quote:

Guantanamo suicides 'not PR move' quote: Governments and rights groups have deplored the deaths The US state department has distanced itself from comments by a top official that the three suicides by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were "a good PR move". Colleen Graffy told the BBC the deaths were part of a strategy and "a tactic to further the jihadi cause", but taking their own lives was unnecessary. "I would not say that it was a PR stunt," said spokesman Sean McCormack. Meanwhile, a US lawyer has said that one of three who killed themselves was due to be freed but did not know it. Mark Denbeaux, who represents some of the foreign detainees at the US camp in Cuba, said the man was among 141 prisoners due for release. He said the prisoner was not told because US officials had not decided which country he would be sent to. 'Serious concerns' On Sunday Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Ms Graffy told the BBC's Newshour programme the three men did not value their lives, nor the lives of those around them. Detainees had access to lawyers, received mail and had the ability to write to families, so had other means of making protests, she said, and it was hard to see why the men had not protested about their situation. When asked about the comments, the state department spokesman said the US had serious concerns whenever someone took their own life. Mr McCormack would not comment on whether Ms Graffy had been rebuked for her remarks. Camp commander Rear Adm Harry Harris has also taken a tough line on the suicides, saying it was an "act of asymmetric warfare waged against us". 'Despair' The Pentagon named the prisoner who had been recommended for transfer as 30-year-old Saudi Arabian Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi. He was a member of a banned Saudi militant group, the defence department said. The other two men who died on Saturday morning were named as Ali Abdullah Ahmed, 28, from Yemen, and Yassar Talal al-Zahrani, 21, another Saudi Arabian. Ahmed was a mid- to high-level al-Qaeda operative who had participated in a long-term hunger strike from late 2005 to May, and was "non-compliant and hostile" to guards, the Pentagon said. Zahrani, 21, was a "front-line" Taleban fighter who helped procure weapons for use against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan, according to the department. Lawyers say the men who hanged themselves had been driven by despair. The prison camp at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, holds some 460 prisoners, the vast majority without charge. There have been dozens of suicide attempts since the camp was set up four years ago - but none successful until now. Criticism of the camp is mounting. The United Nations rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, said European leaders should use a summit with President George W Bush next week to press for the prison's closure. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said procedures at Guantanamo Bay violated the rule of law and undermined the fight against terrorism.

Source: BBC

quote:

...the three suicides by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were "a good PR move"...

What an idiot! "good PR move" This dude obviously doesn't know jack shit about Islam. Suicide is a sin, and if recall correctly, kind of like a one way ticket to hell.

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z What an idiot! "good PR move" This dude obviously doesn't know jack shit about Islam. Suicide is a sin, and if recall correctly, kind of like a one way ticket to hell.

Well, suicide bombing would be as well so it is not like it makes a whole lot of a difference

Anyway, the guy who said that must be the biggest fucking idiot EVER even to be in the US government. It just proves the US authorities lack of respect for the people at Guatamano bay.

It's good he said it though, cause it just adds to the debate about giving these people the rights that they deserve

Ahh, can't you just feel the world love?:

quote:

“In an editorial headlined ‘Bad Language’, the right-leaning Times [of London], normally a defender of Britain’s alliance with the United States, said such rhetoric ‘plays once again into the hands of America’s enemies.’” http://today.reuters.com/News/newsA...AMO-BRITAIN.xml

quote:

“France’s Le Monde newspaper condemned Graffy’s comments, saying that they ‘illustrate the gulf which separates American authorities from the rest of the world on this sinister question.’” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006...in1703826.shtml

quote:

“Britain’s Guardian newspaper called Harris’ remarks ‘cold and odious.’ ‘It is entirely in keeping with the clinical illegality of America’s treatment of terror suspects since 2001,’ the left-leaning newspaper said.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006...in1703826.shtml

quote:

“Britain’s conservative Daily Mail newspaper said the officials had spoken ‘with utter insensitivity to world opinion’ in an editorial headlined: ‘From the high moral ground to the gutter.’” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006...in1703826.shtml

quote:

“Spain’s El Mundo newspaper called the comments ‘gruesome.’” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006...in1703826.shtml

Thanks, Graffy. Wonderful spokesman.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

Short of interrogation for a guilty plea im all for torture.

quote:

Originally posted by St_Andrew It just proves the US authorities lack of respect for the people at Guatamano bay. It's good he said it though, cause it just adds to the debate about giving these people the rights that they deserve

If they are indeed guilty than leave them there.
To give them rights under the geneva convention is stretching the deffinition of "human" a little too far.

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z

Jesse Macbeth is a fraud and the milblogs have several discrepancies...

quote:

Impersonating A Ranger To Spread Lies [Bubblehead] [Update 1514 23 May: Not surprisingly, all the original links in this post are now dead, as the "progressive" websites scramble to cover their butts. Those who've come here from some of the other coverage of this issue (I'm pretty sure this was the first milblog post on MacBeth) can check out the rest of the site for more information -- or, if you'd like, you can head to my home blog and read about submarines.] Lots of "progressives" will probably be excited today about a new "interview" with an alleged former "Ranger", "Jessie MacBeth", being hyped by the Centre for Research on Globalization. The alleged Ranger accuses American soldiers of all sorts of war crimes. Luckily, the makers of the film didn't know enough about how military uniforms really work, so real soldiers are pointing out the discrepancies to show it's unlikely that this person was really who he claims to be. Examples of the discrepancies noted in the site's comments are in the extended entry. Continue reading "Impersonating A Ranger To Spread Lies " 1. Special Forces Combat Patch (Wrong) 2. Two "Tabs" sewn above SF patch (Wrong- Only One) 3. No Ranger Tab 4. No Airborne Wings 5. No Unit Crest 6. No Sewn on Rank 7. No One in the Army rolls their sleeves like that. Bonus: 8. Mustache is out of regulation by extending past the corner of the mouth. All done!

(there are links within the above quote as well)
>>Sounce<<

I wouldn't use him in any arguement SZ...

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z

This guy has also been debunked...
>>Link<<

Sorry, anyone who joins the Cindy Sheehan tour doesn't have any credibility at all...

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

A couple of blogs? Seriously, do you expect me to believe that?

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z A couple of blogs? Seriously, do you expect me to believe that?

Milblogs are done by actual military personel; why wouldn't you?

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."