Posted on 05/01/2009 3:30:43 AM PDT by Scanian
IF President Obama were as crafty as, say, Osama bin Laden, you might wonder if his decision last week to release new "torture" photos this month was part of some clever psych-ops scheme.
After all, the decision came only a week after Obama & Co. let loose key memos on "brutal" US interrogation techniques. CIA operatives, the memos showed, had "tortured" prisoners and used sinister tactics designed to exploit fears.
Now the Obama folks will hand out scores of new photos from investigations at US prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So is this some new publicity campaign meant to deter al Qaeda by warning about our "scary" practices? Or to convince terrorists that Obama's no softy? America's enemies will see that they aren't the only ones who can play rough. If they mess with us, this is what'll happen.
If only.
Obama says that admitting "mistakes" makes us stronger. But the new photos will only reinforce our image as morally confused and constrained -- and thus weak. They reportedly show "abusive" conduct by US service personnel but nothing approaching the Abu Ghraib level
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
"Our new enemies require us to adopt new standards. But never for a moment should anyone think such changes compromise our moral standing.
Self-flagellation and restraint won't make us more noble. But they might just make us more . . . dead.
WEEKLY STANDARD.com: "PREENING & POSTURING Throwing those who guard us while we sleep to the wolves." by William Kristol (SNIPPET: "The dark and painful chapter we have to fear is rather the one President Obama may be ushering in. This would be a chapter in which politicians preen moralistically as they throw patriotic officials, who helped keep this country safe, to the wolves, and in which national leaders posture politically while endangering the nation's security. The preening is ridiculous, even by the standards of contemporary American politics and American liberalism. Obama fatuously asserts there are no real choices in the real world, just "false choices" that he can magically resolve. He foolishly suggests that even in war we would never have to do anything disagreeable for the sake of our security. He talks baby talk to intelligence officers: "Don't be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we've made some mistakes. That’s how we learn."") (May 4, 2009 Issue)
WEEKLY STANDARD.com - blog: "GOSS: OBAMA DECISION "CROSSED A RED LINE"" -Posted by Stephen F. Hayes (SNIPPET: "Porter Goss, former CIA Director and past chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, blasted the Obama administration for releasing Justice Department memos on harsh interrogation techniques. "For the first time in my experience we've crossed the red line of properly protecting our national security in order to gain partisan political advantage," Goss said in an interview.") (April 23, 2009, 1:53 pm)
CNN.com: Washington - "EX-CIA CHIEF: OBAMA RISKS NATIONAL SECURITY" (SNIPPET: "A former head of the CIA slammed President Obama on Sunday for releasing four Bush-era memos, saying the new president has compromised national security.") (Updated April 19, 2009, 7:44 p.m. EDT)
Online.WSJ.com: "THE PRESIDENT TIES HIS OWN HANDS ON TERROR The point of interrogation is intelligence, not confession." by Michael Hayden and Michael B. Mukasey (April 17, 2009)
CIA.gov: "MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR: RELEASE OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OPINIONS Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on the Release of Department of Justice Opinions" (April 16, 2009)
FOX NEWS.com: "EX-CIA CHIEF CRITICIZES RELEASE OF INTERROGATION MEMOS Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says release of the memos will give terrorists a precise guide for what to expect in a CIA interrogation if those methods are ever approved for use again" (April 16, 2009)
FOX NEWS.com: "OBAMA MAY RELEASE DETAILS OF CIA's INTERROGATION METHODS USED ON TERROR SUSPECTS" by Brit Hume (SNIPPET: "The president's decision will tell us much about him.") (April 15, 2009)
This cretin fails to realize that these photos, even the most innocuous will be used for propaganda. It does not only affect CIA, it will affect every American in the Middle East. We have contractors in Iraq that are trying to rebuild, we have missionaries trying to help others, we have Americans who work overseas that have nothing to do with the war. All now have a target on their backs. Our enemies look for any excuse to murder, kidnap and torture. WTF IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN!!!! Mentally, I am having a hard time coping with this idiot. Every day with out fail he twists the knife deeper.
Our enemies perceive our hand wringing as weakness pure and simple. It is one thing to feign weakness in order to gain an advantage over one’s enemy, and quite another to show it when it is so. Releasing these memos and photographs to the public is one of the most dangerous, incompetent, and strategically vacuous decisions made recently, paralleling the decision to terrorize New Yorkers by doing a fly-by with Air Force 1. America has just spent its last paycheck on an Obama Lottery Ticket. It wasn’t a winner. America can not even begin to guess the cost of their misinformed choice.
God help us all.
Excellent points you make. And don’t forget American tourists who have even more of a target on their backs than ever.
Considering going to Italy this year, maybe I’ll just wear panties on my head as a sort of mea culpa. That should deter the fiends.
There’s not supposed to be ice in those drinks, didn’t you read the “enhanced” techniques manual?
LLS
Obama’s actions have nothing to do with morality. The man is evil to the core and vengeful. When it is all said and done his Presidency besides, the chaos of this country have to endure, will come down to him being obsessed with those before him, especially GWB. He really is suffering from a psychosis and we will all pay the price. Emperor indeed.
He is a sick, sick person. Read about his childhood and many things will come right into focus for you. Daddy issues. Abandonment issues. Being in a pariah (commie) family. The result is a very disturbed human being who is consumed with resentment and hate for his country and pushes nihilistic policies destroy it.
I don’t think he fails to realize that the photos will be used for propaganda, if there is one thing that Obama understands it is propaganda. He is doing this to what leftists always do and that is to deminish America any way they can.
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