Limbaugh on Iraq Prisoner Abuse

Rush Limbaugh ^ | May 5, 2004 | Rush Limbaugh

[some guy in the mountains]

...
CALLER: Rush if you were in the military and you were ordered to interrogate someone even though it was an in-depth interrogation, you would do your job in a business-like manner. And I think most people would, do a difficult job that they didn't want to do in a business-like manner. These people had a job to do, but they were taking pleasure in it. There's something psychologically wrong with that. It's not the act so much. It was like a college fraternity prank that stack up naked men --

RUSH: Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the skull and bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off? These people are the enemy. Our people are being fired at, shot at, these are young people that have volunteered to go over there and they're having bullets fired in their way, bombs and mortar fire aimed at 'em by the people that they are guarding and charged to get information from. Everybody has a breaking point. Now, I'm not suggesting that it's common, normal in disciplined military structures for people to lose control. I'm suggesting that it might be understandable.

You know, if somebody in this country breaks, has some sort of a problem, oh, we have all kinds of compassion for them, we understand the hard rigors and the pressures of life in America, and we make all kinds of allowances for the mistakes that people make. But here we go on the military, nobody is allowed a mistake in the military, nobody is. It's got to be by the book at all times, and if it's not, why, there's a systemic problem. Look, I'm not really playing devil's advocate here. I'm being quite honest with you about this. I'm just totally uncomfortable with the total blow-up of this to something that it is not. It's bad enough as it is, without having to blow it up into something that's going to tie our hands and hamper us in the effort that we're engaging in over there. They had a good time doing it. Okay, then let's, what do we do, what's the additional punishment for having a good time doing this? Life imprisonment, is that good enough for having a good time? Let's get really tough with these people. It's bad enough what they did, but they enjoyed it, let's give them five more years or whatever we're going to do to them, or maybe deny them -- whatever we do, that will make us feel better, right?

It's all about us. It's all about us feeling better about what we're seeing. We're not even there. We don't even know what it's like. 99% of us have no idea what their lives are like. We feel bad because they're enjoying what we see in a picture and we want to really let them have it. This sucks, folks. This really, really is getting out of hand. It's not about us. And this whole self-absorption with us, why, that makes me look bad. It doesn't make you look bad. You didn't do it. No, it makes ugly American -- you're not an ugly American, we're not ugly Americans. Screw all this. Stop making everything about us. Some people did something that was wrong. Fini. It's over. Fix it. Move on.

[some guy in the mountains]

No comment.

[some guy in the mountains]

The link I posted had a space in it. This is correct:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_050404/content/rush_is_right_2.guest.html

[Physicist]

Well, that tears it. Rush Limbaugh is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief. No way am I voting for him, now. The Limbaugh-for-President buttons go straight into the trash.

[Bommer]

They should be lucky I'm not guarding them. I would have dressed them all in Baby Seal costumes and.....BATTER UP!

[Rodney King]

What day was this? The initial pictures were just of fraternity style stuff. The burtality and torture did not come out at first.

[The G Man]

The link says 5/4/04

[RightWingAtheist]

Unfortunately, Canada didn't send any troops :-(
Not that we would have treated them like baby seals. We would have just given them Molson's enemas. :-)

[skinkinthegrass]

We would have just given them Molson's enemas...don't go there. :))

[dfwgator]

Nah, the Canadians would have tortured them by playing Anne Murray records.

[cvq3842]

I posted on this a little yesterday. Please, read everything before you flame me, folks!

What the soldiers did was wrong. I can understand the pressures they are under - no, actually, I can't POSSIBLY understand the pressures of people living in the desert and getting shot at and seeing their friends blown up, come to think about it - but we ask them to be "superhuman," if only to lessen the possibility that our guys will be mistreated if they are captured. (Although I'm sure our enemies don't need and excuse.) I think these people should face, and ARE facing, some kind of punishment. I personally think it is their fellow veterans to whom their apologies should be made.

And maybe ONE apology by the US is necessary, just to continue that dance of diplomacy - the US pretending not to notice that it is a beacon of civilization among savages - just to get whatever cooperation we can out of the semi-allies we have.

Apologize, reprimand, and move on.

Having said all that, I CANNOT BELIEVE OR FATHOM THE HORRENDOUS OVER-REACTION OF THE DEMOCRATS AND THE MEDIA TO THIS!!!!! Really, whose side are they on? I am so sick of the Democrats and Bush-bashers and America-haters seizing on this so GLEEFULLY, and for what? No, it goes deeper than defeating Bush in the fall. It has to. There are some people, in the US as well as abroad, who just hate this country as it now is, for its capitalism, for its military power, for its religious traditions, etc., and they will take ANY opportunity to tear it down. Healthy and constructive dissent is one thing, witchhunts are another! Who the H*LL does Katie Couric think she is? Does she have ANY conception of what we're fighting? How long do you think her brand of "journalism," or whatever it is, would last in the kind of Iraq which would result if we are not successful, even if she weren't a woman? These people have no clue.

Even putting the worst possible face on what happened, it is 1,000 times less shocking, insulting, and DAMAGING to this country than the reaction to it.

I think that's the best way I can say it. My intellect is failing because my emotions are taking over. If I keep writing I will violate the terms of service about profanity.

My only wish is that somehow these socialists and "internationalists" could get the world they want to live in, for a few years. That would be a fitting punishment for them. But that wouldn't work, because we'd all be stuck with it too.

:)

[Old Sarge]

Not that we would have treated them like baby seals. We would have just given them Molson's enemas.

Aw, c'mon, now!

We've got kids overseas, in a dry county, and you want to go wasting beer that could be sent to the troops?!?

[biblewonk]

It's obviously political.

[AfghanIraqVeteran]

It seems to me that about 80 percent of the people I talk to dont realize that according to LOAC, if you are ordered to do such a thing you are to refuse. There is an extent to what a superior officer can "order" you to do. They cannot order you to do something criminal. There was an incident in Vietnam that initiated this rule. Crimes that were committed were blamed on the fact that they received orders to commit those crimes. No more. Today you are held personally responsible, along with the person who gave the order. This is briefed to us from basic training, and anually at every LOAC briefing.

[BadAndy]

As far as I'm concerned this is an interrogation camp, not just a prison. Calling it a prison makes it sound like it's full of car thieves and burglars. This site is used to extract information and very often that can be unpleasant. It is a necessary evil to try to save the lives of our troops. Humiliation is not torture, it is a way to break down someones resistance so they will talk. How else can this be done? We can't cause pain, or starve them. Sleep deprivation and humiliation are among the few alternatives we have.

BTW, what is the purpose of putting hoods on the prisoners? So they can't see each other be humiliated? Or to prevent them from forming relationships and communicating?

[some guy in the mountains]

Who cares about the Dems. Even if they are over-reacting, isn't there something to react to? I don't listen to the liberal responses to this, and just because liberals make their stupid comments about it doesn't mean there isn't a problem.

Now, those of you who know how army interogators are trained, know that the excuse that these troops didn't know the Geneva Convention rules is hogwash. You learn them as a lowly infantry private. Especially in MI is it drilled into your head. But even if they didn't know, don't they know proper prisoner treatment? Must they by "trained" in proper prisoner treatment? They don't know it all by themselves?

[RightWingAtheist]

Believe me-Molson's is only good for cleaning out bowels!

[RightWingAtheist]

That's a little too extreme...how about some Loverboy instead?

[Old Sarge]

Well, at least take it ORALLY, first!

[Bubbette]

Just yesterday, Rush said the next thing we will be doing after the President apologizes is we will officer these prisoners and families restitution. Hard to believe, that's what Rummy just said.

[lelio]

I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off?

Rush is off his rocker. This is like his comments the other day about "needing a war every 20 years to remind us what freedom is" -- what so Rush can dodge the draft again?