Friday News Roundup - Hour 2
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-05-06/friday-news-roundup-hour-2
The U.S. questions whether Pakistan had a role in harboring Osama bin Laden. Syrian government troops storm Damascus suburbs. And a cholera outbreak in Haiti is traced to the U.N. A panel of journalists joins guest host Katty Kay for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
James Kitfield
senior correspondent, National Journal magazine.
Jill Dougherty
foreign affairs correspondent, CNN.
Abderrahim Foukara
Washington bureau chief of Al Jazeera Arabic.
Comments
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I'm really proud of President Obama's handling of the OBL episode. The photos can be archived for researchers and historians but do not need to become a big media event. And it's really classy of him not to make a speech at Ground Zero, exploiting the moment.
One more comment about releasing a postmortem photo of Osama Bin Laden. Many people who read online news have probably seen one. While reading online Monday night or Tuesday, possibly on the BBC's website, there was a photo claiming to be a postmortem photo of Bin Laden, admittedly photoshopped. The photo caption stated that a file photo of Bin Laden's lower face was used with the upper face of a "corpse" (their words). It was not "gruesome", but was the face of a dead man.
Because of Photoshop, I agree with the White House decision not to release an actual photo. In my mind, there is no point in releasing the actual photo now, as those who don't believe Bin Laden is dead will say the actual photo is photoshopped. Those who do believe he was killed don't need visual proof. Releasing an actual photo that could be posted to a jihadi website, showing White House permission, could incite violence even more than it probably is currently, because of Bin Laden's death.
I am sick of these hand-wringers whining about Justice vs Revenge, etc. We're at war, a long war & rules are different! BTW, I hope we get out of Afghanistan ASAP.
Just a technical correction: No SEAL Team is based at Ft. Campbell, KY. Ft. Campbell is the home base of 160th SOAR, the aviation unit that supports the Special Operations community and the pilots that flew during the raid on bin Laden.
Witches brew healing concoctions - witches grow weary of our healing brews being referred to by ignorance that brings about such statements.
How about saying "Matzo soup" when referring to awful things?
Witches work toward healing of the Earth. Our brews are the opposite of the toxic remarks used this way.
Goddess Bless You All!
Thanks for a most intelligent discussion
Re releasing money to rebels in Libya- who are they?
What are their capabilities? We do not have enough information -- I do hope that these moves do not visit us in the form of future terrorism from unexpected sources
Also, since Gaddafi is such a bad guy - I guess that we will kill him, too- after that who is next? Our criteria for assasination seems to be quite fluid - does any law apply here ....
Last night on MSNBC's "The last Word" Lawrence O'Donnell had Condi Rice on his program. The basis of the interview was about her opinion expressed about Osama Bin Ladens demise. But O'donnell did venture into pre war intelligence based on what I think is a total myth 'what we know now" Hundreds of thousand of Americans had plenty of questions before the invasion based on the experts we were hearing question the validity of the Iraq pre war intelligence on the Diane Rehm show, Talk of the Nation, Democracy Now and elsewhere on the internet. Hundreds of thousands of us marched, lobbied, petioned our Reps before the invasion based on experts questioning the intelligence
Why is it that many of the WMD's in Iraq perpetrators are being recycled in our MSM. why is it that the same standards of justice and accountability based on the killing of innocent people that have been applied to Osama Bin Laden are not being applied to those who were complicit in creating, cherry picking and dessiminating false intelligence that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Now I am not advocating that International navy seals go in and hold these individuals accountable. Investigations and trials would suffice.
It is a good thing that Osama Bin Laden has been held accountable for his crimes against humanity. When will these standards of justice and accountability be applied to those in the Bush administration for their crimes against humanity in Iraq? Bin Laden and team killed innocent Americans. Tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands have been killed and injured in Iraq as well as 4500 American soldiers based on a "pack of lies" Now I am not suggesting international navy seals go after those responsible for the lies and deaths in Iraq. Hearings and trials will suffice.
When our President, our congress, our MSM and Americans value the innocent life lost in Iraq as much as we value those who were murdered on 9/11. Then and only then will we really know that "justice has been served"
The whole world is watching and waiting.
Kathleen
Kathleen
Will you get off your band wagon that Bush is a crimminal. Libs like yourself should be thankful that Bush saved many of the Iraqi people. It has already been documented that Saddam is responsible for as many 300,000 death since he came to power in 1979. He gassed 5000 kurds leading to their deaths in 1987. Do you not believe that poison gas is a form of WMD, Kathleen?
And if you have not read Arab History, Arabs have been killing each other for centuries. Shia vs Sunni. other Islamic sects(Druze) vs Sunni or Shia. This is a very backward culture.
Saddam was a Sunni and in the minority in Iraq. Don't think that the killing would have stopped if we the US had not entered into Iraq, it would of continued.
We need to continue to go after these remaining terrorists that are in hiding because if we do not go after them they will come after us.
Meangreen:
1. Torture is illegal, ergo Bush, et al, have participated in crimes against humanity. John Yoo's legal fictions can't withstand the slightest scrutiny.
2. W's invasion of Iraq led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. It also directly caused an estimated 2.5 million Iraq refugees, not to mention the sectarian unrest that plagues Iraq today. Saddam's arbitrary torture was matched only by military intelligence at Abu Ghraib. What humanitarian crimes Saddam committed over the course of several decades the younger Bush managed in as few years.
3. The Reagan/Bush administrations used several $billion dollars of taxpayer money to support, finance and arm Saddam with nuclear dual use facilities, chemical weapons precursors, and weaponized biological agents. The poison gas you mentioned was likely delivered by one of the "crop dusting" black helicopters George Sr. gave to Saddam.
4. The Reagan/Bush team supported Saddam during and even after his best killing years, setting the somewhat low bar for conservative moral relativism.
5. The reason the Sunnis and Shias did not freely kill each other under Saddam's secular democracy is because Saddam was an equal opportunity oppressor who killed an estimated 10,000 muslim clerics. Now Iraq's government is more corrupt, more theocratic, less egalitarian and women are rapidly losing their rights. Essentially, the GOP Effect.
6. While some people might be one excuse away from descending into depravity, Americans are a generally principled people who live by rule of law. That's why "the terrorists" and their methods have been universally rejected by the peaceful protests in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen.
KevQuillen:
1. Water Boarding (Pouring Water on the Guy's head) is a very mild technique in getting info. Thanks to this method and the # 3 guy caught in Pakistan a few yrs ago(Fat & hairy chest) cannot remember his name, we got valuable information about Terrorist activitioes.
2. The torture in Saddam's prison was nothing like what happen in Abu Grab. People were murdered in Saddam's prison not @ Abu Grab. Read autobiography of women sent to Saddam's prison a few yrs ago. Also the book of Udays "Look A Like" cannot remember the name. Where is your source that Bush's war committed more deaths than Saddam's. If you want to use your opinion about the 2.5 refugees, etc. How saying that Bush saved million of Shia. Remember Gulf War I when Shia wanted Saddam overthrown along with Kurds. Saddam got his revenge between 92 to 2003.
3. Sure sometimes the US has the play the lesser of two evils. We had a lot business going on in Iraq at one time providing thousands of good paying job to US Citizen. Where did you get the idea that the 5000 kurds poisoned by Saddma used crop duster? They used fighter planes with bombs that had chemicals. Lookup "Frontline" in their archive section that proves my point. Oh do not forget the Germans may have provides some of the chemicals. They continue their illegat business activities under the later embarago.
4. The lesser of two evils Iran vs Iraq. Stalin vs Hitler during WWII.
Part II
5. So then you prefer a population living in fear. Innocent people picked up by Saddam's Secret Police being really tortured (mained and Killed) vs a chance to live a freer life. Don't the see the mullahs having a say in running the country like Iran. The libs under Jimmy Carter should had killed Kominellie.
6 I guess some of "Americans ruled by Principle law" means going into other people's country problems to stop the killing. Somallia and Bosnia. As for peacefull protests in Libya, Tunisa,etc. I am seeing these peaceful protesters being killed by their own government. Who really are the terrorist? Gadafihi, Assad?
7. Read some books about Saddam during his reign.
Iraqi Planes bomb Kurds with chemical weapons.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1779.htm
Good morning,
My question is to Jill Dougherty
How do you explain the slow reaction of the U.S towards what is happening in Syria, do they really think that Extremists Muslim might take control after Al Assad’s regime is gone? Isn’t the Syrian regime still on the list of countries that support terrorism? Aren’t they behind sending thousands of extremists to Iraq and who killed American soldiers? Don’t you also think that Israel should face its fear and deal with the people rather than regimes that don’t represent but theirselves?