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Jewish World Review August 29, 2005 / 24 Av,
5765
Bill O'Reilly
Endangering the troops
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
Every time I turn around, another anti-war person is saying how
much he or she "supports" the troops. No matter how vicious the attack on
the policy in Iraq or the Afghanistan situation or the proactive strategy to
confront worldwide terror, it always seems there's a "support the troops"
caveat at the end of the blistering dissent. OK, fine, opposing the Iraq war
doesn't mean disrespect for the military, that's true. But the benefit of
the doubt only goes so far. Now there's a litmus test, a way to expose the
folks who really don't support the troops no matter what they tell you.
As you may know, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is
demanding the release of all Abu Ghraib photographs and videotapes, and any
other damning evidence of prisoner abuse by the American military. The ACLU
filed suit last year, and the case is now coming to a head in New York City.
Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
testified in front of the judge that any further public exposition of
prisoner abuse could endanger the lives of U.S. and allied troops. He is
livid about the ACLU's action.
Of course Myers is right, and the Newsweek Quran fiasco proved
it. Loony Muslims rampaged in a number of countries after that magazine
falsely reported the holy book had been abused at Guantanamo Bay. At least
15 people were killed, hundreds injured.
Myers, himself, has seen the abuse images that have not been
made public and says: "the release (of them) would aid the recruitment
efforts and other activities of insurgent elements, weaken the new
democratic governments of Iraq and Afghanistan ... and increase the
likelihood of violence against the United States interests, personnel, and
citizens worldwide."
But the ACLU does not care what Myers thinks it wants to
embarrass the Bush administration, and if people die because of that, tough.
This despicable attitude is being enabled by some interesting
ACLU allies. In a "friend-of-the-court" brief, CBS, NBC, The New York Times
and a few other media outfits urged the judge to reject Myers' argument and
dump 87 Abu Ghraib photos and four videos into the public square.
As an American journalist, I am simply ashamed that some of my
colleagues have sided with the ACLU and would risk further endangering
Americans fighting this brutal war on terror. An action of this type would
have been unthinkable during World War II. But, today, the media operates
outside patriotic constraints or even public safety considerations.
What is the point of more Abu Ghraib pictures? We all know what
happened there, how dismal and inexcusable it was. If the pictures advanced
the story, I could understand, but this is just more of the same, according
to Gen. Myers and his staff. And in a time of war, you give the benefit of
any doubt to the top military commander, don't you?
The mainstream media, on the whole, has consistently
underestimated the danger America is facing from the Islama-fascists. Most
press outlets supported John Kerry for president when the senator could not
articulate a single strategy to fight the enemy other than enlisting the
help of France and going to his website. That's why Kerry lost. He had
absolutely no war plan.
But ask them how they would protect Americans from killers who
obey no rules, who believe Allah wants them to murder babies, who are
willing to die themselves while slaughtering innocent civilians and you
get blather about the "international community" and "constitutional rights."
The truth is that the ACLU and its "friends" don't care if they
help the jihadists and don't know how to defeat the enemy. Those who are
demanding more abuse pictures are not supporting the troops and are not
looking out for everyday Americans. They are putting our fighting people and
U.S. civilians in even more danger. And there is no excuse for doing that.
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