[Peace-discuss] Good DI column on Durbin

[David Green]

Eric Naing and some other students visited our meeting
before their alternative spring break last March.

The Daily Illini - Opinions 
Issue: 6/19/05 

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Dogging Durbin
By Eric Naing 

Senator Richard Durbin is a monster that not only
supports terrorism, but also hates America. OK, so
maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's not
very far off from what the right wing is saying. Last
Tuesday, Durbin compared the prisoner abuse occurring
at Guantánamo Bay to the actions of the Soviets and
Nazis. The attacks on him, though, are completely
unfounded and regrettably typical of the current
political climate.

Durbin's statement on the floor of the Senate was not
the product of some crazed leftist mentality, but was
actually based on the report of an FBI agent. Of the
several instances of prisoner abuse occurring at our
Guantánamo Bay facility in Cuba cited by the senator,
the worst include detainees "chained hand and foot in
a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or
water" and many who had "urinated or defecated on
themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or
more." Durbin also cited instances of detainees being
left in both unbearably cold and hot rooms, driving
detainees to go unconscious and one to even pull out
his own hair. Detainees also were subject to
"extremely loud rap music" while being "chained hand
and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor."

The statement in question though was Durbin's claim
that these abuses were similar in nature to the former
actions of "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some
mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern
for human beings." Every right-winger worth their salt
have sprung into action demonizing Durbin. But no
matter how much they howl, it still does not take away
form the fact that what Senator Durbin said was all
true. 

Along with similar cases of abuse in Iraq's Abu Ghraib
and in Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay is more a liability
on our national integrity and in the war on terrorism
than it is a necessary tool. Amnesty International
calls the prison a "symbol of the U.S.
administration's refusal to put human rights and the
rule of law at the heart of its response to the
atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001." Both former President
Jimmy Carter and Senator Joe Biden are rightfully
calling for the closure of the camp. 

Guantánamo Bay is home to about 540 detainees. Some of
these people have been legitimately detained, while
others have been held there for nearly three years
without ever having been charged for a crime. The
instances of prisoner abuse and times when the Quran
was kicked, dirtied, and urinated on as detailed by
the Pentagon itself all do this country a disservice.
If anything, these actions only serve to create
sympathy for these prisoners and further drag the
reputation of the United States though the mud. In
Iraq, where the United States is struggling to win the
hearts and minds of the people, word of these abuses
is putting the success of our mission and the lives of
our troops over there at risk. 

The line of attack over Durbin's statement is that the
senator unfairly compares the United States to past
violent regimes. The problem with this is that while
there is a world of difference between the Nazis and
our government, it's just not different enough these
days. In no way should the actions of this country be
even remotely close to the actions of the Nazis or the
Soviets as they are now. Saying "hey, at least Hitler
was worse" in no way excuses the atrocities that our
government is responsible for.

I'm sick of the "___ hates America" crowd always
crawling out of their holes in the ground every time
someone is brave enough to speak the truth. Senator
Durbin and the others criticizing our military's
actions at places like Guantánamo Bay do not hate this
country. It's actually quite the contrary - they love
America and the ideals that come with it. They are
troubled and saddened by the loss of this country's
integrity caused by the cases of prisoner abuse.



Eric Naing is a senior in LAS. His columns run
Mondays. He can be reached at opinions at daily
illini.com. 


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