U.S. apology --- ??

[Jimboyready]

An Afghan ex-Guantanamo detainee confirmed on Tuesday that U.S. interrogators at the prison have repeatedly desecrated the Qur’an, which prompted a hunger strike and a U.S. apology.

In an interview on AVT Khyber television, Abdul Rahim said that abuse of the holy book was routine at Guantanamo Bay.

“Abuse of the Qur’an was done routinely particularly in the early days of detention,” Rahim said.

“They would throw the holy book on the ground, trample upon it and tell the prisoner under interrogation no one could stop them from doing that.

“The news of sacrilege sent shockwaves among the prisoners and all of us went on a hunger strike.

“We declined to participate in the interrogation and also did not eat anything for many days,” he said.

The hunger strike ended only after senior U.S. officials apologized for the desecration, Rahim added.

“All of us ended the hunger strike except for a Palestinian. It was due to our efforts and sacrifices that we restored the honour of the Qur’an,” he said.

Abdul Rahim’s statement comes after the Newsweek, the magazine that released a report saying that U.S. guards at Guantanamo abused the Qur’an, retracted its report.

In its May 9 edition, the magazine published a report describing the desecration of the Qur’an by Guantanamo interrogators, including throwing a copy of the holy book into a toilet to breaj the Muslim prisoners.

Rahim arrived back in Pakistan after he was released from Camp X-Ray last month.

He was arrested in Peshawar in 2001 and handed over to U.S. custody.

Rahim also said that Muslim detainees at Guantanamo were kept in cages like animals.

“The cages were made of steel and also the beds on which we used to sleep. At times we created lots of noise by thumping the steel cages that would disturb the Americans

 

[dittman]

you should get caught up with the times it actually was the detainees that were stuffing pages of their holy quron down the shotter, so much for a holy book eh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Lizard King]

actually was the detainees that were stuffing pages of their holy quron down the shotter, so much for a holy book eh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Says who? Your government? Right...the same guys who got you into this mess in the first place under false pretences. Your media? Right...the same guys who printed the report "in error". Do you have any idea whatsoever as to how sacred the Quran is to Muslims? It would be like the Pope wiping his ass with the Bible. Not fucking likely. That statement is only believable to the average American or non-Muslim. You know...the same Americans who STILL think Hussein was behind 9/11. I would suggest you do something about your spelling and grammar but on further thought, it's totally appropriate for someone so ignorant about anything not American.

 

[The Lizard King]

BTW...not that I believe the initial post either. If this was actually a report, I have no idea where it came from, it could have been some guy spouting off to fan the flames without any true substantiation. It's far more believable that the U.S. interrogators would desecrate the Quran, though.

 

[The Lizard King]

Well, well, well, so it appears the Quran was "mishandled", IE: DESICRATED, after all. I wonder who pressured Newsweek to retract to the point of saying nothing happened at all. Newsweek was onto to something and exposed the tip of the iceberg, and the U.S. Government need to stop.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/04/guantanamo.quran/index.html

This could, and should, get really ugly...

 

[BushPilot]

where are you now, dittman, to tell us how it really happened? I guess the US government admitting to the claims that US personnel desecrated the Qu'ran must be some kind of liberal media conspiracy.

 

[luckydog71]

They discovered in the rubble of the WTC and Bible which badly mangled and obvious mistreated. The terrorists can go first and offer an apology to Christians for the disrespect they have shown.

Until they do I think the US government should tell them to kiss ass.

We do not owe the terrorists an apology. If it were up to me they would not have the Koran or any other religious book in their cells. They are not Muslims, they are enemy combatants.

 

[Herb_The_Perb]

you should get caught up with the times it actually was the detainees that were stuffing pages of their holy quron down the shotter, so much for a holy book eh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did that drug abuser Rush Limbaugh tell you that, or was it Faux News?

 

[Herb_The_Perb]

They discovered in the rubble of the WTC and Bible which badly mangled and obvious mistreated. The terrorists can go first and offer an apology to Christians for the disrespect they have shown.

Until they do I think the US government should tell them to kiss ass.

We do not owe the terrorists an apology. If it were up to me they would not have the Koran or any other religious book in their cells. They are not Muslims, they are enemy combatants.

Most of the detainees are/were not terrorists.
And your bible analogy is comical. It also implies that you value paper more than US human lives. I realize that this is not your intention, but in your eagerness to make a specious point, that's the implication you're making.

 

[rick hunter]

They discovered in the rubble of the WTC and Bible which badly mangled and obvious mistreated. The terrorists can go first and offer an apology to Christians for the disrespect they have shown.

Until they do I think the US government should tell them to kiss ass.

We do not owe the terrorists an apology. If it were up to me they would not have the Koran or any other religious book in their cells. They are not Muslims, they are enemy combatants.

Which of course now allows you to detain them and hold them without charges for 3+ years and then ship them off to Syria and Afghanistan to be tortured right? If you guys claim to respect freedom and democracy so much then you should of let most of them go.

 

[The Lizard King]

Did I just read what I thought I did? Terrorists attacked your country and if there were Bibles in those buildings obviously they were destroyed. It was criminal and your country was done wrong. So you will use that to justify the desecration of another race or religious group's, which includes many millions who mean you no harm, holy book? In other words, you're saying the U.S. is not above sinking to the lowest common denominator of your enemy, that being a terrorist or resorting to terrorist actions which overlap against the innocence citizens of Muslim nations? You don't mean that, do you?

 

[BushPilot]

They discovered in the rubble of the WTC and Bible which badly mangled and obvious mistreated. The terrorists can go first and offer an apology to Christians for the disrespect they have shown.

Until they do I think the US government should tell them to kiss ass.

We do not owe the terrorists an apology. If it were up to me they would not have the Koran or any other religious book in their cells. They are not Muslims, they are enemy combatants.

This has to go down as the most idiotic statement I've seen from someone who makes way more than his share of idiotic statements. I suppose that all those thousands of Muslims that are peaceful, law-abiding citizens of your country aren't worthy of having their religious beliefs respected. And last I checked the WTC was never a Christian building. And what the fuck is an 'enemy combatant'? I think it loosely translates to 'person whose rights under international law and the Geneva Convention have been fucked off by a corrupt and imperialistic power.'

 

[georgebushmoron]

Muslims can believe the Karen it is their right. But God is behind Christianity that's why the US is such a great nation because we believe in a culture of life and the terrorists believe in a culture of death, so God is behind the US and we will prevail and bring God's word to the Middle East.

 

[tom2morrow]

Muslims can believe the Karen it is their right. But God is behind Christianity that's why the US is such a great nation because we believe in a culture of life and the terrorists believe in a culture of death, so God is behind the US and we will prevail and bring God's word to the Middle East.

Good one, georgebushmoron. Especially the part about bringing Christianity to the Middle East.

Personally, I believe in the Karen, a Hawaiian SP in London. But I don't believe in the TS Karen in Las Vegas.

It's all a matter of taste.

 

[eljudo]

They discovered in the rubble of the WTC and Bible which badly mangled and obvious mistreated. The terrorists can go first and offer an apology to Christians for the disrespect they have shown.

Until they do I think the US government should tell them to kiss ass.

We do not owe the terrorists an apology. If it were up to me they would not have the Koran or any other religious book in their cells. They are not Muslims, they are enemy combatants.

And what makes you think all you read is true about the US governement?
WMD?
Osama? (where the hell is he anyways? )
Sadamm ( where the hell is he? why have there been no court date set etc ? )

9/11- Hell, Do you really think iraq was behind it all?




The whole thing is bullshit.

 

[luckydog71]

I know one or two of you are opposed to the Iraq war and the conflict in Afghanistan.. We have one or two in our country as well, but during war your enemy does not have any rights. The people in Gitmo were caught in a war zone. They are being treated humanely as enemies of the US. You want to compare their treatment to criminals and that somehow the enemy should have the same rights. News flash………they do not…..

Like many other wars…enemy prisoners are held until the end of hostilities…..and it is likely these enemy prisoners will as well.

Historically this has been an accepted practice.

During the Second World War, Canada confiscated the assets of Japanese Canadians and sent them to camps. Canada was not even involved in the war against Japan.

So PB, climb down off your high horse. This is war son…People die…..people are seriously hurt….innocent people are victimized or worse…..Through out history this is the way it has been.

So don’t take that high and mighty attitude. Don’t expect the US to live up to a higher standard than your own country did in the same situation and calling it the same situation is a big stretch…Canada was never attacked during WWII…The people you imprisoned were not caught in a war zone….In fact they were citizens of your country.

When the war is over and we find that there are people locked up who should not have been, we will react the same as Canada did to their imprisoned citizens, will say we are sorry.

 

[James]

Canada was not even involved in the war against Japan.

Perhaps you could explain this statement to the families of the thousands of Canadian troops who died defending Hong Kong against the Japanese, or who became POWs and were treated to the "very humane" treatment dished out in Japanese POW camps. One Canadian soldier "won" the Victoria Cross in the defense of Hong Kong, he died in the effort. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robert_Osborn

One Canadian pilot "won" the Victoria Cross in the Pacific war, in a direct attack against a Japanese warship. As often happens, he died in the effort. http://victoriacross.net/award.asp?vc=483

If you don't know, the VC is equal to your Medal of Honour. 1355 have been awarded throughout history, to military members throughout the British Commonwealth. Many were awarded during the WWII Pacific Campaign.

Canada was involved in the Second World War three years before the Americans finally chose to act. While much of the world fought Hitler and his allies, the United States watched.

Your fighting machine was a massive contributor to the effort, once it got moving. One wonders what could have been saved had they gotten moving when the rest of the world did.

And, for the record, although it was pretty insignificant, Canada's west coast was shelled by a Japanese vessel during the war.

By the way, "enemy troops / combatants" do have rights. They were established at a place called Geneva, many years ago. I'm not saying that those rights are, or are not, being respected, but they do exist.

Yes, we did some things to Japanese residents of Canada that were less than desireable. We've apologized to them, and memorialized them. It does not make up for what happened, but we've done something about it.

I'm not wading into the Gitmo dispute here, but you really must be corrected on this point. Without trying to slag you folks, your comment clearly shows the lack of interest that the American education system places on events which occur outside of your own borders, or in which the US was not involved.

 

[HankQuinlan]

during war your enemy does not have any rights.

The people in Gitmo were caught in a war zone.

Canada was not even involved in the war against Japan.

I'm disappointed, LD. While I disagree wholeheartedly with many your interpretations of events, you usually have a better grasp of facts. These statements are completely false by any standard.

 

[David in Van]

Which side?

Is the treatment of prisoners in Gitmo appropriate? No, it is a stain in America's image.

I stress the word stain. The US is guilty of far less than its enemies.

Of course, I find it regretable that the US has not held up its high principles in this war and Amnesty International is right to criticise, though calling Gitmo a Gulag shows a lack of undersandting about what a Soviet Gulag was.

Given a choice between the US and its enemies, I will pick the US - any day of the week.

Picking the US's enemies is like picking a HIV positive drug addicted streetwalker over someone like Veronica or Gina Lee because they didn't quite live up to your expectation of perfection.

 

[luckydog71]

......At least one Canadian pilot "won" the Victoria Cross in the Pacific war, in a direct attack against a Japanese warship. As often happens, he died in the effort. http://victoriacross.net/award.asp?vc=483

......
I'm not wading into the Gitmo dispute here, but you really must be corrected on this point. Without trying to slag you folks, your comment clearly shows the lack of interest that the American education system places on events which occur outside of your own borders, or in which the US was not involved.

James..thank you for correcting my error. I did know Canada declared war on Japan...but I did not know they sent any forces to the Pacific..

BTW I was educated in the Canadian school system not the US system. Although I think your comment about US schools is accurate.