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Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbin

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 03:43:27 PM EST
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Why is no one calling on Senator Bill Frist to apologize to Senator Dick Durbin? Sen. Frist, repeating a false headline in the Washington Times, accused Sen. Durbin of saying Guantanamo is “a death camp." (Frist's statement, in two parts, is here and here. (pdf)) Read Senator Durbin's remarks (pdf). He never said that.

Frist also falsely claimed that Durbin said our service members are “committing genocide and war crimes.” Durbin never said that either. Most outrageously, Frist essentially accused Durbin of encouraging suicide bombers:

“It is anti-American and only fuels the animus of our enemies who are constantly searching for ways to portray our great country and our people as anti-muslim and anti-Arab. It is this type of language that they use to recruit others to be car bombers; suicide attackers; hostage takers; and full-fledged jihadists.”

This is a transparent attempt by the right-wing to change the subject from the real problem – torture. The Bush administration’s torture policies are un-American and they put our troops and risk and make American less safe.

People should be calling for Frist to apologize and retract his comments about Durbin and for the White House to rescind their torture policies. Our initial post on Senator Durbin's comments is here and a follow-up on right wing spin is here.

Update: Atrios, America Blog, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Blogging of the President, Body and Soul, Oliver Willis and Steve Gilliard join the call for a Frist apology.

Update: The FBI e-mail that Senator Durbin referred to can be viewed here. There are many more like it here.

Update: Via Armando at Daily Kos, Senator Durbin again explains his comments. My take: If Durbin was big enough to clarify what he said, Frist should apologize for his gross distortion of Durbin's remarks.

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    Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbin | 41 comments (41 topical)
    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    It's an outrage! Remember, it's not the crime, it's the cover-up, right?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    Frist must also apologize for lying about Ms. Schiavo's condition. On that subject, he says it's time to "move on" while Jeb Bush initiates an investigation today of Ms. Schiavo's husband. The good news is, in light of his presidential aspirations, for those of us who didn't know anything about his ethics and character, we sure know now.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    apologize for telling the truth about Durbin? a jihadist could not have done a better job in putting the quote together and it will certainly be used against us. The fact that Durbin is now too cowardly to face up to his quote is indicative of the man he is. It's not about torture, it's about Bush and politics.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    Ed Sez: a jihadist could not have done a better job in putting the quote together and it will certainly be used against us. wadda drone! thats a pretty stupid argument, eddie... far better that the fascist Busheviks had not done things that could be used agains "us," doncha think, cully? i mean, it would be better if they hadn't condoned, and encouraged torture, wouldn't it? Then Sen Durbin might not have had those gruesome, graphic details to report on? smarter drones, please...

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    It isn't Durbin who "could not have done a better job" of creating a situation America's enemies can use against us. It's the people who decided to get America into the business of torture and indefinite detention.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    I note, with amusement but without surprise, that the guy accusing Senator Durbin of being "cowardly" is someone who identifies himself only as "Ed" and leaves no email address or functional URL. Quite the example of manly bravery, "Ed."

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    Ugh. Frist still owes the Senate and the nation an apology for his witness malpractice in the Schiavo tragedy.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    The attack poodles of the right are officially on Durbin's case -- Powerline has dubbed him "Turban Durbin." (No offense to genuine poodles intended.) I'm revving up for a round o' LTEs this afternoon about Frist's comments. First he proves he ought to have his medical license revoked over the Terry Schiavo diagnosis, now he proves he can't read. Let's hope he gets his ass handed to him by Disco Bolton. And a couple of angry cats.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#10)
    by jamesepowell on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:10 PM EST
    I am sure Senator's Biden and Edwards will be right out there condemning this kind of divisive language, right?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Im not so sure how stating the obvious is going to hurt the US. Will it suddenly convince all the exteremists on the fence to join in the fight? Most of the global community, expect the those supporting the right in the US, understand what is going on and why it needs to stop. Keeping this place open will do far more damage than any words a Senator can utter.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    it was an FBI report, Cat-killah.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Wow, Ed, a real ball of fire like you needs to be over in Iraq givin' those terra-rists heck. I'm sure there's an Army or Marine recruiter near you, and I hear they're running short this month. Don't forget to bring a big jug of Kool-Aid over with you. You'll need it.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#13)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    I don't think either of them should apologise, they said what they said and let the public decide. Sen Durbin's comments were beyond the pale but there is no excuse for Sen Frist make up worse comments and attribute those comments to Durbin. Durbin was wrong to carelessly toss about Pol Pot analogies and effectively call the US military Nazis. And so what if he said it! Afterall its not as if it would be above the fold on Al Jeezzra or anything. It is not like he is a modern day "Tokyo Rose", or maybe he is. If the guy wants to say stupid things that is his right as it is Sen Frist's right to be the fool himself. These guys aren't really helping the situation at all with thier childishness and that is sad.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#14)
    by Avedon on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    I read things like some of these comments and the dark part of me wishes fervently that these people would find themselves banged up under the Patriot Act and screaming, "You can't do this to me! This is America!" And then they'd understand what Durbin meant, finally.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Durbin made a deliberately inflamatory exaggeration to get attention, and he succeeded. Comparing the US to the Nazis and Soviets is what distracted from the torture issue. "Moderate physical pressure" is the Israeli euphemism for torture. Our Mideast ally has been using those methods during interrogations for decades. I don't recall the Clinton administration raising a peep of protest about these methods used by the ally to whom we give the most foreign aid year after year.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#16)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    If Durbin's statements don't qualify as "aid and comfort to the enemy", then nothing does. Lott lost his leadership position (something I called the RNC to ask for) for a lot less. Lott's statements were merely reprehensible - they didn't actually aid the enemy. Durbin should resign his leadership position at the very least. If Frist should apologize, it should be for not being harsh enough.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Posted by jimcee: "Sen Durbin's comments were beyond the pale" Sure, sure, and Dick Cheney and C. Rice threatening our children over NUKES THAT DIDN'T EXIST, that's just peachy. Don't criticize the illegal actions of the government -- that's how you lot define yourselves. BOOTLICKERS. Posted by James Robertson: "If Durbin's statements don't qualify as "aid and comfort to the enemy", then nothing does." HILARIOUS. Durbin's statement, that the conditions reported by the FBI agent were horrific, ARE HIS JOB. The Senate has oversight on the military, in case you didn't know. It is Durbin's (and Frist's et al.) JOB to protest and correct excesses by the Department of Defense. You lot don't like our system of government, that's YOUR problem. First you encourage attacks on judges who don't fall in line; actually, first you called anyone who called Bush a liar on his lies, unpatriotic -- when it is now clear that patriotism was EXACTLY what we were doing, trying to keep the country we love out of a DEBACLE.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#18)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    So Paul: "Sure, sure, and Dick Cheney and C. Rice threatening our children over NUKES THAT DIDN'T EXIST, that's just peachy. Don't criticize the illegal actions of the government -- that's how you lot define yourselves. BOOTLICKERS." Getting intelligence wrong is now illegal? Let's dredge up FDR's body and hang it, since he screwed up the intelligence prior to Pearl Harbor. Let's get Clinton in the dock, since he didn't see 9/11 coming - it was planned on his watch. Let's dig up Truman's bones too, since he didn't see Korea coming, and while we're at it, we can get Reagan in there too, since he didn't see the Marine barracks bombing coming. Sheesh Paul - I suppose you're super rich and living in a mansion, due to your exquisite ability to see the future perfectly?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Brian Sussman: Pro-torture Talk show host in San Francisco So I'm listening to KSFO (in San Francisco) today and this right wing talk show host (former weatherman Brian Sussman) is going on about Durbin. Same stuff about how terrible it is that he is saying this. I heard him yesterday and listened to a few calls where wing nuts agreed with him. I was getting the impression that he thinks it is swell to torture people. So I wrote him and told him some facts about torture and Americans taken from the Schlesinger Report, the Taguba report and from Mark Danner's book Torture and Truth. He wrote back and said,
    From: Brian Sussman To: "Mr. spocko" Date: Jun 17, 2005 8:04 PM Subject: Re: Why don't you want to admit that Americans torture people? no beating around the "Bush" on this one:torture of those who would like to kill us is okay by me. I've said it on the radio and will make sure I say it again loud and clear for misguided people like you."
    Have you heard anyone else come out and say, "Torture is okay" on the right wing talk shows? Are Rush and O'Reilly pro-torture? Sure it is free speech, but his postion is pretty distasteful especially since he clearly had no way of measuring who is trying to kill us. Were you on the ground in Afghanistan and knew who was "trying to kill us"? Were you part of the team that rounded up all the people in an area for Abu Ghraib? Check out my link to see the letter I wrote him.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#20)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    JR, According to your logic, W should be impeached because 911 happened on his watch. I thought that W sucked because of his reaction afterwards, but I'll let you have it your way

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#21)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    I guess sarcasm is a lost art on the left - witness Roger's reaction to my comment...

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#22)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Robertson: "getting intelligence wrong is now illegal?" Please. I remind you of the infamous Downing Street memo:
    However, at the July meeting Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, said the case for war was “thin” as “Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran”.
    This was in July 2002. It gets better: They then go on to discuss how to create a justification for the invasion. Here is Bob Woodward on the subject, from MSNBC:
    Woodward says Bush pulled Rumsfeld aside Nov. 21, 2001 — when U.S. forces and allies were in control of about half of Afghanistan — and asked him what kind of war plan he had on Iraq. When Rumsfeld said it was outdated, Bush told him to get started on a fresh one. The book says Bush told Rumsfeld to keep quiet about it and when the defense secretary asked to bring Tenet into the planning at some point, the president said not to do so yet.
    The problem the administration and its parasites have is that the evidence for their crimes is public, and it's only going to get worse for them, as it keeps piling up. There's pictures of Abu Ghraib, for heaven's sake. There's the Downing Street memo. There are all the documents the ACLU are dredging up, including the FBI memo that Sen. Durbin read, or the DOD memo saying that military personnel were impersonating FBI people so if anything went wrong the FBI would be blamed. You can't keep saying "Oh, look over there: It's Bill Clinton" forever.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Don't let anyone, including James, distract us from Durbin's message. The question to ask those apologists for Bush is: "So you're OK with torture?"

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#24)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    josquin - the things being discussed aren't torture. Calling them such doesn't make it so.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#25)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Robertson, you're reduced to playing word games. Call it whatever you like, it's the deed that matters. If there is justice in this world, Rumsfeld and Co. should pay dearly for it.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#26)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Al - Speaking of word games:
    The book says
    I think that is a significant phrase. How about you? And then we have the "But" instead of "And" in the memo. Parse away, quote sources that are unreliable.... Hey! Be careful. Someone will say you are telling lies JR - You are being too subtle. Try this: josquin - Making people wear panties on their heads, invading their personal space, making them listen to out of culture music isn't torture. I mean if the glazed chicken arrives cold, heavens! Summons AIM! We have a most damnable offense! Even worse, there are only two entrees on the dinner menu! Catch a clue for heaven's sake. PIL - Thanks for the chuckle. Dr. Spocko - Define torture. And then answer me this. What would you do with these unlawful combatants/terrorists/guerrillas?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    Let me stick a chemical light up your a**, Jim. /all i need to say

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#28)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:12 PM EST
    Bottom line, the people of Illinois will decide this one. If Durbin is really a courageous hero then he will be proud to use the video of his statement in his 2008 re-election ads. If, on the other hand, this is a huge blunder, then his opponent will use the video clip. So who do you think will use the video, Durbin or his opponent?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#29)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:12 PM EST
    V2 - The subject is Gitmo, V2. Why try to bring things into it that didn't happen in Gitmo?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#30)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:13 PM EST
    PPJ:
    Al - Speaking of word games: "The book says..." I think that is a significant phrase. How about you?
    Not really, but if you insist, the book is Plan of attack by Bob Woodward. I don't know why you would say Woodward is an unreliable source. My quote was drawn from MSNBC, as you can see from the link I gave, which as far as I know is a reasonably reliable source. PPJ again:
    Parse away, quote sources that are unreliable.... Hey! Be careful. Someone will say you are telling lies.
    Someone reminds me of Groucho Marx' question: "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:13 PM EST
    Regardless, Al, the point is correct: the evidence and the outrage is on an unavoidable tangent from the historical revision effort of the Bush psyop billionaire ripoff of America. Not enough people can be forced back in line, its a widening gyre. Did you hear about Palm Beach County in Florida? That blackboxvoting.org has gotten ahold of the 2004 voting tapes, and none of them are signed (the originals were signed). And that the county started inputing votes before voting day. And the recent proof of how easily the Diebold systems tabulators can be hacked? Have you seen that the rightwing is melting down in Ohio?

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#32)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:13 PM EST
    "Robertson, you're reduced to playing word games. Call it whatever you like, it's the deed that matters. If there is justice in this world, Rumsfeld and Co. should pay dearly for it." body count at Gitmo: Zero. Things the Left calls torture at Gitmo: -- loud music -- Air conditioning turned off (or up) You people might want to actually read accounts of the comparisons Durbin made in order to see how truly absurd his remarks are. He's slandering the troops, slandering the country, and providing aid and comfort to the enemy. You might want to read Mark Steyn this morning.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#33)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:13 PM EST
    Obviously the Lefties on this site consider anything that the Bush administration does as torture, such is the enlightenment of those blinded by thier Bush hatred. By the By, the Downing Street Memo is starting to look like a fabrication of a journalist for the Times of London. There are no originals to back up the story as the journalist has said both that he returned them to his source and then said he destroyed them. Seems kind of fishy in the Dan Rather/ Nat'l Guard fiasco.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#34)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:13 PM EST
    The subject is Frist, Durbin and Gitmo. Off topic comments will be deleted. Put them on an open thread.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#35)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    I thought the topic was "We call anything our side does torture, and we refuse to condemn anything that the enemy does, period".

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#36)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    Jimcee: "By the By, the Downing Street Memo is starting to look like a fabrication..." Sure sure, that's why Blair has never disputed their authenticity, even before the election. You folk will believe anything rather than assess the truth of the billions of dollars flowing into Bush's back pocket. James: "torture at Gitmo: -- loud music -- Air conditioning turned off (or up)" Loud music played in the ear of prisoners in order to torture them IS torture. The Japanese did experiments on prisoners of heating and chilling them, and we certainly consider those torture as well. I object to torturing human beings. You, a racist, think that you have every right to do it, on the odd chance that it will make you 'safer.' Nevermind that it is a nightmare for innocent people. You just figure they are 2/3 human, and won't admit that is your REAL bias.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#37)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    I agree how Durbin stated it was wrong. What he should have done is read the account and then given the senate and admin a multiple choice; "Were these techniques employed by: a) The Pol Pot Regime b) The Nazis c) Stalin d) America e) All of the above "E" is the correct answer. I can't understand how folks can argue about spin when the underlying facts are true and horrendous.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#38)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    "Loud music played in the ear of prisoners in order to torture them IS torture. The Japanese did experiments on prisoners of heating and chilling them, and we certainly consider those torture as well." Well then, we better ban all concerts then, since young people across the US are being tortured regularly.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#39)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:14 PM EST
    Oh, yeah, James, it's all real funny what the USPNAC is doing to INNOCENT PEOPLE you despise. As long as they are from a certain race, you can do anything you like to them, as long as you beat your chest that it's about "safety." Nevermind the statements by our own JAG that the interrogations have been a farce. Gee, let's see how many regimes have justified their actions based on that...ooh, lots. For instance, Hitler, who invaded Poland because the Poles were "castrating Germans." How many Saudis have been sent to Guantanamo? Because 17 hijackers were Saudi, so that's why we attacked Iraq. That's why Bush smokes Cuban cigars with "Bandar Bush," and yucks it up about Saudi financial support for fundamentalist schools that train terrorists. And nevermind Cheney's pipeline income, all under the table.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#40)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:20 PM EST
    Senator Dick Durbin, 1998: "I call on those who question the motives of the president and his national security advisors to join with the rest of America in presenting a united front to our enemies abroad." The difference, then and now? Different party in the White House, that's the long and short of it.

    Re: Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbi (none / 0) (#41)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:23 PM EST
    He never apologized to Richard Clarke for smearing him did he? And he never had to. Standard operating procedure. This is how far we've fallen.

    Call for Sen. Frist to Apologize to Sen. Durbin | 41 comments (41 topical)