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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pompsander who wrote (750139)	9/25/2006 9:01:05 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

Yeah... thought it was pretty funny (contra-factual) to make a bald statement like that --- when all the attacks on the Geneva Conventions seemed to be coming from... er, somewhere else on the political spectrum. :=)

To: pompsander who wrote (750139)	9/25/2006 9:28:09 PM
From: PROLIFE	Respond to of 769670

How Much Did White House Give Up to Win Over McCain on Interrogations? by Allan H. Ryskind Did Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) win significant concessions from the Bush Administration on the CIA's ability to use harsh interrogation techniques against hard-core terrorists? McCain has certainly made it seem as if he was a big winner. He informed Matt Lauer on the "Today" show last Friday that as a result of the congressional negotiations with the White House, "There will be no such thing as water boarding. We outlined the grave breaches of conduct. And you will never see that again." This past Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the Arizona senator still suggested "that waterboarding and other extreme measures" would not be allowed. But he appeared to couch his language in a more circumspect fashion. According to the CBS transcript, McCain's response to a question on the compromise was this: "In concrete terms, it could mean that waterboarding and other extreme measures such as extreme deprivation—sleep deprivation, hypothermia and others would not be allowed." McCain's interpretation of the agreement could be crucial, for there is highly credible information that waterboarding and other methods he suggests should be banned work. On the September 20 "O'Reilly Factor," for instance, Brian Ross, ABC News' chief investigative correspondent, informed host Bill O'Reilly that the CIA broke several "high valued [al Qaeda] leaders," using harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. According to Ross, waterboarding, which produces the sensation of drowning, was the method used to break Khalid Sheik Mohammed, considered the operational mastermind of 9/11. In his case, said Ross, "The information was very valuable, particularly names and addresses of people who were involved with al Qaeda in this country and in Europe. And in one particular plot, which would involve an airline attack on the tallest building in Los Angeles, known as the Library Tower." Ross also said: ". . . with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, with people that absolutely beyond doubt are terrorists, terrorist masterminds, it does seem to have an effect. And that's just the bottom line." McCain, however, has let the world believe that waterboarding is immoral. More importantly, he strongly implies that he managed to wring from the White House a pledge that the CIA can no longer use this very effective tool against hard-core terrorists. The big question: Is he right? humanevents.com

To: pompsander who wrote (750139)	9/26/2006 9:49:07 AM
From: PROLIFE	Respond to of 769670

oh no...let's not subject these nice folks to loud music by the Red Hot CHili Peeppers..... The Times September 26, 2006 How we found Pearl buried in ten pieces IN JANUARY 2002 the world’s media received e-mails saying that the journalist Daniel Pearl had been kidnapped. Pearl, a citizen of both the United States and Israel, was the South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. The ransom demands included the release and return to Pakistan of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. The e-mails also stated: “We assure Americans that they shall never be safe on the Muslim Land of Pakistan. And if our demands are not met this scene shall be repeated again and again.” I was incensed when I learnt of this, disgusted that these criminals were distorting a religion of peace and beauty and using it as a cloak for their sins. I immediately ordered all agencies to find Pearl’s kidnappers and the e-mails were traced to a man named Omar Saeed Sheikh. The Wall Street Journal informed us that Pearl, who had arrived in Pakistan on December 29, 2001, with his wife, Marianne, had come to interview Pir Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani in connection with the story of the so-called shoe bomber, the Briton Richard Reid. Our police detained and interrogated Jilani, who told them that Omar Sheikh had been very eager to meet the journalist. With this second mention of Omar Sheikh’s name, it seemed clear that he was involved. Omar Sheikh is a British national born to Pakistani parents in London on December 23, 1973. His early education was in the United Kingdom, although he also spent four years at Lahore’s prestigious Aitchison College. He then went to the London School of Economics (LSE) but dropped out before graduation. It is believed in some quarters that while Omar Sheikh was at the LSE he was recruited by the British intelligence agency MI6. It is said that MI6 persuaded him to take an active part in demonstrations against Serbian aggression in Bosnia and even sent him to Kosovo to join the jihad. At some point he probably became a rogue or double agent. On his return from Bosnia he came to Pakistan, then had guerrilla training in Khost in Afghanistan. In 1994 he was arrested in India as part of a gang which kidnapped four Western tourists. He was released in 1999 as part of a deal to secure the safety of passengers aboard a hijacked Indian airliner. After his release Omar Sheikh settled in Lahore but visited Afghanistan on four occasions to train operatives. He claims that during these visits he met Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, and that although he was not a permanent member of al-Qaeda he helped to finance it through ransom money generated from kidnappings. In January 2002 Sheikh was informed that the journalist Pearl had turned up at the offices of extremist organisations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He arranged a meeting with Pearl at which the two exchanged telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. It was at this meeting that an idea cropped up in Omar Sheikh’s twisted mind. He would kidnap Pearl to pressure the US Government to change its policies on Guantanamo Bay. We had been looking for Omar Sheikh since the e-mails, but at first he could not be traced, although the police did arrest some of his friends and relatives. Finally, on February 5, 2002, Omar Sheikh surrendered and under interrogation revealed that when his family members were arrested he became desperate. He phoned an accomplice in Karachi named Hussein and told him to release Daniel Pearl. He claimed he was then told that Daniel Pearl had been killed. Although Omar Sheikh confessed in detail to having masterminded and arranged the kidnapping, he was adamant that he had not ordered the murder and that Pearl had been killed against his instructions. The Times September 26, 2006 How we found Pearl buried in ten pieces IN JANUARY 2002 the world’s media received e-mails saying that the journalist Daniel Pearl had been kidnapped. Pearl, a citizen of both the United States and Israel, was the South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. The ransom demands included the release and return to Pakistan of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. The e-mails also stated: “We assure Americans that they shall never be safe on the Muslim Land of Pakistan. And if our demands are not met this scene shall be repeated again and again.” I was incensed when I learnt of this, disgusted that these criminals were distorting a religion of peace and beauty and using it as a cloak for their sins. I immediately ordered all agencies to find Pearl’s kidnappers and the e-mails were traced to a man named Omar Saeed Sheikh. The Wall Street Journal informed us that Pearl, who had arrived in Pakistan on December 29, 2001, with his wife, Marianne, had come to interview Pir Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani in connection with the story of the so-called shoe bomber, the Briton Richard Reid. Our police detained and interrogated Jilani, who told them that Omar Sheikh had been very eager to meet the journalist. With this second mention of Omar Sheikh’s name, it seemed clear that he was involved. Omar Sheikh is a British national born to Pakistani parents in London on December 23, 1973. His early education was in the United Kingdom, although he also spent four years at Lahore’s prestigious Aitchison College. He then went to the London School of Economics (LSE) but dropped out before graduation. It is believed in some quarters that while Omar Sheikh was at the LSE he was recruited by the British intelligence agency MI6. It is said that MI6 persuaded him to take an active part in demonstrations against Serbian aggression in Bosnia and even sent him to Kosovo to join the jihad. At some point he probably became a rogue or double agent. On his return from Bosnia he came to Pakistan, then had guerrilla training in Khost in Afghanistan. In 1994 he was arrested in India as part of a gang which kidnapped four Western tourists. He was released in 1999 as part of a deal to secure the safety of passengers aboard a hijacked Indian airliner. After his release Omar Sheikh settled in Lahore but visited Afghanistan on four occasions to train operatives. He claims that during these visits he met Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, and that although he was not a permanent member of al-Qaeda he helped to finance it through ransom money generated from kidnappings. In January 2002 Sheikh was informed that the journalist Pearl had turned up at the offices of extremist organisations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He arranged a meeting with Pearl at which the two exchanged telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. It was at this meeting that an idea cropped up in Omar Sheikh’s twisted mind. He would kidnap Pearl to pressure the US Government to change its policies on Guantanamo Bay. We had been looking for Omar Sheikh since the e-mails, but at first he could not be traced, although the police did arrest some of his friends and relatives. Finally, on February 5, 2002, Omar Sheikh surrendered and under interrogation revealed that when his family members were arrested he became desperate. He phoned an accomplice in Karachi named Hussein and told him to release Daniel Pearl. He claimed he was then told that Daniel Pearl had been killed. Although Omar Sheikh confessed in detail to having masterminded and arranged the kidnapping, he was adamant that he had not ordered the murder and that Pearl had been killed against his instructions. timesonline.co.uk