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Fifth Column
ACLU, HRW at it again
2005-06-28
Two leading US-based civil and human rights groups released a new report Monday, accusing the US Department of Justice of wrongly detaining at least 70 Muslim men and denying them their lawful rights.
O dear. And after the GTMO gulags, we get another helping of guilt...
The new 101-page report, released by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Bush administration rounded up and detained the Muslim men indefinitely without any charges and on baseless accusations of terrorist links. According to the report, the Department of Justice relied on false or faulty evidence and said the men were typically arrested at gunpoint, held around the clock in solitary confinement, and subjected to the "harsh and degrading high-security conditions usually reserved for prisoners convicted of the most dangerous crimes." "These men were victims of a Justice Department that was willing to do an end run around the law," said Jamie Fellner, a director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement...In addition, both rights groups said many of the detainees were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and were not permitted to see the evidence used against them. - The exact number of so-called material witnesses detained has not been released by the Justice Department, but the report said the majority of the men were found to be from the Middle East and all were Muslim except for one. The report said, "One cannot help but ask whether ignorance and prejudice about Muslims in the United States has helped color the analysis of the government in these cases." Anjana Malhotra, one of the reports authors, believes prejudice played a role in these detentions. "Muslim men were arrested for little more than attending the same mosque as a September 11th hijacker or owning a box-cutter," she said.
Words fail me. Fisking would be too good for this piece of drivel. It's the anti-American prejudice and willful ignorance that will lose this war, not our detention of men intent on jihad.
Posted by:Seafarious

#9  CF - as long as it's Afghan caves....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-06-28 14:52  

#8  hehehe Barb.... then send Ted Kennedy to 'tour' Afghanistan.... Strictly a fact-finding mission.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2005-06-28 12:53  

#7  HISTORY TEST

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual cuts from past history. They actually happened!!!

1. -1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by
a. Olga Korbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to
rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill' s women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers.Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

Nope, .....I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?

So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women,
little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone because of profiling.
Posted by: Rick90467   2005-06-28 12:52  

#6  I still think the President should publicly announce that he is going to follow the advice of the ACLU, AI, the Dim-o-cRats, ad nauseum, and apply the rules of the Geneva Conventions to the illegal combatants held at Gitmo.

The rules that say illegal combatants caught on the battlefield can be summarily executed.

AND he's going to then send a letter of condolence to each of the jihadis' families explaining that their "loved one" (and I use the term very loosely) was executed at the insistence of said morons listed above. With names and addresses where the families of the dead jihadis can send their thanks. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-06-28 12:20  

#5  In addition, both rights groups said many of the detainees were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and were not permitted to see the evidence used against them.

Uh, I'm just a dumb red-stater, but doesn't this only apply to American citizens on US soil (including foreign embassies)? Much like the ACLU backing that Atheist goon in California trying to overturn the Pledge of Allegience, this should've been tossed out first thing for "lack of standing"...the legal theory that someone must be intimately involved or be affected by the actions of the defendant...first thing I learned here at my gov't job, and I'm not even an attorney. Michael Newdow should've been tossed to the curb because he didn't have legal custody of his child first thing (much like these jihadis, who are NOT on U.S. soil, are NOT U.S. citizens, and, in fact, are NOT even subject to the Geneva Convention, as they were not uniformed soldiers of a country's army and they intentionally target civilians).
Posted by: BA   2005-06-28 10:29  

#4  So, when can we declare the ACLU as "enemy combatants"?
Posted by: mmurray821   2005-06-28 09:15  

#3  "One cannot help but ask whether ignorance and prejudice about Muslims in the United States has helped color the analysis of the government in these cases."

ignorance? Uh...yeah. It didn't take brilliance to realize there was no reason to round up Swedes.
Posted by: 2b   2005-06-28 08:23  

#2  I already have an ACLU-Enemy of the State coffe mug. I was really surprised at the positive comments here at work
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2005-06-28 07:29  

#1  I offer these graphics I snarfed up somewhere for use on ACLU stories. I'll get right on hunting some up for HRW, AI, Red Thingy, etc. Yewbetcha.



Posted by: .com   2005-06-28 02:04  

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