Little Dick Durbin's Regrets

From AP:

Sen. Durbin says he regrets misunderstanding on Gitmo

Outcry followed words comparing U.S. interrogators there to Nazis

WASHINGTON - Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Friday that he regretted any misunderstandings caused by his comments earlier this week comparing American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis.

On Friday, Durbin tried to clarify the issue. "My statement in the Senate was critical of the policies of this administration, which add to the risk our soldiers face," he said in a statement. "I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: Our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support."

The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday had joined lawmakers and other groups in calling for an apology.

"Suggesting some kind of equivalence between (U.S. military) interrogation tactics demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about the horrors that Hitler and his regime actually perpetrated," the league said in a letter to Durbin that was posted to its Web site.

...Durbin said that he had never brought U.S. soldiers into the comparison in the first place, and that he was criticizing the approved interrogation methods described in an FBI memo.

If Little Dick Durbin regrets anything, it's that Americans across the board were disgusted by his remarks.

The Dems probably told Durbin to back off a little in order to smother some of the flames of the firestorm ignited by his unconscionable rhetoric.

Well, even in his expression of regret, Durbin lies.

He's trying to pretend he didn't say what he said.

Once again, from the Congressional Record--Senate:

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others —that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

Those are his exact words. Now, Durbin wants us to believe he never brought up U.S. soldiers in his comparison. That is outright false. He most certainly did compare the actions of Americans to the Nazis, Soviet, and Pol Pot.

I echo Vice President Cheney's assessment. On a Nashville radio station, Cheney told the Steve Gill Mornings radio show that "for him to make those comparisons was one of the most egregious things I'd ever heard on the floor of the United States Senate."

Cheney explained that the 520 detainees at Guantanamo are "very violent and evil people ... They're out to kill Americans and if you put them back on the street that's exactly what they'll do. All the hand-wringing that we've heard from Durbin and others strikes me as totally inappropriate."

The nation's largest veterans group expressed its disgust with Durbin, too.

"Senator Durbin's remarks could very well make him the 'Hanoi Jane' of this conflict," said American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus. "I am totally outraged by his hideous slight of those he should be honoring for their selfless devotion to this nation," said Mr. Cadmus, who leads the 2.7-million-member, nonpartisan group.

It's important to note that the American Legion is a NONPARTISAN group. This isn't about politics. It's about decency.

Posted on the American Legion's website:

Legion Chief Assails Sen. Durbin’s Slander of Servicemembers

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2005 - The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization today called for a full apology from Sen. Richard Durbin for his outlandish remarks against U.S. military personnel.

“There are lies and there are damn lies!” American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus said. “Senator Durbin knows better and owes every man and woman in the United States Armed Forces an apology for his totally inaccurate remarks comparing our sons and daughters to crimes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Pol Pot.”

“I would encourage Senator Durbin to visit Guantanamo – not a VIP tour – but receive POW/MIA training from the United States Army and spend his August recess working along side of the very Americans he has defamed,” Cadmus said. “The young service members that I have the honor to meet are honest, hard-working, dedicated patriots. Clearly, there were some malcontents that will receive swift and just punishment. But to wantonly stereotype every GI Joe and Jane is conduct unbecoming a Member of Congress.”

The Pentagon reports that since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been captured in Afghanistan and Iraq. The vast majority have been released but approximately 520 prisoners remain at Gitmo, identified as terrorist trainers, bomb makers, terrorist financiers, Usama bin Laden’s body-guards and would-be suicide bombers. Numerous investigations have not identified any significant abuse there.

“Senator Durbin’s remarks could very well make him the ‘Hanoi Jane’ of this conflict,” Cadmus added. “Many veterans believe Jane Fonda’s remarks gave aid and comfort to the enemy. It sure provided them with plenty of propaganda fodder. I am totally outraged by his hideous slight of those he should be honoring for their selfless devotion to this nation. Especially egregious is the fact that his remarks not only insulted U.S. servicemembers but all the innocent victims of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. I take great exception to this irresponsible comparison of my comrades in arms to thugs that killed millions of helpless, noncombatants.”

The American Legion strongly encourages veterans from all across America to contact Senator Durbin’s offices in Illinois and on Capitol Hill.

“I sincerely hope that he will reconsider his comments and do the right thing – admit he made a mistake and seek forgiveness from those he has deeply offended – the service members and their families,” Cadmus said. “ God bless the men and women in harms’ way. Give them the strength and courage to continue their honorable military service.”

I sincerely hope so, too. Durbin should be a man and apologize for his anti-American, anti-military remarks, rather than trying to weasel out of what he said.