If you want to read that article you can. Here it is:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,156612,00.html
Yeah yeah yeah it's foxnews, but it's not the story itself that I was getting all up in arms about. If you read the article, it's about the Newsweek article that apparently reported that Americans at Gitmo were flushing the Quran down toilets in order to 'torture' prisoners at the camp.
In essence, Newsweek was reporting on Americans torturing the inmates of Gitmo by flushing their holy book down the toilet. First of all, a big red flag goes up because oh lo and behold there are no credible sources to confirm that this has actually transpired. Newsweek reporters hear rumors that this is going on, ask a few people in the Pentagon, none of whom give credible testimony that it has actually happened. Armed with loads of misleading and potentially erroneous info, the writeres Isikoff and Barry do what any seasoned journalist would do-slap it down in a nationally distributed magazine as gospel truth. That's responsible.
That's the first red flag. The shockwave effect that this has in the international Muslim community is devastating. Riots erupt in Pakistan and Afghanistan, people get ultra pissed at American ignorant pigs, and a few of the rioters even get trampled to death in the melee. Way to go Isikoff.
That's all bad news. Newsweek was irresponsible, some people overreacted and were killed, and now a formal investigation/apology has to be issued. What absolutely floors me though is that this whole sordid ordeal is sparked by what? Some American flushing a Muslim religious book down the toilet?? Give me a break people.
I can't believe that we live in a world where people think that they are owed an apology for everything!! From the article:
"After Newsweek published the story, demonstrations spread across Afghanistan and Muslims around the world decried the alleged desecration.
In Afghanistan, Islamic scholars and tribal elders called for the punishment of anyone found to have abused the Quran, said Maulawi Abdul Wali Arshad, head of the religious affairs department in Badakhshan province.
Arshad and the provincial police chief said the scholars met in Faizabad, 310 miles northeast of the capital, Kabul, and demanded a "reaction" from U.S. authorities within three days."
(On a sidenote, Muslim extremists can legitimately make these demands. Why? Because if you don't comply they will likely send someone over to kill some Americans somewhere. And it's funny how it works like that)
Give me a break people!! Let's survey the scene here:
1) America has captured people in Gitmo beacuse of suspected terrorist allegations. Terrorist, i.e. hate America and all it stands for, and subswequently have acted out of such hatred to cause harm to our countrymen/women. That's right, our citizens.
2) These suspected terrorists are virtually prisoners of war
3) There is no international law protecting said inmates religious objects. If we were talking about food, clothing, and shelter, yes they need those. I don't think such rights of protection apply to collections of paper.
The Quran is a Muslim holy book. Big freaking deal. I love how people in the international community will jump on anything to demand an apology. Forget the fact that 15 people were killed in riots by a false story that Newsweek published. The international community is more upset that someone flushed a book down the toilet. What is even better is that Christians are snuffed out all over the globe and no one hears a peep about it. And if a Christian leader were to demand reparations for the deaths of their brother and sister Christians, they would be spurned by said governments who oversee the killings. How do we know? Because it happens every day. Look at the Sudan. Look at the Congo. Look in South America. All over the world we have Chrisitans dying for their faith, and they count it as the cost for serving Christ. The islamo-facists get their Quran flushed and want the US to fall at their feet. While people of other religions die wholesale and narry a word is piped about it, the people perpetrating international terror, murder, graft, genocide, and hatred want an apology from us because someone got their Quran wet.
Why is it chic to question Christianity and the validity of the Bible, to suspend Crucifixes in urine, suppress the teaching of abstinence in schools, to protest the National Day of Prayer and Pro-Life rallies, oppose the appointment of Christmas and Easter as national holidays? And why would it be chic for the international Muslim community to demand, and probably get, a worldwide apology for the dampening of the Quran? This is ridiculous.
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3 comments:
Couldn't agree more with ya' Smith. It happens all the time. The whole world is getting flat out soft. Anyone who so much as thinks a thought that anyone might find offensive has to apologize. It's incredible, yet when those offended are asked to apologize for things they may have done, i.e. Muslims for having their terrorists kill people, they get up in arms. They say not all Muslims are violent. Well in this case not all Americans would flush a book down a toilet. (Not to mention that they actually didn't do this) but it's a small part of our country not the whole.
Finally a point to chew on. How many of these people are even going to see the retraction and apology. Probably not many because they'll be too busy killing people and rioting. What a huge mistake.
"I'm a former US [military officer], and had the 'pleasure' of attending SERE school--Search, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.
The course I attended . . . [had] a mock POW camp, where we had a chance to be prisoners for 2-3 days. The camp is also used as a training tool for CI [counter-intelligence], interrogators, etc for those running the camp.
One of the most memorable parts of the camp experience was when one of the camp leaders trashed a Bible on the ground, kicking it around, etc. It was a crushing blow, even though this was just a school.
I have no doubt the stories about trashing the Koran are true.
I'm sure you must also realize that Gitmo must be being used as a "laboratory" for all these psychological manipulation techniques by the CI guys. Absolutely sickening . . .
1. My gut feeling tells me that the SERE camps were 'laboratories' and part of the training program for military counter-intelligence and interrogator personnel. I heard this anecdotally as far as the training goes, but have not dug into it. This is pretty much common sense.
2. Looking at Gitmo in the 'big picture', you have to wonder why it is still in operation though they know so many are innocent of major charges. A look through history at the various 'experimentation' programs of the DOD gives a ready answer. The camp provides a major opportunity to expose a population to various psychological control techniques. Look at some of the stuff that has become public, and this becomes even more apparent. Especially the sensory deprivation--not only sleep, but there are the photos of inmates in gas masks or sight/hearing/smell deprivation setups. There has already been voluminous research into sensory deprivation, and it seems this is another good opportunity for more. One note is that sensory deprivation is used to some degree in military basic training and to a greater sense in the advanced training courses--Rangers, SEALS, etc. All part of the 'breakdown' process before recruits are 'remade'.
3. This incident with the bible trashing. Camp was [in the late 1990s]. It was towards the end of the camp experience, which was 2-3 days of captivity. We were penned in concrete cell blocks about 4' x 4' x 4'--told to kneel, but allowed to squat or sit. There was no door, just a flap that could be let down if it was too cold outside (which it was--actually light snow fell). Each trainee was interrogated to some extent, all experienced some physical interrogation such as pushing, shoving, getting slammed against a wall (usually a large metal sheet set up so that it would not seriously injure trainees) with some actually water-boarded (not me).
The bible trashing was done by one of the top-ranked leaders of the camp, who was always giving us speeches--sort of 'making it real' so to speak, because it is a pretty contrived environment. But by the end it almost seemed real. Guards spoke English with a Russian accent, wore Russian-looking uniforms. So the bible trashing happened when this guy had us all in the courtyard sitting for one of his speeches. They were tempting us with a big pot of soup that was boiling--we were all starving from a few days of chow deprivation. He brought out the bible and started going off on it verbally--how it was worthless, we were forsaken by this God, etc. Then he threw it on the ground and kicked it around. It was definitely the climax of his speech. Then he kicked over the soup pot, and threw us back in the cells. Big climax. And psychologically it was crushing and heartbreaking, and then we were left isolated to contemplate this.
And all of these moods and thoughts were created in this fake camp--just imagine how it is for these guys at Gitmo.
So many have tried to commit suicide....by now they all must have some serious psychological problems. This is without a doubt torture. Premeditated, planned....a fine lot of criminals we have in charge of the USA these days. Gitmo is so Orwellian--so Room 101. They are playing on the deepest feelings and fears."
If religious tolerance means accepting the fact that other people don't believe the same things as you, then why is it suddenly abhorrent for me to desecrate a book that means nothing to me? If someone is not a Christian and they rip up a Bible, I might get upset, but I am not ultimately going to hate them or demand an apology. Again, the double standard here is awesome!
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