Posted on 06/27/2005 10:29:09 AM PDT by smoothsailing
Sen. Durbin's Tortured Mind
By Robert Yoho
June 27, 2005
I guess I am just sick and tired--and nearly nauseous--from listening to arrogant, whiny, liberal, anti-victory, American-hating vultures like Sen. Dick Durbin screaming about the so-called torture being inflicted on the terrorist captives at Guantanamo Bay. Give me a break!
In the history of warfare, there has never been a prisoner of war receive better treatment than that accorded by the United States military in the past century. And if America has anything to be ashamed of in our treatment of POWs, then I am certain it would be the treatment we gave our own citizens in the War Between the States in prisons like Andersonville.
If you'll recall the first Gulf War, then you know that the Iraqis quickly realized that it was better to be a POW in American hands than serving as a soldier in Saddam's army. Even their members of the elite Republican Guard were quick to throw up white flags to television camera crews. In fact, those captives received better care in our prisons than the treatment given to the members of Uday Hussein's Iraqi Olympic team.
For Dicky Durbin or any other cheap Washington political opportunist to suggest that Gitmo has anything in common with the Nazis or the Soviet gulags reveals their total ignorance of history and/or their utter contempt for the military and our continued national security!
When I was writing my book, Heroes in our Midst, I had the rare personal honor of interviewing several World War II veterans who had been captured by the Japanese or the Germans. The stories they told me still leave me astounded by their courage and will to live. It also left me with an enduring sense of gratitude that there are still young men and women like them who will proudly offer up their lives in the preservation of freedom.
Let me briefly share with you some of their stories about real prisoner abuse:
One of these men, a bombardier on a B-17, was captured, beaten and interrogated. The man was placed on a railroad car with hundreds of other prisoners like livestock. These men were packed in a moving cattle car for 3 days at a time. It was so crowded that they had to take turns sitting or standing. The car stank of urine, excrement, and vomit. Later, he was nearly starved to death and forced to march at gunpoint for days in bitter, blizzard-like conditions. That, Sen. Durbin, is torture! One group of Americans who surrendered in Europe were lined up and gunned down by Nazis. The ones who survived the initial gunfire had their skulls crushed with the butts of the German rifles.
Another man told me that the Japanese soldiers captured three prisoners who tried to escape. After numerous beatings and other abuse, their Japanese captors made them dig graves. When they finished their work, the guards shot them on the spot and buried them in the very same graves they dug. This was done in front of the whole camp to make an example of him. That is barbarism, Sen. Reid!
On another occasion, the Japanese punished an American soldier by using barbed wire to bind his wrists and ankles. Then they tied them together behind his back. They left him this way for days, with no food or water in the harsh South Pacific sun.
One man witnessed an incident when the Japanese placed a couple of shovels into a fire until they glowed red-hot. An American POW was bound in the manner detailed above. Then, the guards placed the shovels on each side of his face, within about an inch of his skin. The American could not turn away from the one without scorching himself on the other. This veteran told me that he could smell the burning flesh and could see the man's skin start to bubble. That is torture, Senator.
Along with this, all of you have heard about the brutality of the forced death marches. The Japanese guards deliberately shot and killed those who could not keep up with the group. And one former American POW told me that his family did not know if he was dead or alive for nearly 3 years. The Japanese took him to Japan and forced him to work as slave labor in their shipbuilding trades. That is cruelty, Dicky!
I have no doubt that there have been instances of prisoner abuse by those wearing Old Glory on their uniforms. However, these incidents are extremely rare and are rarely unpunished. They make the news because the commonplace isn't news at all!
The American fighting man can be seen giving candy to children, rescuing women and the young from danger, or playing catch with kids in war zones. Most of them are simply scared but brave kids, a long, long way from home.
These fine young men and women leave their homes and families to protect us. They often risk their lives for ungrateful political hacks who secretly hope to gain advantage from their deaths and dismemberment. These patriots sometimes shed their precious blood on desert sands for network partisans who, in their so-called defense of the First Amendment, would not notify them of an impending military ambush if silence might get the reporter a prize winning Pulitzer photo. And these uniformed personnel engage the enemy over there so they can't hurt us here, while naïve busybodies at home fret about us placing panties on the heads of people who routinely cut off the heads of their captives.
And if you are going to compare them to the Nazis, Sen. Durbin, then you need to find an honest profession!
Better still, perhaps we can stick you in a tall skyscraper as the airliner bears down upon you. Or maybe we can send you to North Korea or Iran without a congressional delegation. We might also place you behind bars in an unsupervised Guantanamo cell for 24 hours with one of these fine young Islamic Koran lovers.
I routinely thank God for our military personnel; many of you do also. And under those conditions, Sen. Durbin might finally join us.
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Robert Yoho is a freelance writer and former radio talk show host living in Southeast Ohio. He is married and the father of three children. You can contact him at conservatism@yahoo.com --------------------
Right on. This needs greater circulation.
This one hits the nail square on the head.
Oh, what I wouldn't give to have five minutes alone with that dick.
The butt heads that are being detained HATE America so much that they would gladly tie a bomb to their back and blow up the local Dunkin Donut. They are animals and that's how we should treat them.
Right on. This needs greater circulation.
Circulation in progress...... =)
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