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Posted on 06/17/2005 2:09:54 AM PDT by beyond the sea
WASHINGTON - The White House said a senator's comparison of American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis, Soviet gulags and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was reprehensible and a disservice to those serving in the military.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said it is "beyond belief" that Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin would compare treatment of dangerous enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay to the death of millions of innocent people by oppressive regimes.
"Our men and women in uniform go out of their way to treat detainees humanely, and they go out of their way to uphold the values and the laws that we hold so dear in this country," McClellan said.
Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, made the comparison during a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday after reading an FBI agent's report describing detainees at the Naval base in Guantanamo Bay as being chained to the floor without food or water in extreme temperatures.
"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 said.
Said McClellan: "I think the senator's remarks are reprehensible. It's a real disservice to our men and women in uniform who adhere to high standards and uphold our values and our laws."
A Durbin spokesman said Wednesday that the senator did not plan to apologize for the comments. The senator issued a statement saying it's the administration that should apologize "for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure."
Human-rights groups and other congressional Democrats have accused the administration of unjustly detaining suspects at Guantanamo. Amnesty International recently called the prison "the gulag of our time" and some Republicans have questioned whether it should remain open.
Several Republican senators, including John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas, also criticized Durbin's comments in speeches Thursday.
I'm sure Durbin will eventually "clarify" his statement. A non-apology.
More people have been killed in Ted Kennedy's car than in Gitmo.
Any body who compares Guantanamo to Nazi Germany is either an uneducated fool or a demagogue.
Of course, the White House could always prove the Senator correct by gassing him and turning him into a lampshade.
Durbin should take his turban to a country where he can respect their military.
I still want him censured, politically, publically and anything else we can throw at him.
Count on his statements to be used in the upcoming 2006 elections as part of an "anti-rat" campaign commercial.
I've never seen the rats field such a team of clowns as I have this past year.
Good idea.
Republicans don’t seem to exhibit enough nuts to address and slap down people like Mr. Roper (Durbin). Democrats talk like this because there are never real consequences for them to face from their lame Republican counterparts and the lamestream/socialist/liberal/Dem. Media.
ROFLMAO
Senator Durtbag is a disgrace to the Senate.
From: Shaking Down Wachovia
Two weeks ago Wachovia announced that First Union Corp., with which it merged in 2001, and the South Carolina National Corp., which joined it in 1991, had absorbed predecessor companies that dealt in slaves, which it learned from a study by the History Factory, a corporate-research company. A Chicago ordinance requires companies contracting with the city to disclose ties to slavery, and since Wachovia is a partner with a Chicago community-development corporation to build low-income housing, it must comply with city law.
I'd sure like to know if "anti-military/pro-terrorist" Durbin had anything to do with the "Shakedown Act"...
LOL - and so true
Have you heard about the proposed bumper sticker for when Little Dick runs for his next term? ----- "Dick Durbin before he dicks you!"
LOL.
****
Never give the liberals ANYTHING. They will never go away!
That about sums him up. He wore the Corps uniform at one time, but he's completely given himself over to the Dark Side now, and has ambitions of being the King 'Rat in the Senate.
Just for the edification of the Senator and his staff: non-combatants are not afforded the rights prisoners of war are given under the Geneva Conventions. These combatants gave up that protection when they violated the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC) by:
- not fighting under a recognized uniform. This is very important--in wartime, fighting while in uniform makes you guilty of espionage, and there is no protection from that by even nations.
- not fighting under a recognized flag.
- using mosques, schools, and hospitals as bases with which to carry out offensive and defensive military attacks.
Sorry boys, but thems the rules. We treat the Gitmo prisoners humanely because that is who we are, but they are not covered under the Geneva Convention as POWs.
Sorry if this breaks the language rules here, but, no pun intended--What a complete dic!
learn to type muttonhead. yr post reads "This is very important--in wartime, fighting while in uniform makes you guilty of espionage, and there is no protection from that by even nations."
i would guess you mean the exact opposite of what you wrote.
Good heavens. Have people on FR really become this rude? I forgot the word "not"--a terrible sin on my part.
I remember when people used to civil, but I guess those days are long gone. Now we have folks like you around here.
Another Freeper pointed out the ommission of the word "not" in a nice private freepmail. Maybe you could learn from that.
Per the other Freeper's request, here are the LOAC rules per the Geneva Convention.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Lawful Combatants. A lawful combatant is an individual authorized by governmental authority or the LOAC to engage in hostilities. A lawful combatant may be a member of a regular armed force or an irregular force. In either case, the lawful combatant must be commanded by a person responsible for subordinates; have fixed distinctive emblems recognizable at a distance, such as uniforms; carry arms openly; and conduct his or her combat operations according to the LOAC. The LOAC applies to lawful combatants who engage in the hostilities of armed conflict and provides combatant immunity for their lawful warlike acts during conflict, except for LOAC violations.
Noncombatants. These individuals are not authorized by overnmental authority or the LOAC to engage in hostilities. In fact, they do not engage in hostilities. This category includes civilians accompanying the Armed Forces; combatants who are out of combat, such as POWs and the wounded, and certain military personnel who are members of the Armed Forces not authorized to engage in combatant activities, such as medical personnel and chaplains. Noncombatants may not be made the object of direct attack. They may, however, suffer injury or death incident to a direct attack on a military objective without such an attack violating the LOAC, if such attack is on a lawful target by lawful means.
Unlawful Combatants. Unlawful combatants are individuals who directly participate in hostilities without being authorized by governmental authority or under international law to do so. For example, bandits who rob and plunder and civilians who attack a downed airman are unlawful combatants. Unlawful combatants who engage in hostilities violate LOAC and become lawful targets. They may be killed or wounded and, if captured, may be tried as war criminals for their LOAC violations.
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Have a nice life.
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