incidents.
You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/796AA4AC-531C-4E6F-B855-7FBC52506824.htm
Traitorous %&*$#@!! Every time one of the dems does something like this, it's widely reported by our enemies. A pox on them all.
And he wonders why they call him "dick."
Just F'n great.....how many GI's are you gonna get killed over this, DICK!!....what a POS you are!!!!
YET many in the Miitary and extended fams will continue to VOTE for these traitors.
If I were to walk past senator DICK right now, it would take everything in my power not to spit on that man. I'm so angry right now I can't see straight.
Well if this isn't "aid and comfort to the enemy" I don't know what is !!!
What does he have to do give 'em a bullet and a sandwich ?
GW should have the US Marshals walk over to his off ice and snatch his a$$ up and charge him.
Ship Dirtbin to Gitmo as an enemy of the state.
What an asshat...thanks Illinois!
Rush just called attention to this. He stated taht Al Jazeera praised Durbin.
This moron obviously needs to tour some REAL gulags and REALLY educate himself about the depredations of Pol Pot and visit Auschwitz! China has gulags, he needs to go visit some of the Falun Gong members who are being tortured even as we speak at real gulags.
This makes me SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO angry! :(
Here is Turbin Durbin's contact information. Give em a call or a fax and let him know how you feel about his comments. I have.
Washington Office:
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1304
Phone: (202) 224-2152
Fax: (202) 228-0400
Main District Office:
230 South Dearborn St., Ste. 3892
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 353-4952
Fax: (312) 353-0150
Might as well take the "treason" laws off the books. It's not like anyone will be tried for it ever again. If DOJ went after Durbin, the ACLU, the MSM, the Dem party, and half of our "allies" would be howling about free speech restrictions, and tyranny by the majority.
I think we could lose this war, because the enemy is truly within... and they're not even subtle anymore.
All lines are busy..
they're getting slammed or the phone off the hook
Hence, my opening remarks on this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1421978/posts
Well, I would spit in his face and take the consequences.
It's the president's duty to stand up and defend the troops in forceful terms. And the republicans have a duty to this country to stand up to leftist extremism.
And Dumbass needs to be reprimanded by the Senate!
Now we know why they call him "Dick!"
He should be removed from office for making such outrageous and treasonous remarks! PERIOD!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
No, we don't.....people in the military know who are friends are on Cap Hill....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.