Iraqi Prisoner Abuse

[cvq3842]

I agree that the pictures - the acts - don't make the cause any less just.

I too visited Ground Zero one month afterward. I had lived in lower Manhattan, very near the Towers, for a time several years before, and so it resonated with me not just as an American, but also becaue it was "my old neighborhood." The barricades were still up, and I couldn't even tell where I was because the obvious "north star" by which we all navigated - the Towers themselves - was gone. And the smell was horrific and pervasive. Like a boiling pot of Ajax cleanser, right under your nose - even a half mile away. People were walking around with face masks, to the grocery, etc., and I'm virtually certain that those that did not will suffer long-term health effects. I will spare people the details I heard of what rescue workers found.

I do agree we're at war, and need to do what's necessary.

But I think, even putting the worst possible face on it, it's striking how the same press that went to such great lengths to dissuade people from drawing any possible conclusions about Moslems or Arabs as a whole from 9/11 are NOT doing it in this case.

Which side are they on? It really is p*ssing me off, big time!

And yes, again I will say, who was the idiot with the camera?

[genefromjersey]

Oh,Lord,yes !!

Religious Right !
Bible Thumpers !
Right Wing Extremists ! (Funny: You never hear of LEFT wing extremists,do you ??)

I'll get flamed for this, but it is very possible those prisoner abuse photos will cost President Bush the election.
(I'm sure CBS had that in mind when they ran them.)

[aruanan]

I'm not expressing myself properly, but I sure as hell would rather our enemies fear us than like us.

That they fear us and act accordingly is something that can, indeed, be controlled by our own behavior; however, trying to get them to like us is something that will be forever controlled by them. The little kid who desires with all his heart to be part of the gang will be the one who is always being taken advantage of by the rest of the gang. Better he should learn how to tell the gang to pound sand and get on with his life.

[cvq3842]

If it does, it will cost this country much more than an election.

Again, the point of my post was, even putting the worst possible face on this, the media STILL treats US "transgressions" much differently. As the photos on this thread of the four US workers killed and brutalized by Iraqis shows.

Then again, didn't some outlets show the photos of the burned bodies - probably trying to whip up anti-war sentiment, not to show the atrocities of our enemies? I dunno.

Dueling "graphic images," past a certain point, do tend to make it a matter of emotion and stifle the debate. So I try as best I can to guard against it. Maybe those reading my initial post will say I failed at that.

I can see we are in general agreement about much of the "elite media." The most charitable thing I can say is that their misguided idealism (or lack of understanding of the real world) has the EFFECT of aiding our enemies in conflicts like this. Whether that's the INTENT or not I will leave to others to decide.

I sincerely wish all the multilateralists in this country could get EXACTLY the government, and world, they want. It would be a fitting punishment for them! But then I'd have to live in that world too. No thanks - one Jimmy Carter was enough.

:)

[cvq3842]

Absolutely!

Past a certain point, a US "charm offensive," and asking "pretty please, don't hate us," will give the other side huge power over us. That's ridiculous.

Diplomacy has a role, but we need to remember that we're dealing with a violent and dangerous world.

[boris]

Editor
Los Angeles Times

Sir:

We must protect the Iraqi gunmen, who are guilty only of shooting, bombing, and booby-trapping our troops. Kill them where they stand--that way they'll avoid substandard prison accommodations.

Turn them into pillars of salt--and their cities into seas of molten glass.

Then we can stop worrying about 'abuses' and move on to the other state sponsors of terrorism around the world.

--Boris

[cvq3842]

LOL!

[cvq3842]

Oh my. A caller to Rush Limbaugh just speculated whether there is any possible link between the deviant acts in the pictures and "don't ask don't tell." And how it would change the media's reaction if there was.

[onehipdad]

I think the most upsetting thing about these photos is that they demonstrate gratification on the part of our military personnel at what they are doing, rather than the humiliation of the prisoners. But that's just my perception.

[Robert357]

But I think, even putting the worst possible face on it, it's striking how the same press...... Which side are they on? It really is p*ssing me off, big time!

I too am P*ssed off. As to which side is the media on, well I think we all know the answer to that question.

There is a culture war going on in the US at the moment and both sides are struggling for power. It is my blief from talking to many young people, that the pendulum has changed direction and that the US is headed to a more "conservative" and "traditional-values" population majority.

The ruling elite media, and those that control the Democratic party do not want this to happen. We saw for several months pride in our military. The media is now trying to convince the masses that the military is essentially evil. I believe that this attempt will not work, but that it will slow things down and possible hurt some politicians.

[cvq3842]

I hope you are right, about the young people.

Really, the media reaction is more far more sickening then the acts themselves.

There, I finally got the words out that made my point!

:)