Exposing Real Torture

Operation Spear, the ongoing military offensive near the Syrian/Iraqi border, uncovered a terrorists’ torture chamber yesterday. The chamber held four Iraqi prisoners whom had been there for at least three weeks. Soldiers found them handcuffed and chained to a wall. Reportedly, they were bruised and battered. According to the hostages, their torturers never explained why they were being held. Speculation is that their “crime” was being Iraqi border guards.

In this “jail,” our troops found nooses, electrical wire, rubber hoses and a bathtub filled with water for electric shocks and mock drownings. In the basement, they also found automatic rifles, ammunition, terrorist training manuals and DVDs showing insurgents beheading captives.

U.S. and Iraqi forces also found a bomb-making factory with blasting caps, cell phones and other materials. They uncovered sniper rifles, ammunition and a mortar system. A nearby schoolhouse believed to be used for training terrorists had instructions for making roadside bombs written on a chalkboard. — FNC

It’s important to remember that these captors/terrorists are cut from the same cloth as those we hold in the Guantanamo Bay facilities (Gitmo). We’ve heard plenty of discussion over the status of Guantanamo Bay lately. Big Dog discussed the folly of Dick Durban equating the facility’s practices to Nazis and the Russian gulags. Durban complained that the facility allowed the air conditioners to be turned off and the temperature rose to 100. He complained that the prisoners were handcuffed and made to sit on the floor. Some reportedly soiled themselves.

I commented on Big Dog’s post saying 100 degrees is not so bad for those who hail from the Middle East. Our soldiers launched two major offensives, Operation Spear and Operation Dagger, during a week that the high temperatures reached over 110. Our troops must be fully outfitted to participate in these actions with their helmets, weapons and, sometimes, packs. They dine on MREs — not the lemon pepper fish and orange glazed chicken of the detainees dinner.

One should never condone USA’s actions by measuring them against another country or group. However, it’s clear that our humanity far exceeds that of these terrorists. It’s clear that our troops experience a hotter, tougher path than the detainees. Without a doubt, the Gitmo detainees are being treated far better than those taken prisoner by their free counterparts. Perhaps Durban and those of like mind should consider these points carefully before spouting off over Gitmo.

Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Fox News this weekend that at least 10 of those released from Gitmo have rejoined terrorist forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. We only know of these because they were either killed or recaptured in actions. One of these was Mohammed Ismail. Ismail, one of the two teens imprisoned in Gitmo, received considerable attention from libs and human rights groups. When we released Ismail amidst much fanfare from the left, he publicly thanked the United States for “educating him.” He was taught to read and write while at Gitmo.

Four months later, Coalition troops captured Ismail while fighting against them in Afghanistan. He carried a letter confirming his status as a member of the Taliban.

If we closed Gitmo, we would just have to house the detainees elsewhere. We went to considerable trouble and expense to construct the Gitmo detainment facility for this purpose. A change of location would do nothing for our country, the detainees or the soldiers guarding them. The issue has become a tool used by the opposition to sway public opinion — regardless of the fact that such a demand is totally illogical.

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