Rumsfeld Should Stay

Expect plenty of disagreement. Just keep it civil.
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lukpac
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Postby lukpac » Tue May 18, 2004 11:45 am

Screw the Geneva Convention, you damn anti-American thugs:

What Ever Happened to the War on Terror?

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

By Bill O'Reilly

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight.

As you can see, I'm back [from vacation]. And that was in doubt for a few hours because I rode a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Go ahead, supply the punch line. -- I expect it. Anyway, I'll tell you about the trip a bit later on.

But first, the "Talking Points Memo." What ever happened to the war on terror? There is no question some politicians and media people are using the Iraqi prisoner abuse situation for political gain. The more you dwell on the story, the worse the Bush administration looks. Is that fair? In one sense, the story has to be followed closely because American soldiers can't be allowed. It could be human rights violations. People who say this was a simple hazing incident are dopey.

This is a very serious situation. But it is being dealt with and the reporting should reflect the ongoing process, rather than assigning a bad country tag to America.

The U.S.A. is now fighting a war unlike any other. All of us are in danger. Politicians who believe that terrorists are entitled to constitutional guarantees and Geneva Convention protections are heightening that danger. Uniformed combatants get the Geneva treatment, not cowardly bomb planters who kill civilians.

And when a terrorist is caught, there's often a sense of urgency in getting information from that person. In Iraq, information can save lives. Allowing suspected terrorists to pretty much sit in prison without pressure is unbelievably foolish. American politicians who don't realize that hard measures must be used to protect American lives should be voted out of office as soon as possible.

Torture can never be condoned, but methods such as sleep deprivation, harsh dwellings, and isolation are certainly necessary in bringing down terrorists so they will talk. If you don't believe that, there's little I can say.

Theory and rhetoric are useless when somebody's trying to kill your family. Let's be honest. There are thousands of terrorists, mostly Islamic fascists, who would kill you and your children in a heartbeat. Our government is mandated to defeat these people and protect us. Thus, all the angst over the abuse scandal can certainly hurt the war on terror if policy changes are made that hinder law-abiding interrogators.

The Bush administration has been tough on terrorism, but some say that's led to abuse. And it is true that abuse has happened, but it's not policy. And thanks to the U.S. media, the abuse is under scrutiny.

But "Talking Points" would rather have pressure put upon terrorists than all this theoretical nonsense that every person should be treated with deference. That theory can get you killed. And after 9/11, every American should realize that.

And that's "The Memo."
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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Tue May 18, 2004 1:08 pm

And here's some more of those hardened baby-killing terrorists we were justifiably "pressuring" for information:

Reuters Staff Abused by U.S. Troops in Iraq
Tue May 18, 2004 11:50 AM ET

By Andrew Marshall

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January in a military camp near Falluja, the three said Tuesday.

The three first told Reuters of the ordeal after their release but only decided to make it public when the U.S. military said there was no evidence they had been abused, and following the exposure of similar mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Two of the three said they had been forced to insert a finger into their anus and then lick it, and were forced to put shoes in their mouths, particularly humiliating in Arab culture.

All three said they were forced to make demeaning gestures as soldiers laughed, taunted them and took photographs. They said they did not want to give details publicly earlier because of the degrading nature of the abuse.

The soldiers told them they would be taken to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, deprived them of sleep, placed bags over their heads, kicked and hit them and forced them to remain in stress positions for long periods.

The U.S. military, in a report issued before the Abu Ghraib abuse became public, said there was no evidence the Reuters staff had been tortured or abused.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq, said in a letter received by Reuters Monday but dated March 5 that he was confident the investigation had been "thorough and objective" and its findings were sound.

The Pentagon has yet to respond to a request by Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger to review the military's findings about the incident in light of the scandal over the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

Asked for comment Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said only: "There are a number of lines of inquiry under way with respect to prison operations in Iraq. If during the course of any inquiry, the commander believes it is appropriate to review a specific aspect of detention, he has the authority to do so."

The abuse happened at Forward Operating Base Volturno, near Falluja, the Reuters staff said. They were detained on January 2 while covering the aftermath of the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter near Falluja and held for three days, first at Volturno and then at Forward Operating Base St Mere.

The three -- Baghdad-based cameraman Salem Ureibi, Falluja-based freelance television journalist Ahmad Mohammad Hussein al-Badrani and driver Sattar Jabar al-Badrani -- were released without charge on January 5.

"INADEQUATE" INVESTIGATION

"When I saw the Abu Ghraib photographs, I wept," Ureibi said Tuesday. "I saw they had suffered like we had."

Ureibi, who understands English better than the other two detainees, said soldiers told him they wanted to have sex with him, and he was afraid he would be raped.

Schlesinger sent a letter to Sanchez on January 9 demanding an investigation into the treatment of the three Iraqis.

The U.S. army said it was investigating and requested further information. Reuters provided transcripts of initial interviews with the three following their release, and offered to make them available for interview by investigators.

A summary of the investigation by the 82nd Airborne Division, dated January 28 and provided to Reuters, said "no specific incidents of abuse were found." It said soldiers responsible for the detainees were interviewed under oath and "none admit or report knowledge of physical abuse or torture."

"The detainees were purposefully and carefully put under stress, to include sleep deprivation, in order to facilitate interrogation; they were not tortured," it said. The version received Monday used the phrase "sleep management" instead.

The U.S. military never interviewed the three for its investigation.

On February 3 Schlesinger wrote to Lawrence Di Rita, special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying the investigation was "woefully inadequate" and should be reopened.

"The military's conclusion of its investigation without even interviewing the alleged victims, along with other inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the report, speaks volumes about the seriousness with which the U.S. government is taking this issue," he wrote.

ABUSE SCANDAL

The U.S. military faced international outrage this month after photographs surfaced showing U.S. soldiers humiliating and abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.

An investigation by Major General Antonio Taguba found that "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees" in Abu Ghraib.

Seven U.S. soldiers have been charged over the Abu Ghraib abuse and the first court martial is set for Wednesday.

U.S. officials say the abuse was carried out by a small number of soldiers and that all allegations of abuse are promptly and thoroughly investigated.
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