The General in charge of Gitmo has spoken, and I, for one, believe him.
According to his investigation, which will not be released until later, there were several incidences of accidental and deliberate mis-handling, the vast majority of which occurred before written guidelines were provided for the proper protection of the Koran. In three of the cases, the mis-handling was deliberate, several it was accidental.
That really ends it for me- Newsweek’s source who read the file alleging the abuse was right, but Newsweek was wrong to allege that it had been verified.
However, it is understandable and it still is, with all the other stuff that has been confirmed and alleged, as I stated last night, why the vast majority of people in the Middle East tend to find the charge believable. It is why I found it believable, even if I didn’t really care. Reasonable people could, in the context of all that is going on, come to that conclusion. On that, even though it may have reasopnable to believe this allegation, I was wrong to believe it, because I do find this General convincing.
At any rate, this should really end it. I have to ask, was this that painful? What great disservice has this provided (and spare me the faux outrage that Newsweek caused the riots)? Personally, I like the fact that the media brought attention to this, that this has been reported widely, and it can dispel the rumors in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the other flashpoint areas.
In my mind, this has been addressed completely and thoroughly, and it is clear nothing of this sort is being done, and that anyone who continues to allege that this has happened can be clearly identified as a propagandist. That is what people want, right? Why did this investigation just start 12 days ago?
That this is thoroughly investigated and dismissed is a good thing- even if I was wrong to believe it was plausible that it happened. Transparency always is. Killing the messenger is not. The soldiers and the military have not been sullied at all by this- but, in fact, vindicated. How is that bad?
And, by the way, I find it delicious that 13 of the detainees themselves mistreated the Koran, at least by the tough Gitmo standards. That should take some steam out of the anti-American rumors- at least in a just world.
*** Update ***
More here:
The Guantanamo detainee who told an FBI agent in 2002 that U.S. personnel there had flushed a Koran in a toilet retracted his allegation when questioned this month by military investigators, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
“We’ve gone back to the detainee who allegedly made the allegation and he has said it didn’t happen. So the underlying allegation, the detainee himself, within the last two weeks, said that didn’t happen,” chief Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told a briefing.
An FBI document, dated Aug. 1, 2002, contained a summary of statements made by the detainee in two interviews with an FBI special agent at the prison for foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The names of the detainee and the agent were redacted.
Seems to me the military comes out of this looking better than they ever had. Again- transparency is bad why? All these rumors are now DEAD.
*** Update ***
I guess I am a fool. I just find it impossible to believe that with all the attention on this issue, they would lie or continue to lie. I may be wrong, though.
ppgaz
As I said to another thread, I don’t think Koran “abuse” is that big a deal. It is not even in the same ballpark as prisoner abuse. A Koran can be replaced.
The whole flap fails to get my shorts in a bunch, just for that reason.
If Koran “abuse” is such a big deal, then I guess we are justified in rioting in the streets when we see the American Flag being burned overseas?
Screaming matches over who abused whose sacred piece of cloth or piece of paper is just a bunch of bullshit. I have no particular desire to share the planet with people who get that worked up over that sort of thing.
Sorry to all my liberal friends (all one and half of you), that’s what I think.
John
It’s funny how this was supposedly happening before written rules outlawing it were in place. You’d think it would be pretty damn obvious that it would be intolerant and border-line torturous to desecrate the Koran.
Mr.Ortiz
Koran abuse is not that big a deal. Neither is the sexual abuse that most american men would gladly volunteer for. However, they are pointless (I can’t imagine that any hardcore terrorist cracked because we dropped his book in the mud), and damaging to our reputation (doesn’t it just prove that we’re a bunch of godless whores like they teach at terrorist camp?).
The toilet story was barely mentioned in Newsweek, and would not have gone any further if the middle eastern press hadn’t used it to incite a riot that ended in death. Even then, the argument in the U.S. wasn’t pro or anti koran flushing, it was pro or anti reporting.
This should all be obvious, but it bears repeating because the wingnuts are going to jump all over this report screaming “See, we were right!” Really? Right about what? That the media should never criticize the military in times of war? That Americans shouldn’t have any skepticism towards our government? I’m GLAD if the Newsweek story was wrong, but I still disagree with anyone who says those things.
Everyman
Could someone drop a note to Reuters on the subject?
Reuters Headline: “FBI memo reports Guantanamo guards flushing Koran”
BumperStickerist
“` STOP THE PRESSES ““
— Get Andrew Sullivan Some Smelling Salts —-
—-> an actual unrebutted accounts in the Press of Koran abuse from an Airman that are totally plausible
Stormy70
Didn’t Isakoff report this last week, in a much more researched piece than the original story he ran?
Too lazy to Google, worked too hard with crazy eyed fools today. Of course that won’t stop me from commenting in a one-bunned manner.:)
Bob
I would guess that attacking a defanged, practically defenseless Islamic country for its oil may have always been a big reason for the Islamic world’s current displeasure with the U.S. The current Afghanistan puppet state’s continued cozy relationship with the U.S. military may also play into it. Even the former Unocal oil exec Karzai says so.
David
The real irony is that the detainee who retracted his first story is now to be believed. How do we know if he even exists?
Cog
Once again you are distorting what actually happened.
There were instances of abuse found, but that is not what Isikoff reported.
He said an upcoming military report would substantiate the flushing of a Koran by a soldier, and he was wrong.
End of story.
John Cole
Nonsense- I have distorted nothing. I stated:
Newsweek was right to state thattheir source had seen allegations of the Koran being thrown into the toilet. They were wrong to treat it as if the allegation had been confirmed.
What am I distorting?
Cog
The source refered to 1 Koran flushing allegation that was going to be substantiated in an upcoming military report. He was not sure of that information, Newsweek retracted the report, and it turned out to be wrong.
The FBI document detailed one ACCUSATION by a detainee, which he later detracted on the 14th. The military found one instance where a detainee tore pages out of his Koran and stopped up his own toilet in protest.
If you are going to talk about the mistreatment of the detainees or the Koran, go ahead. Isikoff’s report was false, and the manipulations to try to vindicate the false report says a lot.
If you are going to talk about the treatment of prisoners, their access to representation, or how their detention plays in the rest of the world, fine. It is much needed. But dont claim that his report had any validity to it.
Cog
Oh, and my statement was more towards the general media instead of to you specifically. The all-encompassing you, instead of you balloon juice.
Sorry about that.