Lie is perhaps a strong word; let’s say that Durbin may have been “creative with the truth”. Reading a Foxnews story about Durbin’s debate with several GOP Senators (McConnell, Warner, Cornyn and Allen) on the floor of the Senate. I am proud of these guys for calling this clown on his crap. In the midst of this story I noticed this bit:

The military operates under strict guidelines that are widely distributed. Only mild non-injurious physical contact is allowed, such as light pushing. Sleep deprivation is used along with stress positions, but they are limited in time.

One knowledgeable official familiar with the memo cited by Durbin as well as other memos said the FBI agent made no such allegation and that the memo described only someone chained to the floor. Anything beyond that is simply an interpretation, the official said.

So did Dick Durbin “interpret” this other stuff? The 24-hour stress position, using the air conditioning unit to overheat or freeze a detainee, playing loud rap music, chaining to the floor in a fetal position; was it all “interpreted” from the memo and not actually written? Release the memo Senator Durbin, let’s see these reports that this mysterious FBI agent wrote. Because you already have one person, admittedly an anonymous source, saying that you ain’t telling the truth.

For the record, I think all of the alleged “torture” that Senator Durbin described isn’t torture and I am damn glad they are doing it. Let’s not forget, it worked on the guy! He gave up valuable intel after listening to the rap music and being chilled then heated to the point he pulled his own hair out! So yes, let’s celebrate. Everyone who says that aggressive interrogation doesn’t work was just proven wrong. Another thing to remember, this was going to be the “20th hijacker”, a man we should show zero mercy upon.

Life is all about perspective and the Democrats have a very different perspective than we do.

Vice-President Cheney offered a slam-dunk defense of GITMO on Monday. Just what standard are these liberal Democrats holding us to? Need I remind everyone that these terrorists are enemy combatants, and are technically not entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions (but we give it to them anyways). Contrary to Senate extremist, Dick Durbin’s views, these terrorists aren’t innocent like the people in Stalin’s gulag or Hitler’s concentration camps. They are trained killers, who would willingly destroy hundreds of innocent American civilians if given the chance. In this regard, Durbin’s analogy is totally illogical. Cheney illustrates this brilliantly:

“Over the course of the conflict, since we began using Guantanamo, over 200 people who were held there have subsequently been released or returned to their home countries. So there has been a process in place for reviewing and screening the individuals held, and making judgments with respect to those that we believe no longer have intelligence value or no longer constitute a threat to the United States.
Of those who have been released, at least 10 have gotten back into the battle on the other side and were subsequently captured or encountered in the ongoing conflict. I’ve got a list here of six of them. I won’t read them all to you, but let me give you just a flavor for couple of these.
A man named Maulvi Abdul Ghafar was captured in early 2002, released after he’d been held for eight months. After returning to Afghanistan, he became the Taliban’s regional commander in Helmand Province, carrying out attacks on U.S. and Afghan forces. On September 25th, 2004, while planning an attack against Afghan police, Ghafar and two of his men were killed in a raid by Afghan forces.
Or a man named Mullah Shehzada. After being released from Guantanamo May 8th, 2003, Shehzada assumed control of Taliban operations in southern Afghanistan. His activities reportedly included the organization and execution of a jailbreak in Khandahar, and a nearly successful capture of the border town of Spin Buldak. Shehzada was killed on May 7th, 2004, fighting U.S. forces. ”

He goes on to talk about the supposedly harsh conditions at GITMO:

“They are well cared for at Guantanamo. They are properly housed and properly fed. They’ve got the medical care and treatment they need. Their religious needs are met with. And in fact, I think — say if we didn’t have that facility at Guantanamo to undertake this activity, we’d have to have it someplace else because they’re a vital source of intelligence information… I think that these people have been treated far better than they could have expected to have been treated by virtually any other government on the face of the Earth.”

Prisoners at GITMO are subjected to the equivalent of maximum security prisons in the United States. It is hardly a walk in the park, but it certainly doesn’t constitute torture. We would accept nothing less than rigorous security for our nation’s most grievous offenders, and we should accept nothing less for these evil enemies.

Just yesterday two House Republicans joined liberal Democrat Dennis Kucinich to pass a resolution that would set a timetable to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The resolution was sponsored by Reps. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ron Paul (R-Tex.). This comes in the wake of minor, yet distressing, criticisms from Senate Republicans (the usual suspects for the most part), Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, Lindsay Graham, and Mel Martinez.

Do I even need to begin to reject the notion of troop withdrawal “timetables.” Common-sense is enough to reveal the problems with such a policy. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan had the best response today:

” In terms of timetables, the President has often talked about timetables. Timetables simply send the wrong message. They send the wrong message to the terrorists, they send the wrong message to the Iraqi people, they send the wrong message to our troops who are serving admirably and working to complete an important mission.
The terrorists — this message would say to the terrorists, all you have to do is wait until that day when our troops leave, and then you can start carrying out those attacks and just hold out. It’s critical that we defeat the terrorists in Iraq. It would — the Iraqi people have showed their determination to build a democratic and peaceful future. They have shown up in large numbers to vote for a free Iraq and to vote for a better future. And it’s important that we stand with them as they work to build the institutions necessary for democracy and freedom to take hold. ”

It sounds simple enough to all of us, but apparently some supposedly conservative Republicans in Congress cannot understand this rudimentary logic. Still, this comment from Rep. Jones got me REALLY upset: “I think Mr. Bush could really declare victory in the next six months if he wanted to,” he said. Sure Walter, we could just throw in the towel, and declare “victory,” but that would be an insult to the many brave soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. What are they fighting for in the first place?? They did not fight and die for a “half-victory” or a “pseudo- victory.” They fought and continue to fight in Iraq, because democracy in the Middle East will positively enhance American national security. Contrary to what Michael Schutze claimed earlier, one of our initial goals in Iraq was to help that country install a stable and functional, freely elected government. Not because of humanitarian reasons, but because our national security depends on it. President Bush is right to believe that freedom in Iraq - and the greater Middle East - is the best, and only, long-term strategy to defeat the totalitarian, Islamist ideology that breeds terrorism. This vision has already been vindicated, as free societes have begun to emerge across the Arab world, even while everyone previously thought it impossible. The WMD threat was sufficient justification for action in Iraq. However, the logic of the war encompassed many parts of a broader national security strategy that has become known as the Bush Doctrine. Underlying the Bush Doctrine is the idea that freedom in the Middle East is necessary to undermine the totalitarian regimes that support Islamist terrorism. Needless to say, this was part of our initial rationale for invading Iraq, and that is why we can accept nothing less than TOTAL VICTORY in that country. Congressman Jones’ comments are a slap-in- the- face to the men who have been lost in Iraq, as well as a complete disregard for our national security strategy. He just doesn’t get it, and his ignorance may put more American lives in danger. It would be easy for President Bush to heed Jones’ advice and take the easy way out. But when it comes to national security, Bush acts solely on principle. He does not tolerate or accept the politically pleasant course of action. He acts definitively and aggressively, in spite of political fallout and massive opposition, to protect the American people. I, for one, feel safer knowing the terorists are bogged down with the best fighting force in the world or locked up in a nice resort in GITMO, as opposed to plotting to destroy American women and children in shopping malls and commercial airplanes. I shutter to think of the grave danger this country would be facing if President Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were not in command. We must stay the course.

From the Washington Times:

“To suggest I’m criticizing American servicemen, I am not,” Mr. Durbin said. “I don’t know who was responsible for this. But the FBI agent made this report … I was attributing this form of interrogation to repressive regimes.
“Now sadly we have a situation here where some in the right wing media have said that I’ve been insulting men and women in uniform. Nothing could be further from the truth. I respect men and women in the uniform.”

No, wrong. Dead wrong. I don’t whether you believe this yourself or if this is some sort of spin Senator Durbin, but either way, you sir are a moron. The problem isn’t that you went on the floor of the Senate and read what they are doing to the captured enemy down in Gitmo, the problem is that you then went on to say that this was torture. Give me 30 minutes with you in a locked room Senator Durbin and I’ll redefine torture for you because you obviously don’t know what it is.

By now we all know about the absolutely insane - but not surprising - remarks from Illinois’ finest senator, Dick Durbin. By equating the United States to “Pol Pot or others,” Durbin has now offically placed himself within the extreme, Moveon.org/Michael Moore wing of the Democratic Party. I recently heard on a Chicago talk radio station that there were so many calls to Durbin’s DC office that the phone was “busy” for nearly a day. I call his office regularly, and could not get throgh after numerous attempts. So maybe there are still some common-sense conservatives left in Illinois who have not succumbed to the “Obama spell.”

But leave it to the Chicago Tribune, our city’s supposedly conservative newspaper, to try to save Durbin from his embarassing remarks and resurrect his political image. This piece is a joke! Read it if you dare. It is a front page, above-the-fold story, with a large picture of the senator giving a determined, and thoughtful pose. A far more generous portrait than anything President Bush receives in this paper. Just listen to the headline: “Dick Durbin’s Passion Ignites Foes’ Ire.” Ooo, Sounds real hard-hitting. God save the day a Republican gets this kind of glowing coverage after making such outlandish remarks in a time of war. It goes on to claim that “Durbin has become a potent voice in countering the Republican majority.” In case there is any doubt that Durbin is a liberal, the Tribune proclaims:
“On a range of matters, the 60-year old from Springfield is key in helping devise his party’s strategy to protect the filibuster, oppose certain judicial nominees, halt President Bush’s plan to partially privatize Social Security and try to protect a positive Democratic agenda. A possible Supreme Court nomination this summer will place him squarely in the fray.”

Okay, we get the picture - he’s a liberal. But perhaps the good news is that the story may indicate a politcal vulnerability for Sen. Durbin, thus resulting in the puff -piece from the Tribune. Or perhaps it is nothing more than an attempt to solidify his image as a leader of “national stature.” Still, in this time of war, where the security of our country constantly hangs in the balance, Sen. Durbin’s comments only put more Americans lives in danger. Durbin is a card-carrying member of the “blame-America first” crowd (BAF). Quite simply, this means he reflexively assumes the worst about America, while at the same time giving our murderous enemies the benefit of the doubt. At its core, this school of thought works from the fundamental assumption that America - and not the totalitarian-minded terrorists - is the root problem in the world. It is our actions, and our “oppressive, war-mongering” nature, that breeds resentment and hostility in the world. Heck, we deserved what we got on September 11th, 2001, so the “BAF” argument goes. We are so arrogant and selfish, it should be expected - even justified - that Muslim extremists would want to kill innocent Americans civilians.

This line of thinking is downright dangerous, and as noted earlier this week on savethegop, it is the primary threat, other than the actual terrorists, facing us in this ongoing, global war. Durbin now adheres to this radical mindset, and the people of Illinois must hold him accountable - but I wouldn’t count on it.

“If Ed Koch had said what Ralph Nader said, we’d be marching.”

Disturbing enough news to rouse me from my ‘blogging slumber. Bloomberg is reporting that Bank of America is seeking a minority stake in China Construction Bank. This is a terrible move. Less because of the treason involved, and more because it seems more than a little dumb to get involved in one of the most notoriously mismanaged banking systems in the world. East Asian banking, even (especially!) in further developed countries like Korea and Japan, are more guided by cronyism and corruption than sanity in their lending practices. Although Bank of America presumably has better financial minds than me, it seems like they’ve drunk a little bit of the China kool-aid without realizing that the Chinese tiger economy does not necessarily imply good banking business.

Of course none of that is as scary as China’s continual closing of our military gap.

The Democrats, not the terrorists that is. Writing in the New York Post (subscription required, Bugmenot), Ralph Peters breaks down the reason why Democrats/liberals hate America so much and are being such treacherous bastards. If Bugmenot doesn’t work you could always just click more . . .

Hat-tip: Rush Limbaugh
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