Newsweek deserving of apology? Pentagon Confirms Koran Incidents

Its amazing how we hold Newsweek and Dan Rather to a much higher standard than we do the Admin, the Pentagon and the CIA.

 

Its amazing how many of the same people who were going apoplectic about the Newsweek story and going on and on about how Newsweek was irresponsible and should've known that one act of bad journalism would lead to deaths and trouble for the US are now writing off desecration of the Qu'ran as no big deal on the part of the US and that its the muslims fault for over reacting.

So lets get this straight.

When Newsweek mistakenly reports in one line of a half page story that Qu'ran has been flushed down the toilet and Muslims riot its Newsweek's fault and Newsweek are evil and treasonous.

When the Pentagon reports that yes there have been incidents of Qu'ran desecration its not that big of a deal and its the Muslims and liberals fault for taking it so seriously.

If anything needed a this is it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of spin.

 

Kinda makes me wonder if there would've been an outrage if it had been "Ginger Ale Christ"?

 

What did you expect from politics?

 

hey....its not like all these guys are proven to be terrorists...some of them are innocent....it is disgusting when people like you act like you know what’s going on..rather you are stirred with emotion..... its a fact that there are innocent people in there as well.....who are being tortured as well...as human beings(for those that may be innocent) they should be allowed to practice their beliefs...your arrogance is exactly why the world hates you people(the U.S Gov.)......you need to relax and think about you being in the shoes of an innocent person in jail....and how the family of that individual is coping with such a situation....there is probably hate against the U.S for taking away a father from a family...try to build a relationship with these people....anyway I think this is beyond your understanding so oh well....silly post by you though.

 

We might as well just give it up to the terrorists right now. With the liberal mindset that we see represented here, maybe the terrorists have already won.

From : http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/004633.php

 

Yeah, they're all just need a hug!

 

This is the problem with asymetric warfare and why the US is vulnerable to it. Our enemies cannot beat us militarily so they seek to beat us psychologically. We're already handicapped from the start because we're goliath and they're David when it comes to size and strength. So while the little guy might act cruel and petty when the big guy acts cruel its that much magnified because the big guy has so many obvious advantages.

Think about it this way if Earl Boykins hit Shaq with an elbow he's not going to get criticised as much as if Shaq hits Boykins with an elbow.

We're Shaq. Further we're not only the biggest in the Muslim mind to even moderate Muslims we're Shaq with Ron Artest's attitude. We're loud, vulgar, arrogant and overbearing. Whether that's fair that's the image we're saddled with.

So when terrorists act like murderous deviants its almost expected since they're the little guy and aren't expected to be bound by civilized rules. OTOH though when we act that way we're the ogre beating up on the small guy.

As GW Bush has said this is a battle of hearts and mind because we will never be able to kill, occupy or jail all of our enemies. Unfortunately being Goliath we're at a natural disadvantage and if we're going to win hearts and minds we have to behave with far greater restraint than our enemies because perception of us will never be equal.

Another thing is that torture hasn't been shown to be a very successful method of getting information. More often the one being interrogated will fess up to anything just to get the torture to stop or will shade their answers to get the torture to stop. That might generate good propaganda but is terrible for factual intelligence. During WWII the best German interrogator figured out that if you treat prisoners kindly and with respect (and get them drunk) they provide better intel. What happens is that the person being interrogated is prepared for harsh treatment because that's what they've been told and is unprepared for kindness. Also humans being social creatures are psychologically wired to want to help out those who are kind to them.

So as a practical matter while torturing terrorists might be good for vindication it might not be the best way to have them tell us where Osama bin Ladin is. On top of that if we torture them psychologically by desecrating the Qu'ran how does that help us if it creates more enemies in the process.

 

I agree with all of that. But if we are expecting perfection and angelic behavior from every soldier, we might as well French out of any efforts to fight terrorists. And when supposedly reputable people are comparing Gitmo to Soviet Gulags in which millions died, perhaps the west has already lost.

 

what part of that holy books teaches these fools that all non-believers are second class humans or that they should be killed?

thats the part i'd wipe my ass with.

 

The reporting on this by the MSM and the apparent glee that it engenders from liberals is enough to make me go out and buy a Kuran just so I can "desecrate" the damn thing myself.

 

Poor Gweenerdog. How do you go through life dealing with the horrors of liberals cramping your style all the time? It must be hard being a live music fan to be confronted with the evil spectre of countercultural intimidation.

Maybe you should investigate seppuku.

 

Very nice.

 

If it makes you feel better, by all means!

 

No, it wouldn't make me feel better, nor do I have any intention of doing it. I was just blowing off steam.

 

Did anyone verify that the idiot guards that messed with the Koran were indeed Christians? What if they were atheists? At least if they were Wicca we could throw them into a lake and see if they sink (unlike very small rocks)

Why does it have to be "Christian America" versus the "Muslim Middle East"? Pretty narrow-minded, if you ask me. My sister is Buddhist. My two aunts and stepmother are all Jewish. My dad could give a rats ass about religion. My grandfather left the Catholic church in 1945 because he needed a divorce. And I am pretty sure that no one in my family wants to convert any Muslims to Christianity. Not to mention my Iranian buddy from Vanderbilt who has yet to strap any bombs to himself and try to kill me or "freedom." Effin stereotypes suck.

 

Questions for thought.

#1. For the right -

A. At what point does the concept of free press and the idea that knowledge for the electorate is fundamental for the electorate to make an informed choice become so important that it overrides the argument that knowledge may cause more anger among the enemy.

Some of the arguments here in this regard are remarkably evocative of the external arguments used by the Third Reich and Stalinist Russia in their philosophical justification for press control.

#2. For the left -

At what point does somebody else’s intolerance become such an issue that it affects your ability to be tolerant yourself? In other worlds, where is the place at which you would stop bending to accommodate another's sensibilities?

#3. For both sides -

It seems to some degree that the argument fundamentally deals with the standards we hold for ourselves and the reaction to our own transgressions vs. the standards we hold for others and reaction to transgressions that they may make. I have a feeling that if one charted the outrage at this issue vs. outrage at the defacement of christianity or the flag issue above, it would resolve itself into a fairly linear inversely dependent relationship. Anybody disagree?

 

It isn't just a few countries. It happens to be the countries with the largest muslim populations in the world. It must suck when facts get in the way of your ignorant generalizations.

As far as what the 'savages' deserve let's remember that nearly one half of those detained here have been done so despite the fact that they are later deemed to not be a threat.

The rest about attacking the troops is hilarious. This report comes from the Pentagon. Are they the new liberal bastion of all things anti-U.S. military?

 

Hakeem the Dream isn't pleased with the treatment of Muslims...

 

You're misinterpreting my statement. In general, I think the US is doing a terrific job. It's these few asshats that are screwing everything up. A few bad apples, unfortunately, is all it takes. When it comes down to it, we need more accountability against the people who are disrespecting Islam.

To call this a "liberal vs. conservative" issue is ignoring the fact of the matter. We screwed up. Take ownership, take accountability, and acknowledge the problem. Don't blame the ******* liberals.