[Update: This diary was posted at the same time as
Alegre's diary below it. My diary emphasizes the press conference with the looney admiral in charge of Gitmo whereas his emphasizes different content]
Ignore those thoughts you might have had that led you to believe that those three hostages at Gitmo committed suicide out of desparation. They did it to
embarrass the U.S.
Navy Rear Admiral Harry Harris, commander of Guantanamo, told a news conference the suicides were an act of warfare.
And Admiral Harris had more to say about the men who have been held captive for as much as 4-1/2 years with no end in sight, no opportunity for a fair trial or to contact their relatives.
"They have no regard for life, neither ours nor their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us."
Asymmetrical Warfare against us? Wow? Is that vintage 1984 hubris. The US locks people up until after a war ends that has no end and out of desperation they commit suicide. Then, he blames the hostages.
"They are smart, they are creative, they are committed," Harris said.
Yea, and what you mean to say is they must be really smart to make you look like such a fool. This international incident occurred the day after Bush's press conference with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who raised concerns about Gitmo with the US president. Attempted suicides and forced-feeding of prisoners have been reported for months. Who was watching these men? Are the US forces undermanned?
These three deaths represent ANOTHER failure of leadership. The
New York Times reports that
Lawyers for the detainees have predicted for months that some would kill themselves. They have complained repeatedly about their access to the detainees, and have litigated in federal courts to try to get more information about the prisoners' medical and psychological health.
This admiral's negligence and the president's policy resulted in the death of those captives. Our government should denounce immediately what he said and this admiral should be punished. This kind of news not only misrepresents how the American public feels, but it also makes enemies quicker than the US is able to kill them.
Meanwhile, Bush is making his obligatory media statements about diplomacy and closing down Gitmo as if it had been in his plans all along (remember when he said he wanted to shut down Abu Gharib after the torture photos were released?). If Bush sounds contrite to the press, this Admiral is stating the US position. It's asymmetrical warfare -- and the US is going to fight and win the war on terror even if this enemy doesn't fight fairly -- even if they kill themselves out of desparation to make the US look bad.
This admiral isn't the only high-ranking military person to make statements that appear to be from a different reality. Remember
General Boykin?
Preaching in his military uniform before a religious congregation in Oregon this June, General Boykin proclaimed, "we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian. Did I say Judeo-Christian? Yes. Judeo-Christian."
He continued, "The enemy that has come against our nation is a spiritual enemy. His name is Satan. And if you do not believe that Satan is real, you are ignoring the same Bible that tells you about God."
To that same congregation, still in military uniform, General Boykin said of George W. Bush that, "He was appointed by God" to be leader of the United States.
To another religious group in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, General Boykin declared that the true enemy in George W. Bush's wars "is the principalities of darkness. It is a demonic presence in that city that God revealed to me as the enemy."
In a religious flyer, General Boykin is quoted as saying, "Bin Laden is not the enemy. No mortal is the enemy. It's the enemy you can't see. It's a war against the forces of darkness."
With idiots like these running our armed forces, it appears the war on terror will be deteriorating before it gets better. Too bad there are not more leaders like Generals Batiste and Clark, both of whom are retired. Batiste retired rather than accept a promotion to inform the public about policy failures regarding the "war on terror."
Am I going to wakeup soon and find out this is just a bad movie?