On Tuesday, Dick Durbin, the “other” Democratic senator from Illinois, after describing the sometimes rough U.S. tratment of stateless Islamic terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, stated: “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.”
Yesterday, Durbin refused to gracefully apologize, saying, “This administration should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure.”
Actually, each of the three regimes Durbin cites killed millions of political opponents. For Durbin to equate their genocides against innocents with the actions of American troops (such as leaving prisoners in rooms that are too hot or too cold) against those who would destroy this country displays profound ignorance of history, an incredible moral tonedeafness, and a willingness to engage in wartime propaganda worthy of Joseph Goebbels.
When John Kerry made similar statements during Vietnam, American soldiers paid a price. Doesn’t Durbin understand the effects of such statements on our soldiers, and on the future treatment of American prisoners?