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Cal Thomas: Media Eager to Criticize Bush for Abu Ghraib Now Reluctant to Criticize Obama for Navy SEAL Court Martial

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It's a night and day difference between the media's scrutiny of former President George W. Bush and the current command-in-chief, President Barack Obama. And the coverage of three Navy SEALs now facing a court martial that captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq, who allegedly was the mastermind of the murder of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004, is proof.

John Scott, host of "Fox News Watch" noted this story on the show's Nov. 28 episode and asked why there hasn't been more coverage about it.

"Pretty outrageous story came out, in my view, this week," Scott said. "These three Navy SEALs who were involved in capturing one of the most wanted bad guys in Iraq - the guy supposedly responsible for planning the execution of those four Blackwater contractors. The SEALs are now facing charges because the guy somehow wound up with a bloody lip. Is the media paying attention?"

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Syndicated columnist and "Fox News Watch" regular Cal Thomas said there was a distinction between this and the coverage of the 2004 accounts of torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The difference he said was the ruling party in Washington, D.C.

"You know, it's an interesting contrast here with Abu Ghraib," Thomas said. "That's when George W. Bush was president and Republicans were pretty much running things in Washington. ‘This was a horrible violation of human rights. People should be brought up on charges. We put the pictures all over the place.'"

And he was right - Bush was repeatedly condemned in the media for Abu Ghraib. However, the scrutiny of the Obama administration's handling of these Navy SEALs has been lacking.

"Now you got a couple of Navy SEALs who allegedly give a bloody lip to one of these scumbags and where's the outrage?" Thomas continued. "You're only seeing into on Fox and on the New York Post. I haven't discovered it anywhere else."

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Makes you wonder

why they even bother bringing the scumbags back in one piece anyway.

Could bring a whole new meaning to the saying

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em.."

They Should Have.....

They should have shot the rag head full of holes and ruled it the worst case of suicide they'd ever seen!

They could have just made

They could have just made him disappear, never to be seen again.

One of the great mysteries of war....

Obama, the first "alleged" president

http://gjresult.com

 

KILL EM' ALL...

 The old saying "dead men tell no tales", is as still true today as it was when it was first said. It should also be our policy with this enemy.

 

"...How blind can you be, don't you see...

...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."  

Nightwish

Now that was funny!

Now that was funny!

Poovey,  And I'm

Poovey, 

And I'm guessin' you think "pull my finger" is pretty funny too.

Idiots like you and General make us all look bad.

Actually, hydrodynDM---

"Pull my finger", while maybe juvenile, is one hell of a lot funnier than your obscene statement that calls two posters "idiots" for thinking independently, and apparently, differently, than you do.

Who the hell do you think you are to presume to speak for me with your "you---make us all look bad." ???

I read your long treatise on "Conservatives and Evolution", and you appear to be incredibly intelligent.

However, your condescending post has made me re-think that.

Your apparent revulsion with the black humor involved in killing those who would kill us,  ---oh, I'm sorry, did I include you by using the word "us"?

It is not my place to do that.

Get my point?

I want any and all who would kill any of my fellow citizens, for not being adherents to the Islamic Faith, dead, deader, deadest.

Period.

It is perfectly fine to disagree with another persons' take, on anything.  It is human nature, I suppose, and the reason NewsBusters exists.

It is absolutely ok to call people names.  Provided, of course, that you understand that not everyone will share your perspective; and that you can accept, and deal with the fact that you might be called names in return.

MD

"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

matthewdean, My issue was

matthewdean,

My issue was with the use of "rag head", not with the idea of ending them (which I have absolutely no problem with).

Unlike most liberal sites which seem to be inundated with childish posters who use vulgarity and offensive remarks on a regular basis, most of the posters here have class. And I'm certainly not the first person here to ever call someone out for showing a lack of it.

A couple of years ago, we had a liberal poster (name escapes me) who claimed that the way he found this site was by doing a Google search of "rag head". Of course, no one here bought his lie.

And then I see it appear here.

I'll acknowledge that the "idiot" comment was inappropriate. But I'll stick with my original opinion - posts like that make us look bad.

Hydro

Great post, agree 100 percenet. Be careful though, If you call attention to the word raghead, you might be accused of hating Christianity.

hydrodynDM---

Your acknowledgement in your next to last sentence is more than fair; and I certainly support your right to your original opinion.

Here comes the qualitative but:

Your very first statement says you have absolutely no problem with ending the "raghead", you just disagree with calling the "raghead" a "raghead" before killing him.

Or is "killing" too strong a word?

How about, "Excuse me, Mr. Islamic person, but I must inform you that I am here to help you shuffle off this mortal coil"?

Or are our military people, looking death right in the eye, excused if they use such language; and only us here in the good ole U.S.A. to be excoriated for our decisional semantics?

Yes, words can hurt.  Yes, we should endeavor to be civilized in our awareness of that fact.

It is my contention, however, that Political Correctness is a major, major component of the practices that are dooming our society.

I appreciate your thoughtful response to my earlier post.

Ok with you if we just agree to disagree?

MD

"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

 

I agree with hydro

There is no need to use perjoratives like the leftists do.

Use truthful words, like "jihadis"....or "islamofascists".  It removes all possibilities for the leftists to twist our words.

Kill is just fine.  Kill the jihadis.  Kill the islofascists.  Much better, and cleaner, I think, than Kill the ragheads.

Concise people like concise language.  I do.

I hope he fails, too.

 

 

You, Blonde---

I will absolutely not cross swords with, except to say (tongue in cheek), that "raghead" is one syllable more concise than jihadis, and is two syllables more concise than islofascists.

Cheers.

MD

"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Wow!

I'd retired my sword for the weekend after foiling the Semiholes  (clown school) yesterday.  Glad I didn't have to yank it out again.  :)

I hope he fails, too.

 

 

matthewdean, OK, I think I

matthewdean,

OK, I think I need to clarify my point. If you want to use a term like "raghead" as your about to terminate (kill, waste, cap, whatever) a guy who was just trying to do the same to you - I think you're more than justified.

An old friend of mine does security work and finds himself in that part of the world on a regular basis. I don't bat an eye when he uses the colorful terminology that he and his men use to describe their opponents.

But on this website, I think there should be a certain level of civility. That isn't being PC. I value this site precisely because I don't have to wade through pages of juvenile comments. In addition, using terms like "raghead" on a well known conservative site like NB gives the left the ammunition they need to push their stereotypical views of conservatives as being racist (or whatever).

Again, I'm not the only person on this site to call someone out for exactly these reasons.

(Oh, and thanks for the compliment about my forum post)

Damn, hydro

You ressurected that thing again? 

LOL...kidding.  It's an oldie, but a goody.

I hope he fails, too.

 

 

Blonde, No no,

Blonde,

No no, matthewdean brought it up.

I'm not the self-promoting type.

;)

hydrodynDM---

Alrighty then.

While your first two paragraphs won me over, the clarity I saw in your forum post exhibited itself in your third para.  Well put, and I agree; I have observed on other sites what you rightfully decry.  

The fact that foul or offensive words on other sites jump right up and hit my eye supports your contention that the same do not belong here. 

Your next to last sentence is right in that I even find myself grinning internally wondering how long it will be before a regular  poster calls someone out for foul language.  (And this from one who can be profane with the best of them)

So, the only possible atom of face saving I might salvage is, had you mentioned in your first post that a particular word or phrase, specifically "raghead", does not fit the overall tenor of the language used on NewsBusters, and that, as Blonde suggested,  jihadist or islofascist would better fit the bill:

Why, then I might have avoided stepping in something.

Regarding your last sentence; you are most welcome.

I appreciate that I left the woodshed having only been talked to.

MD

"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

matthewdean, Again,

matthewdean,

Again, thanks for the kind words.

And don't sweat it. Some of us who've been here for a while have become protective of this site and how it's used and viewed.

Take it easy.

I shall take it easy---

Being retired, it is, well, easy to do.

MD

hydro, perhaps less pc from you would help improve your

focus on the main issue of this thread. 

The main issue of this thread is how the military is now going to be put in a permanent state of worry concerning what it can and cannot do with a prisoner during war (e.g., if he gets bumped while transporting, refuses to cooperate, can they defend themselves and how...etc.). Now remember, we are talking about a known terrorist here... not some minor offense and yet, while I agree with part of what you said, it begs the question why you seem so hyper focused on the left side of many issues, including this very serious one.

Essentially, our military will have to be accompanied by legal analysts or have to put all of our soldiers through some pc type crap that will, in the end, make it very difficult for them and may cause them to lose their lives. 

THIS would seem to make much more sense to be concerned about than some 'outrage' at another members language. 

Paul

pahuber, I'm aware of

pahuber,

I'm aware of what the topic of the original post was. I obviously wasn't commenting on it. Or are you here to start calling out everyone who goes off-topic? If so, have fun being logged on 24 hours a day.

If you bothered to read the replies that followed my initial one, you'd know I wasn't being PC - I wasn't "focused on the left side" - and you'd see that others here agreed with me.

And regarding this "focused on the left side of many issues" - care to name some for me?

hydro, again focus on what is the real issue and knock off with

the pc crap.

I do not care who on this site or how many agree with you.

I resent your focus since you probably do not give a rats behind about how this will affect our troops in the field.  

Pull your head out anytime.

 

pahuber, Let me ask you a

pahuber,

Let me ask you a question.

What do you know about me, my background, my friends, family or where I specifically teach.

Nothing.

Keep all that in mind and tell me again how I "do not give a rats behind about his this will affect our troops in the field".

And then try to justify it.

What do you know about

What do you know about me, my background, my friends, family or where I specifically teach.

Nothing

You're incorrect.

I have quite a few posts from you that allow me to glean who you are and how you 'debate' myself and others when you disagree.

My concern is your propensity to worry about the minute and miss the most important picture.  I can only judge you from what you have provided me here and our other meetings.

Keep all that in mind and tell me again how I "do not give a rats behind about his this will affect our troops in the field".


And then try to justify it.

Uh huh, I will respond to say that you're welcome for my service to this country. I also hope you will contribute something other than your smarmy answers on NBs.

Franky, your PC is getting a bit aggravating to a patriot like myself who has actually served and then used his disability and GI Bill to go on to better myself.

Personally, I  hope all of my criticism has helped you become a more thoughtful person when trying to communicate to myself or others.  I do not know if you understand how you come across with your mannerisms here and our other thread.

pah's good advice....

 Personally, I  hope all of my criticism has helped you become a more thoughtful person when trying to communicate to myself or others.  I do not know if you understand how you come across with your mannerisms here and our other thread.

 

You mean like this kind of thoughtful communication?   

 

#1 Lay off the beers....

 You're probably just drunk and need to be tucked in...

#2 let's see...you've been here only 3 weeks...

allready comparing Ben Stein to Michael Moore?

You are showing intense ignorance that cannot be ignored... : )

I see you are our latest troll countmein5050 : ) welcome.

You compared Ben Stein to Michael Moore.  Yes, so far you countmein5050 are proving yourself to be quite a troll.

While I am not the official troll greeter I am certainly happy to announce your entry.  

Personally, I  hope all of my criticism has helped you become a more
thoughtful person when trying to communicate to myself or others.  I do
not know if you understand how you come across with your mannerisms
here and our other thread.

This is especially meant for hydro, but it most certainly applies to your nonsensical posts thus far.  

 

Oh, and BTW... you're welcome : )

pahuber, Uh huh, I will

pahuber,

Uh huh, I will respond to say that you're welcome for my service to
this country. I also hope you will contribute something other than your
smarmy answers on NBs.

In other words, you can't justify your accusation that I don't care about our troops.

Considering that you have basically called me a liar in another thread regarding my claim about what I do for a living, why should I believe anything you say about your background?

And gee, I was really hoping that it was my effort to correct your misconceptions in our discussion about science that would help you become a more thoughtful person.

I personally believe your first thought was about somebody using

a derogatory term... have not heard anything about your opinion of the troops, hydro.  Funny, that you want to focus on that instead of the real issue.  You seem kinda confused about a lot of things. 

My "misconceptions in our discussion"?  What a whopper.  Your inability to even grasp my main point from the get go was clue #1 that we could not even begin a discussion on science since you could not even begin to understand the obvious point of my point.  

You're welcome for my service.  I hope you do not spend the rest of your freedom denying that which I have helped provide for you...  but you probably will. 

pahuber, You said ...

pahuber,

You said

... have not heard anything about your opinion of the troops, hydro.

And yet, you have no problem accusing me of not caring about our troops.

In other words - you're going to believe what you want about me, regardless.

And if you were in the Navy (and aren't just some kid living in his parent's basement), I do thank you for your service. Just as I've thanked my oldest and closest friend for his.

By the way, if I care so little for the troops, why have I been helping three of my students study for their NUPOC interviews over the last three months? I certainly don't get paid any extra for doing it and it's not like I have all the time in the world, considering it's near the end of the semester when things are busiest.

Yea, it must be that I just don't care.

I think this is the part where you accuse me of lying again.

Moral of story,

Don't capture the bastards.

Also understand these enlisted guys told the Brass they'd turn down a Captians Mast aka slap on wrist and chose instead to go to open court aka a trial.

Make this F'n gov ment prove their allegations!

Kill the enemy where they stand! Don't bring them in! The jig is up and they claim abuse if brought in.

Leave them dead in the fields or where ever they are found.

This is insanity!!!

Delsa, that's probably what will happen the next time (at least I hope so). 

WTH is going on here? Our soldiers are being required to capture enemy combatants using delicate tactics, and then I guess they will have to Mirandize them and bring them here for trial?

This is positively outrageous!!

What's next: requiring our guys to wear helmet cams so that all their actions when they capture someone can be recorded???

 

Helmet cams...

...to especially record the soldier issuing the Miranda Warning.

So we need to get photoshop

So we need to get photoshop and dub it in.

Delsa,Also by bringing them in, there will be no E-Interrogation

So what's the point of capture?   

Now we have new rules to lose by.

We need a General Sherman total war, now. Time is running out on atomic iran...we will lose if attacked first.

 

Leave them dead in the

Leave them dead in the fields or where ever they are found.

Definitely not left to be found. That could make the a martyr in the eyes of the radical muslim terrorist murderers.

Make them 'unfindable'.

That could be used to propagandize that fact that they got tired, collected their rewards offered by the US Military, and went to live the good life on an island in the Pacific.

There's just nothing quite like a cell watching each other, wondering which one was going to be bought off first.

 

Obama, the first "alleged" president

http://gjresult.com

 

One word pigs blood;

One word pigs blood; Blackjack Pershing lives.

Dan, I thought that was an 1800's century urban legend?

I'm all for General Sherman war style. I perfer atomic power over pig fat.

Woah 10  new iranian atomic manufacturing plants!!!

ICBM technology from the 60's....Flight time only 28 minutes..... shock and awe with H-bombs , done in 28 minutes, the liberals can agonize over clean up..99% of moslen weapons flow from iran, gosh vain dude do em!

Wishing here... If only the will of freedom lived in vain hussain heart...A window of opportunity....growing smaller day by day..... The Space age is going away...FOREVER.

Just push that red button..... trust me push it...the msm will bury your anger issues faster than  your than those  leveled against an alleged  of yours pal T.WOODS..

What the HELL is going on

What the HELL is going on in our military.  First we have this scumbag psychiatrist gun down over thirty of our soldiers because our military is too PC to identify the ravings of a terrorists. 

Then, our Navy SEALS capture one of the most heinous murderers in Iraq and they are the ones brought up on charges?

Where is the officer corps?  You chicken sh*t a-holes.  Get off your duffs and stand up for what is right. 

Meanwhile, we have an attorney general giving self-admitted terrorists the rights of American citizens and trying them in NY criminal court.  I know what this a-hole is up to along with the first stupid socialist, bambi.  They are trying America in the court of world opinion for taking out a country run by murdering thugs.     

This just pisses me off . . . 

Damn it!  We have to get rid of this cabal in 2010. 

"Where is the officer

"Where is the officer corps? "

GEN Geo. Casey:  http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2009/11/08/general-casey-diversity-shouldnt-be-casualty-of-fort-hood/

 We have a problem ...

“I’m concerned that

“I’m concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash
against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I’ve asked our Army leaders to
be on the lookout for that,” Casey told CNN’s “State

This is a travesty to be concerned about diversity at the expense of security.  Casey should be shot.

As a former US Navy CT I am ready to say we need to call a

congressional congress to readjust and punish America's haters.

May God damn those who hate our country.

That IS the memo.

What is going on

What is going on? Well, in my opinion our military has become infested with liberals. Seems any organization that becomes infested with liberals begins a slow, steady decline until the infested organization has been destroyed.

Liberalism can be likened to the bacteria Clostridium perfringens. C. perfringens causes gas gangrene, which left unchecked will cause tissue decay and eventual death to the infected human body.

Liberalism, like C. perfringens, causes an infection that left unchecked will bring decay and eventual death to an infected human society.

This nation desperately needs a disinfectant to combat and eradicate liberalism.

A Fat Lip? That's it?

A dangerous terrorist  is capture and detained in what can only be regarded as combat conditions and all he receives is a fat lip?  That's what I would, as a a veteran, call remarkable restraint on the part of our troops.  The man's lucky he's still alive, let alone retaining the ability to walk without assistance!

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court

All hajji got was a fat lip?

He should count himself lucky then. I came out of ROK Ranger school, not to mention Desert Phase worse off than this clown. I swear, the military command structure is turning in to the biggest bunch of wimps and CYA experts I have ever seen.

Here we are in the middle of a fight that we we must win, and we are going after 3 SEALS for nothing worse than catching some clumsy hajji with their fists when he slipped. I hate to say it, but I am glad I traded my stripes for civilian attire years ago. I am not sure I could stand this current lack of cojones in the chain of command. This is pitiful. This feels like the same lack of support we had during Mogadishu.

 

Cobraman. Glad to see we can agree on this. Thanks for your service.

zoinks!

You went thru ROK Ranger school???? That's some hard core "stuff". I don't envy you for going thru that...Thanks for your service!

 Sam: "I hurt somebody's feelings once"

Thanks. 2 slots came open

Thanks. 2 slots came open and a buddy and I went on a lark. Some lark! That Korean Sgt. Major chasing us up and down the hills, whipping us in the calves with a switch. I think we would have turned and popped him one, except the fear he would take us apart with his bare hands. Later, watching him disciplining a young ROK soldier, we felt it had been a wise choice, leaving that little SOB alone.

Liberal Slant

I'm always irritated that the liberal media conflates the Abu Ghraib situation with President George W. Bush's policies on prisoner interrogation. Abu Ghraib was poor leadership coupled with misbehavior by a few soldiers and had nothing to do with administration policy.

This would be like demanding President Johnson explain how his administration policies led to My Lai.

There was nothing as bad as

There was nothing as bad as 'hell week' at most colleges.

Maybe that's the problem?

A lot of congress critters have nothing to relate with worse than their freshman years.

Obama, the first "alleged" president

http://gjresult.com

 

Iraq, Afghanistan and the

Iraq, Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror are irretrievably linked to Bush and Cheney from here on out. Obama and his minions are absolved from any and all responsibility/blame for anything negative that happens but will be praised for any positives.

We figured this out a year ago.

One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.

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