You think Durbin stumbled upon some secret knowledge?

Sort of. He was reading from an FBI email acquired through a FOIA request. But I didn’t need to tell you. You already knew that.

Didn’t you?

“[t]he mental condition of the detainees is to the point where the detainees are all participating in a hunger strike. The detainees are upset with the way they are treated by the guards. They are upset because they are being held as prisoners without being charged with a crime or released. The detainees think America is intentionally keeping people in custody for no reason other than an attack on Muslims. . . . In the last six days, REDACTED has not taken more than three ounces of water per day. He has not eaten in six days. He has not changed his clothes in a week. He wanted to be charged with a crime or released. . . .

Yes, they sound like happy campers to me.

I read newspapers and magazines, besides reading  blogs. I m not going to list them all for you. Go to the library.

Go ahead and say, “No, I don’t have a source.” I won’t laugh. I promise.

“The word from most of the terrorists is that they re being treated just fine. “

Do you have a source, or have you been in direct communication?

Wasn’t ignoring your question. If you are asking me personally, I would have to know more about the actual treatment – the big picture. I gather the FBI agent had a “snapshot” view of this guy. If he is treated that way all the time and if others are treated that way all the time, then I think it probably needs to be scaled back. It doesn’t rise though, to my minds eye-view of torture. And I doubt the treatment is that way across the board – too many questions begged (like the A/C was turned off – meaning it must have at other points been turned on, gaining weight – etc.).

Dugger

If the treatment described isn’t low enough to be called abuse, does it measure up to the standards we expect of our military?

“Does the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo, or Abu Ghraib come even close to a reasonable person s definition of abuse.”

Stress positions. Heat/cold exposure. Long periods of shackling without access to basic hygiene. Prolonged exposure to loud noise.

I dunno, Frank. Does this treatment come close to your definition of abuse?

“The subject is still, and always has been, what are our standards? Not Nazis , not Pol Pot s, not al Qaeda s.”

Yes and I would like to apologize for dragging Nazis, commies, Polish Potters etc into it in the first place.

Dugger or Durbin

Bullshit. The laws are there for reasons, there should be no reason to hide these people. We have people in our state and federal prison systems that are far more dangerous and they are still given rights.

This administration, through its shady deals and attempts to hide from oversight are the ones that have invited critical commentary and harsh review. They should stop whining and actually pony up some answers.

However we are in great agreement that what matters is how often behavior takes place. Once im my opinion is too many.

And what does happen to the people who do this sort of thing?

Look at Abu Ghraib. If you had stripe(s) on your arm you’re punished (or a female with a star on your lapel). You take all the blame. If you have a piece of metal on your lapel (other than a star) – nothing happens. If you’re male – and have a star(s) on your lapel – you get promoted…

Let’s stop arguing abou whether Durbin is a jerk — he is.

Let’s stop arguing about whether prisoners at Abu Ghraob, or Gitmo are being treated worse than prisoners in a Gulag, or a Stalag, or a Concentration camp, or a Cambodian re – education camp. They aren’t

Two seriously important questions:
Are the the abuses being investigated?
Is there anything “fishy” about the investigation?

Dugger proves him correct.