Posted on 06/17/2005 1:18:17 PM PDT by ambrose
Buyer Demands Apology From Sen. Durbin
An Indiana congressman is demanding an apology from a US senator.
The issue is what the senate's number two Democrat said on the Senate floor this week about how prisoners are treated at Guantanamo Bay. The White House is angry and Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer is among several Republicans who are demanding an apology.
Illinois senior Senator Richard Durbin quoted an FBI report on conditions at Guantanamo Bay.
"On one occasion the air conditioning had been turned down so far the temperature in the room was so cold the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold,” he read. He went on to say: “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. Sadly, that's not the case. This is the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."
The White House is reacting. "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,” said Scott McClellan, White House spokesman.
Rep. Steve Buyer, as chairman of the House veterans affairs committee, is demanding an apology. "Senator Durbin's comparison is irresponsible and dangerous. The torment of having to listen to extremely loud music or room temperature fluctuations can in no way ever be compared to the horror of humans being herded to gas chambers and others being summarily executed,” Buyer said. "While the senator might believe his rhetoric will further his party and politics, it does nothing but undermine our troops fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Sen. Durbin is refusing to apologize and issued a statement saying President Bush should apologize for "authorizing torture techniques." He also returned to the Senate floor Thursday night to reread his original statement, saying he wanted the context of his remarks to be understood.
"To suggest I was attributing all the signs and horror and barbarism of Nazi Germany, Soviet Republic or Pol Pot to Americans is totally unfair,” Durbin said. Under hostile questioning from two Republican senators, Durbin said his point was that the type of treatment reported from Guantanamo was more in keeping with repressive regimes, not a democracy like the United States.
Meanwhile, al-Jazeera has picked up the story worldwide. Congressman Buyer told News 8, "Senator Durbin needs to retract his cavalier and careless words. At this moment, his comments are being used all over the Arab world by al-Jazeera to motivate our enemies and undermine the success of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Rumsfeld Promises Durbin Better Treatment at Gitmo
by Scott Ott
(2006-06-16) -- Just a day after Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin compared U.S. personnel at the military detention facility at Guantanamo to those who worked in Nazi concentration camps, Soviet gulags and in Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld promised the Illinois Senator that he would receive better treatment during his own Gitmo captivity.
"The unspeakable cruelties that Sen. Durbin decried on the Senate floor must stop before his own detention on treason charges," said Mr. Rumsfeld. "After all, Dick Durbin is an American citizen, not an ordinary enemy combatant bent on destroying this nation and increasing the danger to our troops by inflaming the passions of the Muslim world."
A spokesman said Sen. Durbin is still a free man and a patriot, and he has drafted legislation renaming a favorite Gitmo menu item to reflect his solidarity with the oppressed Muslim inmates.
Under the measure, the dish made of ground, spiced and fried chick peas would be called: "Freedom Falafel."
I can't hardly imagine too much A/C.
I absolutely can not believe it!! I'm actually witnessing Republicans growing a SPINE against the DNC / DemonRat corruption!!!
ANTI-DNC Web Portal at ---> http://www.noDNC.com
I am embarrassed to admit that I live in Illinois.
I live in Hawaii and I don't have A/C! GO RUMMY!!!
A house divided against itself can not stand. The "house" (our nation) must come to grips with these traitorous fools if we are going to defend our homeland. Our brave men and women at risk under enemy guns are more at risk because of the idiot senator's remarks. Where are the mothers of our service men and women protesting Durbin? They found enough of them to lead by the nose around the country cursing our war effort. The left has truly become a fifth column of Quislings!
Steve Buyer for President. At last a Republican who calls em as he sees em.
Last week we had dinner at BW3's and got the same treatment with the A/C. At first I thought it was just uncomfortable, but thanks to Sen. Durbin, now I know I was being deliberately tortured in the same way as people in the Gulag!
Where's my lawyer! I'm a victim! I'm entitled to big dollars!
I agree!
First post?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1424993/posts
Durbin blames media for 'Nazi' flap
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1424850/posts
BUYER DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM ILLINOIS SENATOR
Oxen, did I see you start a thread before with the PDF file on this? Can you add the link? I find cross linking similar topics helpful for if we have to go back to find something.
As long as the buyer has a receipt and stands in the exchange line, the sought after apology should be easy to acquire.
Bump!
And welcome to FR!
Durbin is from Illinois, and that's a safe seat for any liberal.
That's why he did it instead of someone else. I'm very sure that it was planned.
I think the Democrats are in worse shape than anyone's letting on.. They had a chance to nominate someone decent for party chairman, like Martin Frost but decided to go with Dean. That tells us how clueless they really are. It's not what they say...it's what they don't say.
If Democrat powerbrokers throw Dean under a bus, the base will revolt even more and many will desert the party. For this reason alone, he may be left in place.
I'm going to start watching the 2006 Senate races more closely than I normally would have. If it looks like the Republicans are headed for sixty seats, I'm going to start buying precious metals and looking for piece of land in the boonies to build a house on. The last time the nation was this polarized was just before the Civil War...and I think we're gonna have another one.
I don't think there's any way out of it now.
They are not growing spines. Folks - this is a huge softball. Even Republicans, perhaps, may feel emboldened to speak out against a Senator's gaffe comparing our troops to nazi's. For gosh sakes.
Since Derbin is too stuborn a arrogant jackass to apologize or too d@mn stupid to understand that he owes an apology to the people who love this country and our troops,with the same ferverence with which he hates it and them-he should be removed from office through a recall election, by the embarrassed and dissappointed Illinois voters, who surely must be embarrassed for him and for ever electing him.
You know, if Congress were forced to go without A/C from May - September, they'd recess for that length of time. Not a bad idea, eh?
Don't be.
We are witnessing something that's only happened once before in the history of our country, the death and disappearance of a political party. Durban is speeding it along by having his political death throes in public.
actually the dems are not handling this Durbin thing very well. Durbin should have issued an apology right away and enough of this would have blown over so dems could focus on "the memo" and other items on their agenda. instead now they have to defend this over the weekend.
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