As the scandal over the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib continues to unfold, some of our dim bulbs are coming out to defend the torture.
First up, the embarrassment to the State of Oklahoma known as the dumbest of the dumbest delegation, James Inhofe.
“I’m probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment,” the Oklahoma Republican said at a U.S. Senate hearing probing the scandal.
“These prisoners, you know they’re not there for traffic violations,” Inhofe said. “If they’re in cellblock 1-A or 1-B, these prisoners, they’re murderers, they’re terrorists, they’re insurgents. Many of them probably have American blood on their hands and here we’re so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.”
Coalition military intelligence officers estimated that about 70 percent to 90 percent of the thousands of prisoners detained in Iraq had been “arrested by mistake,” according to a report by Red Cross given to the Bush administration last year and leaked this week.
Oops. Mistakes happen.
Ah, but we have some home grown Illinois morons too:
Make the decision to invest the troops to win a battle in Iraq and prove to the insurgents there (and elsewhere) we can win. Remember, also, the Democrats didn?t care about the prisoners until pictures came out; it is all about the politics. Realize, too, as most Americans do, that our soldiers caught these prisoners with weapons they intended to use to ambush and kill Americans.
Tell them those prisoners? objective was to terrorize and that a quivering terrorist in women?s panties is turn-about and fair play. Humiliation is temporary and different from loosing roadside bombs or commandeering airplanes.
Never forget that, Secretary Rumsfeld.
Well between 10 – 30% of them were doing bad things. Of course, if we can stop the semantic vandalism, attacking troops in a combat zone is not terrorism, but guerrilla warfare. Depending on their status they may or may not be subject to the Geneva Convention. However, treating them with dignity, even if that is better than they would treat captured Americans is what a moral people do.
Word is McCain walked out on Inhofe. I think Senator McCain might understand the issues a bit better than the blowhard from Oklahoma.
Now the particular idiot from the Leader seems to miss the issue that such conduct specifically limits our ability to win in Iraq.
“Now the particular idiot from the Leader seems to miss the issue that such conduct specifically limits our ability to win in Iraq.”
And it limits our ablity to get out without more of this:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/11/14526/6522
AP, while 70 percent of Iraqi detainees have been picked up for merely “Driving While Iraqi,” the particular Iraqis Sen. Inhofe refers to were segregated because they were caught doing mean things, such as shooting and blowing up Americans.
Sen. Inhofe is probably correct in his facts.
I also think the distinction between combatant and terrorist could be a legal one. I would also note that being a combatant and a terrorist are not mutually exclusive.
Should the MP’s be punished for their behavior? Of course. Does their behavior impede our ability to wage this war effectively? Maybe.
The people who hate us, still do. Our supporters still support us to paraphrase Faoud Ajami. Then again, some milpers in the Pentagon refer to the seven idiots who lost us the war.
In the end this is probably a wash. I know how much many on the left are hoping for the US to be swiftly defeated — alas, this incident isn’t going to do it.
You just gotta wonder what kind if sick mind it takes to say shit like this.
Ah. I see blockquotes are, for a bizarre reason I completely fail to understand, disabled here. 😛
Yeah, Democrats didn’t care about it … until they found out about it! Why do you think Bush tries so hard to control the media? You can’t care about what you don’t know about.