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WEAKENING AT THE KNEES OF THE U.S. MILITARY ("Outrage" Promoted by Liberals Undermines Our Troops)
Yahoo!News ^ | Sun Aug 29, 7:19 AM ET | Reuters Newswire

Posted on 08/29/2004 10:06:47 AM PDT by SanFranRepublican

He said a notorious incident in which he was involved where naked Iraqi prisoners were photographed piled up into a pyramid occurred after a female U.S. soldier was struck in the face with a stone by a prisoner.

"First we searched them, got them stripped naked and then pushed them into this pyramid -- and then everything got out of control," he said. "One of the methods was to humiliate them so that they would break down and talk." ... "I want to apologize to the victims and their families. And in the trial, I will accept responsibility for my actions. But I hope others will follow my example," he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Germany; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abughraib
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Maybe I'm cruel and heartless, but I've never agreed with all the fuss being made over the so-called Abu Ghraib "prison scandal" and the rest. It's a time of war, and we're dealing with potential terrorists. That's right, TERRORISTS. Military tactics should be commensurate.

Not only does the safety for our men and women serving in Iraq depend on gathering any relevant and timely intelligence from Saddam's former footsoldiers, but homeland security on U.S. shores stands to benefit from it. Perhaps avoiding another catastrophe.

Stripping a dozen or so men naked and forcing them to pile up into a pyramid, and having some dogs bark at them, because they refuse to comply with interrogations, assaulted a soldier, and because it's "humilating" doesn't deserve an apology. Boo hoo.

Saddam stacking a bunch of fresh corposes in the same fashion is a different story. As would be electrical shock. Or mutilation. Or beheading. Or death by hanging. Or chemical testing. Or suffering a slow painful death. Saddam's legacy.

How quickly the world forgets.

1 posted on 08/29/2004 10:06:48 AM PDT by SanFranRepublican
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To: SanFranRepublican

I think all the dems like kerry, kennedy. shrillary, pelosi, meeks, fenstien, dashole, gephardt, waxman, durbin, (F)at moore, cleland, waters, lautenburg, lantos, murray, murphy, nelson, hastings, and the rest of the commies should be placed in an AQ prison and see what type scandal evolves. I would imagine all our prayers would be answered. It took a brain dead village to raise a democrat. I would be willing to bet, some dem operatives planned the Abu Ghraib incident. Those prisoners were not tortured, hazed yes, but so what it's wartime.


2 posted on 08/29/2004 11:01:17 AM PDT by No Surrender No Retreat (These Colors Never Run( 7.62) "See Ya"ll At The VA Clinic" "Xin Loi My Boy")
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To: No Surrender No Retreat

[Sarcasm torpedoes ARMED. FIRE!]

Yes.

Just watch Jerry Springer, Oprah, old Geraldo tabloid
TV (or even the anti-RNC rallies in New York right now).

There are lots of folks protesting for their RIGHT
to do this kind of thing to themselves, voluntarily </g>


3 posted on 08/29/2004 11:25:09 AM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: SanFranRepublican

Oh, horse hockey! There is a rather infamous naked female pyramid out in cyberspace and that "lady" soldier was aiming for fame and fortune by creating a male equivalent. Her fellow male soldiers were more than willing to go along. This was the M-TV / WWW generation run amuck.


4 posted on 08/29/2004 11:34:26 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (Kerry was in the Senate???)
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To: SanFranRepublican

And .. forcing prisoners to strip is a "standard" intimidation technique used in most prisons or lock-ups. But .. it's just that INTIMIDATION, it's not torture. I spent hours and hours sending that information to the media.

I then reminded the media there was plenty of proof of REAL torture in the VIDEOS SADDAM PRODUCED. I explained to them what I HAD SEEN .. a man's hand being cut off .. blood spurting .. the man screaming in horror when he looked down and realized his hand was gone .. I saw another man strapped to a couple of 2x4's while a huge sledge hammer broke his arm in several places causing the man to crumble and writhe in pain .. I saw another man tied to a pole and beaten to the point that you could see the blood running under his skin .. THAT'S TORTURE .. not being stripped naked and having ladies panties put on your head. Has anybody noticed that the media stopped using the word "torture" and switched to "abuse".

Now .. did some of the soldiers get a little carried away .. yes. Was that Rumsfeld's or Bush's explicit order .. NOOOOOO!! And now the committee looking into the prison stuff says it was commanders in the field [and my vote goes to the FEMALE Army Reserve Commander who knew what was going on and looked the other way] - not upper level at the Pentagon and the WH.

Rush has said recently that the democrats are planning to use this supposed "scandal" in order to try to impeach Bush - WHEN HE WINS THE ELECTION .. and no matter how big he wins. I don't know about you .. but I don't think the nation will stand still for it .. I think a lot of us (I know I'm one) are ABOUT DONE WITH THE STINKING DEMOCRATS.

Recently, I've been thinking about the Nixon impeachment charges and I have wondered what the dates are of the break-in (which Nixon covered up), and if the democrats knew that information and waited ON PURPOSE until Nixon was re-elected before they brought the charges ..?? If that timeline is correct, then Rush may be right about the plot to try to impeach Bush. The only monkey-wrench in the dems plan was the fact the prison info WAS LEAKED AHEAD OF TIME. I believe the prison stuff was the "October surprise" Hillary was crowing about earlier in the year.

At a Pentagon briefing in January (which I distinctly remember seeing), it was stated that charges had been brought concerning mistreatment of prisoners, and it was in full investigation.

I guess we'll see, won't we ..??


5 posted on 08/29/2004 11:50:42 AM PDT by CyberAnt (Nov 2004 - an Election for the Soul of America)
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To: CyberAnt

Great rant.


6 posted on 08/29/2004 2:02:10 PM PDT by Gunrunner2
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To: CyberAnt

I would like to put these sadam torture videos
on national television, show these damorats why
we freed iraq.
let them see the truth, which they can't handle.


7 posted on 08/29/2004 3:44:16 PM PDT by 1FASTGLOCK45
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To: SanFranRepublican
He said a notorious incident in which he was involved where naked Iraqi prisoners were photographed piled up into a pyramid occurred after a female U.S. soldier was struck in the face with a stone by a prisoner.
I don't think you're cruel and heartless. But then, I think the Iraqi armed forces got off light. We should have turned all of them over to the Shiite-heads, and let Iraq degenerate into civil war. Help Kurdistan achieve independence, create an enclave for ethnic Assyrians (mostly Christian I think), then broker a peace deal in which Iraq is partitioned by faith and ethnic group.

8 posted on 08/29/2004 5:48:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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To: 1FASTGLOCK45

Check with Hannity, Hugh Hewitt websites .. I think they used to have them. I do know Hannity had a video on his website for a long time. If it's not still there, send them an email.

Also check with FReepers "backhoe" and "doug from upland.

I'm sure there are copies around.


9 posted on 08/29/2004 8:30:17 PM PDT by CyberAnt (Nov 2004 - an Election for the Soul of America)
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To: SanFranRepublican
Sorry, I thought that here in America we judged people by a higher moral standard than the legacy of Saddam F'n Hussein. That the men and women who wear the uniform of our military held themselves to a code of honor that would never allow torture or humiliation of prisoners.

My mistake, the terrorists are bad so, ergo, we get to cast aside anything that makes us better at a whim.

I understand you...Comrade.

10 posted on 08/29/2004 8:35:02 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber
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To: SunkenCiv
I don't think you're cruel and heartless. But then, I think the Iraqi armed forces got off light. We should have turned all of them over to the Shiite-heads, and let Iraq degenerate into civil war. Help Kurdistan achieve independence, create an enclave for ethnic Assyrians (mostly Christian I think), then broker a peace deal in which Iraq is partitioned by faith and ethnic group.

And end up going in a year after we leave when Iran invades the south, Turkey invades the north, and everyone starts shooting their neighbors.

11 posted on 08/29/2004 8:37:46 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber
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To: Zeroisanumber
Sorry, I thought that here in America we judged people by a higher moral standard than the legacy of Saddam F'n Hussein.

That is exactly the case. I think the point you're missing is that some sense of proportion needs to be maintained. The abuses at Abu Ghraib simply aren't that big a deal. Local troops misbehaved, investigations were launched, and the military justice process was working. The ensuing media spectacle has harshly skewed the perception of the war, due to the unusually sexual undertones of the abuse photos.

Is it weird? Shocking? Deplorable? Sure. But lets have some sense of balance on how limited and how minor these abuses really are. Some people honestly believe we are as bad as Saddam because of this obscenely biased reporting.

12 posted on 08/29/2004 8:43:04 PM PDT by Steel Wolf (Don't make me roll initiative...!)
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To: SanFranRepublican
Wthout revealing my source I can state that the green glow sticks were used in interrogation in a non-sexual manner.

The locals thought the glow sticks were radioactive because they looked exactly like the nuclear material Homer Simpson discards in the Simpsons intro. The MPs placed the sticks near the genitals and anus and then told the prisoners that they were going to get cancer and their testicles would require amputation unless the iodine antidote was administered. Faced with becoming mustache-less eunochs they talked and saved more than a few US lives.

13 posted on 08/29/2004 8:48:20 PM PDT by Natural Law
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To: Zeroisanumber
everyone starts shooting their neighbors
Huh. Sounds perfect to me. :') In order to intervene, we'd tell the UN Security Council that we'd require a unanimous vote on our draft resolution, which would include a new border definition for Israel that would include the Golan Heights and the so-called West Bank.

14 posted on 08/29/2004 8:50:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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To: Steel Wolf
Is it weird? Shocking? Deplorable? Sure. But lets have some sense of balance on how limited and how minor these abuses really are. Some people honestly believe we are as bad as Saddam because of this obscenely biased reporting.

It's not that I think that we're worse than Saddam. Saddam was obviously worse and everyone from us, to the Arabs, to the liberals knows and understands that. It's just these goddamn apologists who try to use what Saddam did to minimize what was done at Abu Gharib: "We might have tortured prisoners, but what Saddam did was WAYYYY worse". What's worse is that these moral idiots are supposedly on my side, which makes me feel like an idiot for associating with them.

15 posted on 08/29/2004 8:53:37 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber
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To: Zeroisanumber
It's not that I think that we're worse than Saddam. Saddam was obviously worse and everyone from us, to the Arabs, to the liberals knows and understands that.

If that were true, I'd be with you. We clearly can't compromise our standards because our opponents do so.

That being said, the myopic focus on Abu Ghraib has really convinced many, be they Arab, liberal, European, or whatever, that we are as evil as Saddam. You can point to it as evidence of how insane the left is, but the point remains.

16 posted on 08/29/2004 9:05:31 PM PDT by Steel Wolf (Don't make me roll initiative...!)
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To: Gunrunner2

Thanks .. that's quite a bio you have .. who's your press agent .. your wife .. it definitely has to be somebody who likes you a lot. LOL!!

Having been a Deputy Sheriff and having been forced to use the "intimidation" tactic to gain control of 3 prisoners who were being lodged in jail .. I fully understand what that technique is and how it's used. IT'S NOT TORTURE!!


17 posted on 08/29/2004 9:39:37 PM PDT by CyberAnt (Nov 2004 - an Election for the Soul of America)
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To: Zeroisanumber
Sorry, I thought that here in America we judged people by a higher moral standard than the legacy of Saddam F'n Hussein.

WTF?? I, and many other fraternity pledges over the years, have probably gone through hazings equivalent if not worse treatment than these ragheads got. What "higher standard"?? Elementary school children do more taunting and "abuse" than these slimes had inflicted on them.

Sorry, but I just don't buy into the leftist's idea of "abuse". These are @$$holes who would slit your throat or stick a shiv in your ribs if you even gave them 1/100th of a chance - let alone "half a chance". Don't go whining about a "higher standard" and "My mistake, the terrorists are bad so, ergo, we get to cast aside anything that makes us better at a whim" krap. Yeah, we are better... we just strip 'em naked and put pink panties on their heads to humiliate them so they open up with some information. We don't beat 'em with sledge hammers and cut off hands and arms to "intimidate" them like yer buddy Saddam.

I'd like to give you about 5 minutes at those prisoner's mercy and then see how well you hold up to a "higher standard"... Comrade!

18 posted on 08/30/2004 8:14:20 PM PDT by hadit2here ("Most men would rather die than think. Many do." - Bertrand Russell)
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To: hadit2here
WTF?? I, and many other fraternity pledges over the years, have probably gone through hazings equivalent if not worse treatment than these ragheads got.

Yes, and I'm sure that a foreign military picked you up out of your home and imprisoned you for a month before you were hazed by a bunch of slack-jawed idiots, right?

What "higher standard"?? Elementary school children do more taunting and "abuse" than these slimes had inflicted on them.

Yeah, I totally remember being stripped naked and being forced into a manpile when I was in 5th grade. Whatever.

Sorry, but I just don't buy into the leftist's idea of "abuse". These are @$$holes who would slit your throat or stick a shiv in your ribs if you even gave them 1/100th of a chance - let alone "half a chance".

I don't care if it's Osama bin f'n Laden, the US Military does not torture prisoners. Period. End of argument. Anything less is just BS "They're bad so I can be bad too" rationalizing.

Yeah, we are better... we just strip 'em naked and put pink panties on their heads to humiliate them so they open up with some information.

It doesn't matter if all we subject them to is the Chinese Tickle Torture, physically humiliating them, sicing dogs on them, and who knows what else is illegal and immoral. In defending it you strike at the heart of what it means to be an American and a soldier in the US Military. We judge ourselves by a higher standard around here and patting ourselves on the back for not being as bad as Saddam is BS, through and through.

19 posted on 08/30/2004 8:43:21 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber
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To: CyberAnt
Ha. . .the wife unit does support me in a lot of ways, but, no, the bio page is all mine--adapted from a short intro I use when lecturing.

Agree, many do not understand the difference between torture and intimidation, and by equating the two you lessen real torture (and their victims) and elevate pranks.
20 posted on 08/31/2004 11:34:39 AM PDT by Gunrunner2
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