Hidden in plain sight: Inside a secret CIA prison

WASHINGTON - In northern Bucharest, in a busy residential neighborhood minutes from the heart of the capital city, is a secret the Romanian government has long tried to protect.

For years, the CIA used a government building — codenamed "Bright Light" — as a makeshift prison for its most valuable detainees. There it held al-Qaida operatives Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, and others in a basement prison before they were ultimately transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006, according to former U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the location and inner workings of the prison.

The existence of a CIA prison in Romania has been widely reported, but its location has never been made public. The Associated Press and German public television ARD located the former prison and learned details of the facility where harsh interrogation tactics were used. ARD's program on the CIA prison is set to air Thursday.


The Romanian prison was part of a network of so-called black sites that the CIA operated and controlled overseas in Thailand, Lithuania and Poland. All the prisons were closed by May 2006, and the CIA's detention and interrogation program ended in 2009.  

 Unlike the CIA's facility in Lithuania's countryside or the one hidden in a Polish military installation, the CIA's prison in Romania was not in a remote location. It was hidden in plain sight, a couple blocks off a major boulevard on a street lined with trees and homes, along busy train tracks.

The building is used as the National Registry Office for Classified Information, which is also known as ORNISS. Classified information from NATO and the European Union is stored there. Former intelligence officials both described the location of the prison and identified pictures of the building.

In an interview at the building in November, senior ORNISS official Adrian Camarasan said the basement is one of the most secure rooms in all of Romania. But he said Americans never ran a prison there.

"No, no. Impossible, impossible," he said in an ARD interview for its "Panorama" news broadcast, as a security official monitored the interview.

The CIA prison opened for business in the fall of 2003, after the CIA decided to empty the black site in Poland, according to former U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the detention program with reporters.

Shuttling detainees into the facility without being seen was relatively easy. After flying into Bucharest, the detainees were brought to the site in vans. CIA operatives then drove down a side road and entered the compound through a rear gate that led to the actual prison.

The detainees could then be unloaded and whisked into the ground floor of the prison and into the basement.

Imported Halal meat
The basement consisted of six prefabricated cells, each with a clock and arrow pointing to Mecca, the officials said. The cells were on springs, keeping them slightly off balance and causing disorientation among some detainees.

The CIA declined to comment on the prison.

During the first month of their detention, the detainees endured sleep deprivation and were doused with water, slapped or forced to stand in painful positions, several former officials said. Waterboarding, the notorious interrogation technique that simulates drowning, was not performed in Romania, they said.

After the initial interrogations, the detainees were treated with care, the officials said. The prisoners received regular dental and medical checkups. The CIA shipped in Halal food to the site from Frankfurt, Germany, the agency's European center for operations. Halal meat is prepared under religious rules similar to kosher food.

Former U.S. officials said that because the building was a government installation, it provided excellent cover. The prison didn't need heavy security because area residents knew it was owned by the government. People wouldn't be inclined to snoop in post-communist Romania, with its extensive security apparatus known for spying on the country's own citizens.

Human rights activists have urged the Eastern European countries to investigate the roles their governments played in hosting the prisons in which interrogation techniques such as waterboarding were used. Officials from these countries continue to deny these prisons ever existed.

"We know of the criticism, but we have no knowledge of this subject," Romanian President Traian Basescu said in a September interview with AP.

The CIA has tried to close the book on the detention program, which President Barack Obama ended shortly after taking office.

"That controversy has largely subsided," the CIA's top lawyer, Stephen Preston, said at a conference this month.

'Years of official denials'
But details of the prison network continue to trickle out through investigations by international bodies, reporters and human rights groups. "There have been years of official denials," said Dick Marty, a Swiss lawmaker who led an investigation into the CIA secret prisons for the Council of Europe. "We are at last beginning to learn what really happened in Bucharest."

During the Council of Europe's investigation, Romania's foreign affairs minister assured investigators in a written report that, "No public official or other person acting in an official capacity has been involved in the unacknowledged deprivation of any individual, or transport of any individual while so deprived of their liberty." That report also described several other government investigations into reports of a secret CIA prison in Romania and said: "No such activities took place on Romanian territory."

Reporters and human rights investigators have previously used flight records to tie Romania to the secret prison program. Flight records for a Boeing 737 known to be used by the CIA showed a flight from Poland to Bucharest in September 2003. Among the prisoners on board, according to former CIA officials, were Mohammed and Walid bin Attash, who has been implicated in the bombing of the USS Cole.

Later, other detainees — Ramzi Binalshibh, Abd al-Nashiri and Abu Faraj al-Libi — were also moved to Romania. A deceptive al-Libi, who was taken to the prison in June 2005, provided information that would later help the CIA identify Osama bin Laden's trusted courier, a man who unwittingly led them the CIA to bin Laden himself.

 Court documents recently discovered in a lawsuit have also added to the body of evidence pointing to a CIA prison in Romania. The files show CIA contractor Richmor Aviation Inc., a New York-based charter company, operated flights to and from Romania along with other locations including Morocco and the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

For the CIA officers working at the secret prison, the assignment wasn't glamorous. The officers served 90-day tours, slept on the compound and ate their meals there, too. Officers were prevented from the leaving the base after their presence in the neighborhood stoked suspicion. One former officer complained that the CIA spent most of its time baby-sitting detainees like Binalshibh and Mohammed whose intelligence value diminished as the years passed.

The Romanian and Lithuanian sites were eventually closed in the first half of 2006 before CIA Director Porter Goss left the job. Some of the detainees were taken to Kabul, where the CIA could legally hold them before they were sent to Guantanamo. Others were sent back to their native countries.

Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Discuss this post

Jump to discussion page: 1 2

Sometimes .. no, most of the time it's better not to have a "Top Secret" or higher Security Clearance. Only a fraction of Central Intelligence is clandestine, and should remain that way for the common good.

  • 4 votes
Reply#1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:48 AM EST

Why does the associated press feel such a burning desire to give away all of America's secrets?

I can remember my history teacher giving lessons on WW2. "Loose lips, sink ships."

  • 13 votes
#1.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:38 AM EST

A) The basement consisted of six prefabricated cells, each with a clock and arrow pointing to Mecca

B) . . . During the first month of their detention, the detainees endured sleep deprivation and were doused with water, slapped or forced to stand in painful positions

So our M.O. is to show respect to you and your Religion and then beat the $hit out of you?

  • 6 votes
#1.4 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:10 AM EST

Too funny... The AP was able to ferret out this secret prison, but was unable to locate Obama's birth certificate, any of Obama's college writtings, or John Edward's Mistress.

.

  • 8 votes
#1.5 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:35 AM EST

What's you point, "about that"? Give 'em what they deserve.

    #1.6 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:12 PM EST
    Reply

    These prisons, where the CIA routinely torture prisoners, are coming to a neighborhood near you.

    • 14 votes
    #2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:52 AM EST

    good. torture these stinky @!$%#s until they die if it keep US citizens safe

    • 4 votes
    #2.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:52 AM EST

    What give you americans more right to live than the rest of the world?

    • 11 votes
    #2.2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:59 AM EST

    @new in cyberspace from Toronto

    umm when did Americans say we have more right to live than the rest of the world??? Can't we defend ourselves??? if you think about it, detaining these terrorists will probably save your butt too in Canada.

    • 8 votes
    #2.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:20 AM EST

    TORTURE! Oh dear! They slapped them, doused them with water, woke them up and forced them to stand in painful positions... Those MEANIES....

    I wonder what you fools thing about using electric drills on knee caps, pulling out someone's fingernails, or lets not forget the favorite Islamic practice... BEHEADING on live TV.

    Get a grip!

    .

    • 10 votes
    #2.4 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:40 AM EST

    Yes. Once Oballah realizes he has no chance for reelection, he'll declare martial law. They will be used for HIS dissenters.

    • 1 vote
    #2.5 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:05 AM EST

    Tom Joad. From Steinbeck's, Grapes of Wrath.

    He is almost elevated to freedom fighter status in that novel.

    Great novel! Great character!

      #2.6 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:07 AM EST

      So John, I guess you'd be willing to subject yourself to detention CIA-style so you can show us all how it's not torture?

      I'd rather have my fingernails ripped out than be placed in a constantly unbalanced cell and sleep deprived for weeks or months. This is torture. They've just discovered "techniques" that sound nicer in the paper.

      And by the way, it doesn't really make us any safer. The quality of information obtained under these approaches is suspect at best.

      • 5 votes
      #2.7 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:10 AM EST

      It won't be long before some republican will advocate for secret trials for American citizens if the guvment decides they are a threat...how 1930's Germany we've become...

      To the ones who say we should do what we have to to protect ourcelves please give me one proveable case where torture in budapest resulted in me being safer here in the US? I'm waiting...

      • 2 votes
      #2.8 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:01 AM EST

      they just did SB1867 allows secret trials for US Citizens. 0 Due process.

      Only 1) Candidate is voicing disgust with this bill the senate passed 97 to 3 last week.

        #2.9 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:09 AM EST

        It won't be long before some republican will advocate for secret trials for American citizens if the guvment decides they are a threat

        they just did SB1867 allows secret trials for US Citizens. 0 Due process.

        Only 1) Candidate is voicing disgust with this bill the senate passed 97 to 3 last week.

        WOW! I guess we only have 3 Dems in office now. We all know the dems would never vote for something like this... or for going to war in iraq.

        Wait i think they do, then they will turn around in 5 years and blame the republicans.

        Give it a rest people.

        • 2 votes
        #2.10 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 1:14 PM EST

        It's not 'secret trials.' It's indefinite detention without charge or trial upon suspicion of terrorism, workdwide and on American soil.

        It means they can hold you as long as they want without charging you with a crime and without a trial for you to prove your innocence. Among the things they can hold you for is patronization of 'alternative media' sites (places where the viewpoint of an issue is different than mainstream mass media), technology-enabled social or political activism, weapons stockpiles (there goes my Dad's Vietnam commemorative S&W 39 and my sword collection) and animal rights activism.

        This was a bipartisan decision. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote it, and Levin is a Democrat and McCain is Republican. The bill was sponsored by Republican representative Howard McKeon, from California. It passed the House 322-96 and the Senate 93-7.

        These seven Senators are the only ones who voted against it:

        Thomas Coburn, Oklahoma, Republican

        Thomas Harkin, Iowa, Democrat

        Mike Lee, Utah, Republican

        Jeff Merkley, Oregon, Democrat

        Rand Paul, Kentucky, Republican

        Bernard Sanders, Vermont, Independent

        Ron Wyden, Oregon, Democrat

        President Obama has said he's going to veto it becuse it violates multiple Constitutional amendments in the Bill Of Rights but Congress (House and Senate) can override his veto with 2/3 vote. After all, this bill not only puts this in place, it also gives Defense and Homeland Security $600 billion to enact it with.

        So the question now coms to: If our soldiers are ordered to arrest American citizens are they going to? I read a post from the father of a Marine who said his son would refuse to do so if ordered--and if other soldiers hold to honor over obedience, I can see a lot of 'civil disobedience' starting.

        • 2 votes
        #2.11 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 1:43 PM EST

        I voluntarily went through a SERE survival escape & evasion course at Ft Bragg NC (camp mckall) where for two months we underwent POW treatment (VC style) where I was waterboarded, sleep deprived, food deprived, roughed up and forced to squat and/or stand for hours on end. I survived intact with a better understanding of how to prepare my mind if captured. From what I have read the terrorist captives we hold are treated a whole lot better than I was. Compared to what I witnessed when I worked with the IDF I would much rather be in american hands.

        • 1 vote
        #2.12 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:58 PM EST

        Jordan-1234 we don't say it, we act like that...and if you don't like it,we bomb the crap out of you...if you are a small country with no nuclear deterrent.

          #2.13 - Fri Dec 9, 2011 1:32 PM EST

          new in cyberspace from Toronto... The last I checked Toronto is in America. Here in the U.S. I feel we need to take necessary steps to rid the world of terrorist.

            #2.14 - Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:03 PM EST

            And by the way, it doesn't really make us any safer. The quality of information obtained under these approaches is suspect at best.

            Ernie Spoon...how the hell do you think they got intel on UBLs courier? Yeah, waterboarding....so youre comment about the suspect information is pretty much worthless.

              #2.15 - Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:48 PM EDT
              Reply

              The PC Police are already doing that, Tom. They just don't lock you up physically.

              • 4 votes
              Reply#3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:08 AM EST

              I don't see why anyone wold have a problem with this - it's right in the Declaration of Independence - "Life, liberty and the right to maintain a secret prison in Romania."

              • 10 votes
              Reply#4 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:21 AM EST

              It's a secret of CIA Romanian prison: all Americans are welcome and given equal protection under the 14th. Of course, a speedy trial under the 6th, Romania style. 8th is also available, Romanian implementation: Cruel and unusual punishment is allowed for noncombative enemy of the State during war time circumstances in pursuit of national security and anti-terrorism.

              All men are created equal. Some from the MiddleEast and Far East are a little less equal than others.

              • 6 votes
              #4.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:44 AM EST
              Reply

              Secret and blatant assasinations, torture of prisoners, TSA, FBI's attaching GPS and spying, CIA kidnapping, invasion of nations, indiscriminate killing of civilians, spy planes, and the brutalization of Americans at home.

              The FatCats gets trillions in bailout. The powerless workers gets to pay more taxes.

              Is America any different than corrupt 3rd world nations? The America as conceived under the US Constitution is long dead. The brainwashed Americans just can't seem to understand.

              • 11 votes
              Reply#5 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:28 AM EST

              And yet some people still just don't understand why letting the government decide who gets to own a firearm is a very, very bad idea. . .

              • 1 vote
              #5.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:47 AM EST

              And now we have the NDAA.

              For those of you who are reading this but haven't heard of S1867/NDAA sections 1031-1033 basically will give our government the right to have our military indefinitely detain anyone suspected of terrorist activity without charge or trial, American citizen or not, anywhere in the world. And it's not just limited to anything directly affecting America--it's anyone accused or suspected of terrorist activities against American allies too, which can be interpreted to include conflicts that don't even involve America. oh and the NDAA also gives the department of Defense $600 billion to implement these changes with.

              I was telling a coworker about this and she said, "Well, if it's terrorists I could care less if they rot in jail." Most people feel the same way and they don't realize that ICE/DHS's definition of 'terrorist' has expanded considerably--devotion to a single cause is considered terrorist activity, stockpiling food and weapons (of any kind--there goes my sword collection) is considered terrorist activity, advocates for animal rights, pro-immigration reform, and, much more troubling, 'spreading the enemy's narrative'--which is translating, printing and disseminating anything that is against the current establishment's mainstream views.

              This was a bipartisan decision. Senators Carl Levin (D) and John McCain (R) wrote it. The bill was sponsored by Republican representative Howard McKeon, from California. It passed the House 322-96 in May and the Senate 93-7 on Tuesday. President Obama hs said he will veto it as a violation to various Constitutional amendments (1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 14th come to mind) but Congress can override his veto with a 2/3 vote.

              • 3 votes
              #5.2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:09 AM EST

              Amanda

              Thank you for informing us of this bill, My husband came home from work talking about this and I am disgusted with how our country is treating its citizens all in the name of terrorism.

              • 1 vote
              #5.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 4:08 PM EST
              Reply

              Glad to see my tax dollars well spent.

              • 2 votes
              Reply#6 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:36 AM EST

              Maybe it would be better if the MSNBC facilities could of been used for this purpose.

              • 3 votes
              Reply#7 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:38 AM EST

              Yea, take all the right wing trolls and slap 'em around a bit.

              • 1 vote
              #7.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:33 AM EST
              Reply

              No Dubya the Constitution is not just a GD piece of paper -- it's parchment.

              • 5 votes
              Reply#8 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:50 AM EST

              Sorry, AncientGeek, but this is exactly what your Prohibinist-Junkie Goverment wants you to believe.

              The Constitution was written on HEMP paper. As a side note, the word canvas comes from the word cannabis.

              At the time that the Constitution was written, President George Washington was the largest hemp farmer in America (industrial cannabis).

              Cannabis was made illegal in a America to help robber barons Rockefeller and Hurst protect many of their commercial enterprises and allow the goverment more control of the minority population.

              You will need to look in pre-1900 history books to find the real truth.

              • 5 votes
              #8.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:40 AM EST
              Reply

              YAWN. Who cares? The people they held there were trying to kill Americans. Right or wrong I don't care. I will never side with another country against my own. I will not apoloize to another country for my own. When these people stand up and apoloize to us for killing Americans maybe then I will care.

              • 12 votes
              Reply#9 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:53 AM EST

              You don't care if what your country does is right or wrong? So you're ok with what happened at Dresden and My Lai? Take it easy with the nationalism, that @!$%# is dangerous.

              • 4 votes
              #9.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:39 AM EST

              bb, 911 happend over 10yrs ago now. Many of our new generation were kids when this happened and don't have a full realization of this attack. Mostly due to the great job Bush did to protect our country since 911.

              • 1 vote
              #9.2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:02 AM EST

              America goes in every where in the world and kill whoever they feels like with no apology and its ok, as a father u have ten children and a us missile kills him what u think would happen u have ten what u ppl call terrorist, u ppl dont ever learn ,,soon you all will kill the whole world,,us always bring hate upon them selves,USA head of the terrorist states.

                #9.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:09 AM EST

                fair, you are right. Limited Killing to restrain attacks or ensuring our international power and financial interests is archaic. WE HAVE VERY CLEAN NUKES AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS TO ACTUATE MASS EXTINCTION. We obviously need to demostrate this power again for the world to realize that these little killings and restrained (ethical) military actions are useless to actuate a goal to stop a physical attack. No arguements please of retaliation: our advanced tech can stop any missles before they even get out of their silos

                  #9.4 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 12:58 PM EST
                  Reply

                  Well put bunny!!!

                  • 1 vote
                  Reply#10 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:02 AM EST

                  @bbgbunny

                  Did you finish elementary school ? I ask because you have a persecution complex, they did this they did that to us poor americans. What about the people that have been brutalised, invaded, murdered, starved, etc. by the US ? Do these people not appear on your roadmap ? Lets start with Chile, then El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia and so on. Then there are the 700 plus military bases all over the world. Huge "defence" spending, year after year, even if the economy cannot support it and americans starve. Are you simply ignorant or have selective memory. Do some research.

                  • 8 votes
                  Reply#11 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:07 AM EST

                  Well put Mike, our country needs to stop being the police force of the world. We have done so much, for the wrong reasons, in other countries. I goes to show the GOP will stop at nothing to take over everything including our homes, so the rich can prosper! Save our budget and cut defense spending, feed and shelter our poor!

                  • 8 votes
                  #11.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:41 AM EST
                  Reply

                  If you're not a terrorist, taking or planing action against the US who cares. If you are a terrorist, planing or taking action against the US, when we catch you, if your survive, we own you. You have no rights, you are an illegal combatant to be exploited and disposed of as we see fit. AFAIC, a bullet to the temple is good enough. If you make it to GITMO, well, good for you. A tropical venue until you are too old and fat to consider taking illegal action against the US or our allies. Burn in Hell Radical Islam.

                  • 7 votes
                  Reply#12 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:12 AM EST

                  I agree Bunny. Mike, Fu-- off, you bleeding heart liberal.

                  • 3 votes
                  Reply#13 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:14 AM EST

                  Thank goodness President Bush had the common sense to keep KSM and the other bad guys here. This is the intelligence gathering site that led to the end of Osama bin Laden's life. A pussy like Obama would never have allowed this, and we would never have killed the guy.

                  • 5 votes
                  Reply#14 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:24 AM EST

                  Mike, why can't we all just hugg and get along? Hey, what about Native Americans, you didn't include the first people in your list. I agree, we are not a perfect country, but we are FAR better than most. By the way, we are at war with Radical Islam if you hadn't noticed. If you are from the West, value FREEDOM, women's rights, representative government, and everything else most Westerners take for granted, I wouldn't cry too hard for Radical Islamic Terrorists. Have a good life goofball.

                  • 2 votes
                  Reply#15 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:26 AM EST

                  And of course if someone is being held by the CIA in Romania or in Gitmo they are automatically guilty of being a terrorist, right? Life must be pretty easy for people who see things so black and white and simple.

                  • 5 votes
                  #15.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:17 AM EST

                  Life is often pretty SHORT for people who can't see black and white. Sometimes things really are that simple. Sometimes there really IS a right answer and a wrong answer. Not always, but failing or refusing to acknowledge that there are occasions when situational ethics don't apply doesn't change reality.

                    #15.2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:51 AM EST

                    Sometimes there really IS a right answer and a wrong answer. Not always....

                    And what course of action do you suggest for those exceptions to (what I consider paranoid) view?

                    My experience over these 62 years has taught me that life is never black and white...and that view hasn't killed me yet.

                    • 1 vote
                    #15.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:56 PM EST
                    Reply

                    Silent enim leges inter arma - in times of war, the law is silent. On the left, this is tragedy. On the right, it is necessary. I guess it depends on how one's brain is hard wired.

                    What's often forgotten is that whether you think it necessary or not, what is it that exactly makes us different from them - if we get down to this level?

                    Perhaps, nothing.

                    All the rationalizations aside, we are no better or worse than the enemy. It doesn't matter who was first. It only matters what you do.

                    In World War I and II German soldiers went to war with the phrase "Gott mit uns" (god is with us) on their belt buckles.

                    We are NOT that "shinning city on the hill" if this is the first tool at our disposal.

                    But what's more is that doing this shows both weakness and/or incompetence. For if the first choice is to betray everything which one holds dear, then you've already lost.

                    • 5 votes
                    Reply#16 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:29 AM EST

                    Or, sometimes you can simply end up dead right. (Meaning that you stand on principle to your own detriment and end up dead anyway.)

                      #16.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 10:55 AM EST
                      Reply

                      I thought HOMELAND SECURITY, post 9/11 was gonna clean up the border area and make our citizens safe and stop rampant illegal immigration. So much for big govt.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#17 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 7:49 AM EST

                      Familiarize yourself with the real world. Lofty ideas are great to live by from your lazy boy, get an M4 and walk the walk, then talk about your ideals. I wonder what Nick Berg was thinking about his lofty ideas as his head was being separated from his body. Radical Islam is the enemy of the Western world and all free people - a fact.

                        Reply#18 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:04 AM EST

                        Many of the people who were brutalized for years at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo and then released were innocent of any terrorism. Fact.

                        Sometimes I think the fair weather, blowhard super-patriots here who scorn the "lofty ideals" that make this country worth the candle are as bad any terrorist out there, except more fearful and reactionary. Maintaining your ideals in the face of adversity is the hard part...stooping to the level of your enemy is all too easy.

                        • 5 votes
                        #18.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:26 AM EST

                        Culheath:

                        IF you are an American, you should be ashamed of yourself. Any foreigner who is prepared to kill me or my countryman deserves any $hit dumped on them.

                        I assume after Dec 7th 1941 you would have (metaphorically) shaken the emperors hand and kowtowed to the Japs

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.2 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:12 AM EST

                        Neil.... Some facts.....the United States has been responsible for more deaths of innocents around the world, has overthrown more govts, has removed more democratically elected leaders, as attacked or invaded and occupied more countries...than all other countries combined.......so are you equally outraged when you mention Nick Bergs death at the over 1mm INNOCENT Iraqi deaths at the hands of the US??? How about when the US used depleted uranium or white phospherous in Iraq???How about when we use bunker busting bombs in civilian areas and woman and children are blown to pieces????

                        You do know that we attacked and invaded a country that did not first attack us or even threaten us???

                        When it comes to killing of innocents...no other country can compare to the United States....

                        • 4 votes
                        #18.3 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:35 AM EST

                        To the extent that we did any of that without a legitimate defense objective, we would be wrong. However, if we identified a defensive necessity to do all of these things and then did them, it's a simple matter of realizing that war is an ugly affair. Not something to be engaged in lightly. When the enemy uses women and children as human shields, women and children will die. The only issue for discussion here is whether any or all of these engagements were initiated for wrong reasons - but that's a case-by-case question without an answer that is likely to have universal agreement.

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.4 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:06 AM EST

                        Dissent is the truest form of patriotism.

                        You can wave a flag, and say kill those people because they are terrorists...But lets just say China came to our country to"Liberate" you from democracy...Would you stand up to them? Would you fight them?

                        You would then become an enemy of the liberators.

                        That is what is going on in the middle east. This is not a religious crusade.

                        You might also want to think about those flags...Most are manufactured in China now...They are the same country that killed many of our countrymen when they backed the North Koreans, and the Vietcong. Now...They are our best friend?

                        They are still commies who treat their people like cattle.

                        It is okay though guys...Keep thinking without reason...Kill all those rag-head sumabitches right?

                        The first rule of training a good killer is to dehumanize the enemy...It makes it easier for the soldier to kill a jerry, or a gook, or a rag-head...Its harder to pull the trigger on Joe, father of three, son of Bill and Mary.

                        "Common sense is never common" Voltaire

                        Jesus said "Bomb thy neighbor as thou would bomb thyself"

                        • 2 votes
                        #18.5 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:40 AM EST

                        FB, you cherry pick your "facts". Your first "fact" is your opinion, other wise post your source. The Iraq war; were you aware of international history before the 1st Iraq war? How many UN mandates did Saddom Ignore? How many times were intl arms inspectors turned away by Saddom? Revisit history of what happened after the 1st Iraq war and when we went in the second time. I was there by the way.

                        Saddam had to go, we had no idea if he had nukes or not. How about a PODUS waking up to a city incinerated by a smuggled Nuke? Bush had to make a decision based on imperfect knowledge of the facts. He did what he had to, what if he hadn't and the worst case took place, what then? He would have been dogged forever for not taking action on Iraq's failure to comply with UN mandates and No Fly zones. Saddom regularly violated No Fly zones and fired upon US fighters tasked to enforce the No Fly zones. WTH are you ignorant of the facts of history?

                        I agree with all weapons we used, we were very cautious in the application of force to win in Iraq. American lives were lost due to our caution. I'm all for us using DU and WP. If it saves lives of our soldiers and noncombatants, it's all good. War is messy, the aftermath is ugly, look at Europe after WWII. Should we have held back massed bombing raids?

                        Innocents were saved by us invading Iraq. People were starving due to Saddom diverting food money for his people to weapons programs. Sure mistakes were made, innocent people died, we all acknowledged it at the time and still do. Some of these innocents were set up to die by Saddom's forces for propaganda purposes, they were used as human shields, combatants firing on US forces took positions in buildings occupied by innocents while they engage our forces. How would we know civilians were also in the bldgs.? Civilians were murdered by criminal elements within our forces, they were and are being prosecuted for these crimes. War is terrible, it brings out the worst and sometimes the best in people. Numerous Iraqi civilians were saved by US military risking their lives to do so. FACT.

                        The US has given more people the opportunity to live freely than any other country in the history of this planet. FACT. I obviously do not agree with all actions my government takes, we have made mistakes, but you make a big error in thinking to condemn this nation on the level you do. A lot of what you write is irrational emotionalism, based on propaganda, not facts.

                        I'd have to say if what you expressed is what you have learned through your formal education, you deserve a refund. READ it'll make you smarter.

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.6 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:53 AM EST

                        Propaganda doesn't even exist.

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.7 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 12:24 PM EST

                        Phil-673730

                        Culheath:

                        IF you are an American, you should be ashamed of yourself. Any foreigner who is prepared to kill me or my countryman deserves any $hit dumped on them.

                        I'm American and the only one I am ashamed of right now is you and your willingness to throw American ideals out the window in order to save your own ass.

                        I assume after Dec 7th 1941 you would have (metaphorically) shaken the emperors hand and kowtowed to the Japs

                        Hardly...but I would have fought tooth and nail to try to prevent the fearful and hysterical imprisonment of innocent Americans of Japanese heritage into internment camps and seizure of their property. That sort of easy discarding of rights and ideals is exactly what happens when scared people who claim to be patriots get to act out their paranoia as a group. Your mindset in that regard is not only shameful and reprehensible to me as an American, it's dangerous and makes victims of fellow citizens who are supposed to be protected by those ideals and principles you are willing to toss aside.

                        • 2 votes
                        #18.8 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:10 PM EST

                        Neil-1596977

                        Saddam had to go, we had no idea if he had nukes or not. How about a PODUS waking up to a city incinerated by a smuggled Nuke? Bush had to make a decision based on imperfect knowledge of the facts. He did what he had to, what if he hadn't and the worst case took place, what then? He would have been dogged forever for not taking action on Iraq's failure to comply with UN mandates and No Fly zones. Saddom regularly violated No Fly zones and fired upon US fighters tasked to enforce the No Fly zones. WTH are you ignorant of the facts of history?

                        I agree with all weapons we used, we were very cautious in the application of force to win in Iraq. American lives were lost due to our caution. I'm all for us using DU and WP.

                        That would explain the thousands of deaths due to the Shock and Awe and the hundreds of thousands more during the course of the occupation. Iraq was the turn over point when America threw away it's ideal of never attacking first, when we first adopted the principle of preemption.

                        If you can't understand why that is NOT a good thing, I don't know what to tell you.

                        • 2 votes
                        #18.9 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:22 PM EST

                        While I originally agreed with Bush's plan of action with Iraq it didn't take long to realize the anger associated with 9/11 overcame rational thinking...yes Saddam was captured but Saddam wasn't the mastermind behind 9/11 nor was he planning attacks on American soil (on his own soil is where he masterminded tragedy) I can only hope that country can finally become the country it should have been...meanwhile Iran has been and continues to develop nuclear capabilities

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.10 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:40 PM EST

                        culheath

                        I like your responses...Not the usual "Kill everyone" responses you see all the time on the vine.

                        You give me hope that some can still separate emotion from thought.

                        Peace

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.11 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 11:11 PM EST

                        Hairfarmer,

                        Thanks.

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.12 - Fri Dec 9, 2011 7:25 PM EST
                        Reply

                        Who cares about some secret prison that may have or may not have existed? Not me. As far as I am concerned, those evil terrorist SOB's should be tortured for all of eternity.

                        If the CIA needs a place to do it, they can use my garage. I'll even make them dinner and a cake!

                        • 3 votes
                        Reply#19 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:07 AM EST
                          Reply#20 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:08 AM EST

                          shorter wingnuts: it's fine to give the government any power it wants when it comes to secretly detaining and torturing people it says it doesn't like, but letting it provide health insurance for US citizens is a horrific affront to freedom and all we hold sacred!

                          idiots

                          • 4 votes
                          Reply#21 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:20 AM EST

                          " it's fine to give the government any power it wants when it comes to secretly detaining and torturing people it says it doesn't like"

                          Well, Dicks-1891035,they do have that right. As of December 1st, section 1031 of the National Defense Authorization Act came into effect.

                          Any American citizen, on American soil or abroad, who is deemed Anti-American, through words or action, can be held without warrant, due process, or any form of representation. That American citizen can be tortured and eventually assasinated. All legel, no fuss no muss.

                          If you are over heard in a conversation or observed doing any kind of protesting, you can be considered a subversive, acting against America.

                          So, if you want to blindly let peolpe do ANY thing to any American on American soil, you have your wish. I would choose my words in any conversation very wisely. Be careful about what you type in any form on the internet, especially Twitter and Facebook. Be careful of what you buy with your credit cards, or are seen checking out any particular books from the library.

                          If you belong to a social group or attend the wrong church, YOU can be considered subversive or a terrorist.

                          Make sure and kiss your loved ones good bye now, you may be detained any time, any place, for any reason.

                          Welcome, to the new America.

                          • 2 votes
                          #21.1 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:20 AM EST
                          Reply

                          Total.

                            Reply#22 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:28 AM EST

                            The CIA and much of the other American secret service are doing nothing but serving the big corporations, Wall Street bankers, and international bankers. The CIA is a Mafia that is ran by another Mafia, "bankers" and their about to really hit the American people with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act that was past by our lovely Senators! If you protest and are against the injustice by the government and banker Mafias, then your considered a terrorist and spied upon!

                            • 7 votes
                            Reply#23 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 8:33 AM EST

                            My hope is we have more of these, people with clearances who leak classified secrets and document get tried and convicted for treason. But with Oballah and Holder both bent on destroying this country, it won't happen for at least 13 months..

                            • 1 vote
                            Reply#24 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:00 AM EST

                            W. T. F? Their familys didn't care enough to ask , Where the ashes was, or where their bodys laid?.....So lets just toss them in the dumpster....the same place OUR COUNTRY is headed

                              Reply#25 - Thu Dec 8, 2011 9:02 AM EST
                              Jump to discussion page: 1 2
                              You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
                              As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.