Sen. Webb Sides With Right Wing On Truth Commission, Gitmo

[Joanne98]

Run time: 02:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXrv0e_xpA   Posted on YouTube: May 17, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 17, 2009 By DU Member: Joanne98 Views on DU: 839

 

[Peregrine Took]

1. Isn't he a right winger, though? n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

2. he came across as constipated with fear - who knows what is in his past on this

when someone doesn't want an investigation, nine times out of ten you can bet they have something they don't want you to see

[Hulk]

3. Good point...

He claims he "interrogated hundreds of Vietnamese".....and I saw, personally, some of the interrogation methods used against suspected sympathizers. WE USED WATER BOARDING, and most likely much worse. I SAW IT!

I wonder how much experience this Senator has with using such methods? I'm guessing he has seen a LOT more than I did, as a lowly grunt on the front lines in 1969. Our history has it's share of blemishes. This isn't the first instance of torture by the USA. ...don't kid yourself!

[pscot]

4. I doubt he personally

has any skin in the game, but the military certainly does. He's ex military, and is probably carrying water for the brass. They're like cops. When they're threatened by outsiders, they close ranks. This stuff wasn't the work of a "few bad apples". It came down the chain of command. Military Inteligence is implicated. They wanted information and were willing to use intimidation and brutality to get it.

[Phantom Shouting]

5. Rule of Law Protest

Let's get to Washington. No more of this. If i have to live through any more inaction my brain is going to burst. Let's set a date and do it. Perhaps the White House just needs to see the numbers of people who have had enough. Let's set a date for the end of June or early July and go tell Obama that enough is enough. Accountability and the rule of law, is that too much to ask?

[destes]

8. The first thing they did when they got to town was.....

.....like Shakespeare said, "kill all the lawyers!" They've been in town a long time.

First post on your present evolution, Phantom? Welcome!!

[ro1942]

6. usa gov.

our gov. are the terrorist, if we stop interfering with the middle east terror attacks will be almost zero. these guy's live in fear because they know we are causing the problem.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Let me see if I am gaging the mood appropriately:

1. Webb is a die-hard Democrat, loyal to the Party, and vehemently opposed to torture
2. He has extensive military and security experience.
3. He doesn't believe we should have a "truth commission" (context uncertain) which is opposite the stance taken by Gingrich.
4. He believes that the truth will come out about torture and those guilty will be punished without a rush to justice.
5. So, we should throw him under the bus.

Is that about right?

[edc]

9. Almost

1. Webb should be a die-hard patriot, loyal to his country and to the Constitution he is sworn defend. That includes a prohibition against torture.
2. So do a lot of us
3. Good form him. Truth commissions are for countries where the malefactors are to powerful to bring to justice but not powerful enough to be unaccountable. Legal prosecutions are more just. They remind everyone about a thing called the rule of law.
4. Justice delayed is justice denied.
5. Maybe. Maybe, as Americans we should question the notion of loyalty to politicians or to political parties after they've thrown us under the bus.

[Buzz Clik]

12. Yep. I captured it 100%.

So, even though Webb is right there with absolute firsthand knowledge of the best way to bring justice to these assholes, his desire to be deliberate and certain rather than hurried and imprecise is akin, in the mind of some, to being unloyal.

I am truly grateful that Webb is smart and strong enough to not give in to the howlings of the impatient and over-passionate.

[destes]

10. "Is that about right?" Yep...........but I would suggest.......

......using the more common spelling, "gauging", both are correct but I couldn't quite deny the image of choking on a mood. :7

[JDPriestly]

11. Do these prisoners have the right to live?

Are their crimes so serious that they should remain in prison the rest of their entire lives?

Who is going to keep them in prison?

How much will it cost?

Is there any value to us in keeping them in prison?

How dangerous is each of them?

We are characterizing them as dangerous without really knowing anything about each of them as and individual.

If they really are dangerous, can they be rehabilitated?

Is there any safe alternative for keeping them other than in American custody?

Everybody is talking in generalities and drawing conclusions, but no one talks about the specific evidence from which they have drawn their conclusions.

These Chinese guys were studying terrorist techniques. How long had they been in the terrorist training camp? Who are they? What did they actually do? No one talks about these details, and yet they are quite willing to condemn them to life imprisonment. What kind of justice is that?

Note that I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Senator Webb's statements. I just wonder what they are based upon and whether Senator Webb has thought through the consequences of what he is saying. Are we going to keep Guantanamo open for another 50 years? Who is going to pay for that?