Define Conservatives vs. Liberals

Sunday, May 09, 2004

A Misinformed American 

One has to wonder how an American could be so misinformed about what's happened to Iraqi prisoners. I get the impression that the letter writer gets his news from Rush Limbaugh rather than the very newspaper his letter was published in.

Here's Brian Larson's opinions on prisoner abuse:

Star Tribune Letters from Readers: "Frat games vs. real evil

I've had just about enough of the 'Iraq prisoner abuse.' Let's hear more about the pictures of Daniel Pearl getting his throat cut. Let's hear more about the pictures of innocent Americans jumping to their deaths from the World Trade Center buildings. Let's see photos of the burned and charred bodies of Americans in Fallujah.

Wake up, America. The real evil in the world is not U.S. soldiers playing frat games with prisoners. The evil is the acts of real torture and terror committed by Muslim extremists.

Brian Larson, Buffalo."

Here's Rush Limbaugh's description of the behavior:

FT.com Rush Limbaugh on Torture Allegations: "Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing US talk radio host, said of the torture allegations: 'This is no different than what happens at the [Yale University] Skull and Bones initiation, and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort.'"

And here is the an actual news report:

More abuse photos likely to emerge: "While Rumsfeld did not go further in his description of the yet unviewed material, Graham declared that the new images would show rape and murder.
'We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience. We're talking about rape and murder and some very serious charges,' Graham said.

That account was corroborated by a senior Army official."

Since when have RAPE and MURDER been considered FRAT GAMES, Brian? I hope the comments of a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services committee, who also happens to be a member if the USAFR, Lindsey Graham, carry more weight with Brian Larson than the opinions of a right-wing pill popping talk show host.