Pentagon blocks release of more Abu Ghraib material

First instinct? That is a prime example of not giving the troops the benefit of the doubt. You automatically conclude that the troops' first reaction to any inmate misbehavior is to strip them and make them masturbate. That is just wrong. Don't you think the troops put up with a lot before they would take such drastic action? You make me sick. You WANT stuff like this to happen, just so you exaggerate it, complain about it and smear our troops.

 

HEY! Don't underestimate Trader_Jorge! That may very well be his initial reaction!

 

Oh yes, I'm sure you're shocked and offended. Serves me right for humoring you, I suppose.

 

But enough about the jester, what about the History Channel's explanation? Seemed logical to me, what do others think?

 

Creative ways to govern and punish unruling prisoners are understandable. But sodomizing boys and raping women? That should be beyond the wildest imagination of everyone on this board, save perhaps, T_J.

 

While some rogue soldiers committed these crimes, most other troops still have the moral values; at least US army did not try to cover it up.

Other countries' military forces have done worse things & keep denying it.

 

Surely you're joking....

 

I am hearing a desperate cry for help here. Are you off of your meds again?

 

i dont think he is, which is what makes it so dang funny.

 

Exactly right. It was brave of that soldier because he was in an environment where people not only did horrible things, but felt comfortable enough doing them that they would make videos of it.

Yet one soldier there was brave enough to the right thing, and blow the whistle on that kind of activity. This was a great set up for TJ who claims to support our troops, to sing the praises of this brave patriotic soldier.

It is one the positives that came out of this.

 

What good came from the soldier disclosing those photos? Let's see:

1) The world was outraged
2) It contributed to terrorists' recruiting efforts
3) It smeared the good name of US troops
4) It wasted military time and resources by having to investigate it

So it was a good thing that it was reported? Riiight. It did give the liberals some new avenues for crapping on our troops. It also provided the anti-war crowd a convenient excuse for protesting. Plus it gave the kook fringers some funny jokes -- funny to them atleast.

The matter was best left to be handled internally, not through the press.

 

Wrong! If the USA intends to be the moral value leader of the free world, then the USA needs to be able to stand up to the critics when it fails to practice what it preachs.

 

Pentagon Defies Order to Release Photos;
2,000 Veterans Call for Independent Investigation

Washington - Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), a nonpartisan veterans' organization with 12,000 members, called for a commission to investigate torture allegations today, in response to the Pentagon refusal to release photos and videos from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

In an open letter, signed by more than 2,000 veterans and supporters (including 5 flag-rank officers and more than 200 commissioned officers), the veterans urged Congress and the President to "commit -- immediately and publicly -- to support the creation of an independent commission to investigate and report on the detention and interrogation practices of U.S. military and intelligence agencies deployed in the war on terror."

Charles Sheehan-Miles, a 1991 Gulf War veteran and the group's executive director, said, "Once again the administration is fighting to prevent any possible public accountability for its policies, instead choosing to blame it all on the troops. To court-martial privates while high ranking officials get promoted is damaging to the very principle of command responsibility and undermines the U.S. military."

Veterans for Common Sense is co-plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of human rights and civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights. The lawsuit has generated thousands of pages of documents in the last year documenting torture, abuse and in some cases murder in U.S. detention centers.

Individuals who have seen the photos and videos, including some members of Congress and journalist Seymour Hersh, have reported they include scenes far worse than anything released from Abu Ghraib thus far, including rape and the videotaped beating of a prisoner. The courts had ordered the Pentagon to release the photos by Friday, July 22, but the Pentagon filed a last minute brief attempting to block their release.

Sheehan-Miles said, "The Pentagon is doing everything it can to prevent the release of these graphic images, because they know that if the U.S. public were to see the true scope of the abuses, the demands for an independent investigation would be too strong to be ignored."

The full text of the letter and list of signers is available at www.veteransforcommonsense.org

 

It's good to see fine, American Republicans stand up to the Bush junta.


GOP Senators Push Detainee Treatment Rules
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated


WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans pushed ahead Monday with legislation that would set rules for the treatment and interrogation of terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, despite a White House veto threat.

The Bush administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, is working to kill the amendments that GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina want to tack onto a bill setting Defense Department policy for next year.

McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, and Graham, who spent 20 years as an Air Force lawyer, introduced the legislation Monday. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., has endorsed the effort.

"What we're trying to do here is make sure there are clear and exact standards set for interrogation of prisoners," McCain said on the Senate floor. "To fight terrorism, we must obtain intelligence, but we have to ensure that it's reliable and acquired in a way that's humane."

Senate aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to let their names be used, said the measures were not toned down even though White House lobbying against them intensified late last week.

Cheney met with the three Republican lawmakers just off the Senate floor for about 30 minutes Thursday evening. That followed an administration statement that President Bush's advisers would recommend a veto of the overall bill if amendments were added that restricted the president's ability to conduct the war on terrorism and protect Americans.

Senate aides estimate that nearly a dozen Republicans could be on board — which would be more than enough for the amendments to pass. Democrats, who long have criticized the administration on treatment of detainees, are roundly supportive.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050725/ap_on_go_co/congress_detainees

 

hey don't worry, YOUR war of aggression on Iraq already did the job

plus I would replace 3 and 4 with these

3) It just proved how sleazy this administration is
4) It uneccessarily wasted taxpayer money, military resources, and US and Iraqi lives

 

and now you're supporting alleged child rapists and murderers.... i don't care if these guys are serving my country, that doesn't excuse them from RAPING AND MURDERING DETAINEES...... INCLUDING CHILDREN.

it's official, you hate liberals more than rapists and murderers....... you're completely out of touch with reality.

 

you guys are acting like we have all of a sudden changed as a society.... so peaceful and innocent....raping of women has happened in a countless number of wars......why are we so shocked as a society when we hear this??

 

yes TJ don't you think its time to speak out against rape and murder?

why do you condone rape?