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• Monday, December 1, 2008 07:51 AM

  @Rambling Rose 22

  You are wrong where it matters.

  They may not have received specific orders telling them to stack prisoners naked like wood, etc, but they WERE repeatedly congratulated/praised for their "good work" in "prepping" the prisoners. And let me tell you another FACT from the horses mouth:

  Around the time of the Abu Ghraib revelations we had our annual "Law of Armed Conflict" (LOAC) briefing (USAFR). In the past it meant watching a video (actually well made and relatively engaging) about what is permissible and impermissible in war, about the Geneva Conventions, etc. It was followed by a quick question/answer session if needed or desired, run by a JAG officer. Well, not THAT time. No, that particular immediately post-Abu Ghraib session didn't have the video. It had an LtCol JAG officer there to give us a briefing. He spoke off-the-cuff with an attempted folksy charm. He spoke dismissively and jokingly about the Geneva Conventions and the OTHER laws of war vis a vis prisoners. He basically told us that the Conventions didn't really apply to these Iraqi and Afghani prisoners.

  I was appalled. I probably sat there with my mouth gone slack as this shit spewed from his mouth. Afterwards I was quite upset, even angy and disgusted. This was OFFICIAL cover for a general suspension of the "niceties" of the Law of Armed Conflict and Geneva - a DIRECT invitation for any among us who might be placed in a situation to take or hold prisoners in Iraq or Afghanistan to blow off some undefined aspects of Geneva and the LOAC to which it is a mere part. It was OFFICIAL sanction of prisoner abuse: a suggestion to act "creatively" in violating same. It was a promise for a pat on the back for a job well done should any of us treat an Iraqi or Afghani prisoner or prisoners with less than full LOAC regard.

  Let me tell you something Rose 22. If I ever am in a situation where Americans (or allies) are holding a prisoner and they begin violating ANY aspect of the LOAC, I will personally pull my 9mm and place it at the offenders temple and order them to stand down - and then I will take control of the prisoner(s) myself. If I am EVER in a situation whereby I learn of abuses in contravention of LOAC by others I will gather up all the information I can and immediately spill it to the news, the internet, and to my Senators and Congresspeople without hesitation. You know NOTHING about this shit. NOTHING.

  —tempus Read tempus's other letters
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