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Politics : John Kerry for President Free speach thread NON-CENSORED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (866)	6/18/2005 4:34:02 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

DISGRACEFUL DICK DURBIN Sat Jun 18, 4:56 AM ET Sen. Richard Durbin (news, bio, voting record) (D-Ill.) is a dis grace to the people he serves, the U.S. Senate and the United States of America. In that order. Durbin took to the Senate floor this week to slander America's military. He listed what he termed "graphic" atrocities occurring at the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center — as recounted by an FBI agent. Some detainees had been shackled, he said. Cells are sometimes too hot, and sometimes too cold; captured terrorists were blasted with rap music during an interrogation — and so on. The point being? "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulag, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly . . . this was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners." It's bad enough when fools at Amnesty International toss around the word "gulag" — Soviet concentration camps in which nearly 3 million people died. It's something far worse when a U.S. senator — as minority whip, the No. 2 Democrat — enters the slander into the official record. The Nazis killed millions — including 6 million Jews. Pol Pot exterminated 2 million Cambodians. This equates with thermostat discomfort and rap-blasting? White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan got it right: "I think the senator's remarks are reprehensible. It's a real disservice to our men and women in uniform who adhere to high standards and uphold our values and our laws." Durbin has refused to apologize. No surprise there. But once Durbin entered his charge in the official Senate record, it became his Democratic colleagues' problem. Does Minority Leader Harry Reid agree with this libel? How about Joe Lieberman? Or John Kerry, who considered Durbin to be vice-presidential material? Hillary Clinton has declined to comment. Ditto, Chuck Schumer. But do they buy Durbin's drivel? The party's silence — and its willingness to keep Dick Durbin in a leadership role — speaks volumes about how Democrats truly feel about the military. If they truly support the troops, they need to prove it — by disciplining Dick Durbin.

To: American Spirit who wrote (866)	6/18/2005 4:46:32 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

Legion Chief Assails Sen. Durbin's Slander of Servicemembers 6/17/2005 3:08:00 PM To: National Desk, Military Reporter Contact: Ramona Joyce, 202-263-2982 or 202-445-1161 (cell) or Joe March, 317-630-1253 or 317-748-1926 (cell), both of the American Legion, Web: legion.org WASHINGTON, June 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization today called for a full apology from Sen. Richard Durbin for his outlandish remarks against U.S. military personnel. "There are lies and there are damn lies," American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus said. "Senator Durbin knows better and owes every man and woman in the United States Armed Forces an apology for his totally inaccurate remarks comparing our sons and daughters to crimes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Pol Pot." "I would encourage Senator Durbin to visit Guantanamo - not a VIP tour - but receive POW/MIA training from the United States Army and spend his August recess working along side of the very Americans he has defamed," Cadmus said. "The young service members that I have the honor to meet are honest, hard-working, dedicated patriots. Clearly, there were some malcontents that will receive swift and just punishment. But to wantonly stereotype every GI Joe and Jane is conduct unbecoming a Member of Congress." The Pentagon reports that since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been captured in Afghanistan and Iraq. The vast majority have been released but approximately 520 prisoners remain at Gitmo, identified as terrorist trainers, bomb makers, terrorist financiers, Usama bin Laden's body-guards and would-be suicide bombers. Numerous investigations have not identified any significant abuse there. "Senator Durbin's remarks could very well make him the 'Hanoi Jane' of this conflict," Cadmus added. "Many veterans believe Jane Fonda's remarks gave aid and comfort to the enemy. It sure provided them with plenty of propaganda fodder. I am totally outraged by his hideous slight of those he should be honoring for their selfless devotion to this nation. Especially egregious is the fact that his remarks not only insulted U.S. servicemembers but all the innocent victims of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. I take great exception to this irresponsible comparison of my comrades in arms to thugs that killed millions of helpless, noncombatants." The American Legion strongly encourages veterans from all across America to contact Senator Durbin's offices in Illinois and on Capitol Hill. "I sincerely hope that he will reconsider his comments and do the right thing - admit he made a mistake and seek forgiveness from those he has deeply offended - the servicemembers and their families," Cadmus said. "God bless the men and women in harms' way. Give them the strength and courage to continue their honorable military service." --- EDITOR'S NOTE: This text and a high-res photo of Cmdr. Cadmus can be downloaded at legion.org. usnewswire.com -0- /© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/