WP/AP: U.S. Condemns Publication of Saddam Photos

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Condemns Publication of Saddam Photos
The Associated Press
Friday, May 20, 2005


LONDON -- The U.S. military on Friday condemned a British newspaper's decision to print photographs of a captive Saddam Hussein, including one showing him in his underwear.

A front-page picture in the tabloid Sun showed the former Iraqi dictator, clad only in white briefs, folding a pair of trousers. Another on an inside page showed Saddam hand-washing a piece of clothing.

The Sun said it obtained the photos from "U.S. military sources."

A statement by the U.S. military in Baghdad said the photos violated military guidelines "and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals."

It said the source of the photos was unknown, but they were believed to have been taken more than a year ago. Saddam was captured in December 2003 and remains in custody. He is charged with war crimes, but no date has been set for his trial....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052000197.html?sub=AR

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Yeah, well,

the US isn't big on photographs of any kind, is it?

Witness what we don't see when the coffins holding our dead soldiers are brought home .................

[Griffy]

21. WMD ..Weapon of MASS DISTRACTION.. whatever you do...

Dont talk about the Blair memos and how it proves bush lied to Americans.. lied us into war of choice and we are now STUCK in it.. and the death toll is sad, so FOCUS...

BE the MEDIA.. we are winning this.. look at bush polls.. look at faux ratings.. look at the rise in new media.. just keep at it, talk to everyone you can... you have the facts.. just make sure it reaches your friends, family and anyone else you got the guts to talk to!

make sure to turn them on the honest media...

[OldLeftieLawyer]

36. Absolute RIGHT ON!

Keep talking, never let up, don't let anyone forget for a minute.

Exactly right, and good for you!!

[jayctravis]

2. So apparently according to them the biggest problem right now

is the press. Not that stuff happened, that it was documented.

[bigtree]

3. But they didn't mind pushing video of his dead son's mutilated bodies for

days after we slaughtered them.

[Daphne08]

4. Good point.

[Demit]

7. Or showing a doctor going through Saddam's head for lice.

But your example is by far the worst. I remember being horrified at them showing the sons' bodies on tv. I thought we were animals to do that.

edited for spelling.

[progressivebydesign]

24. Absolutely CORRECT!!! Guess the irony is lost on the MSM. n/t

[bushisanidiot]

5. AWOL Bush had Murdoch print the pics in his U.K. paper.

how stupid does AWOL Bush think americans are?

he obviously hated the guy.. and this is nothing more than one of his frat-boy "jokes". Murdoch did it for AWOL Bush's amusement.

AWOL Bush probably walks around the White House asking all the women to pull his finger and then laughs at himself as they stare at him.

[Karenina]

13. This is ALL BULLSHIT ALL THE TIME

A Murdoch rag publishes pix they got from U.S. military sources and the *WH cries, "The HORROR! What about the CHILDREN?" Puhleeeese. :eyes:

[wicket]

6. *WHO* took the pictures?

That's who they should be blaming. Blaming the press for everything is getting so old.

[Just Me]

8. I thought the publication of his sons' mutilated bodies was far worse.

A blatant violation of the Geneva Convention.

Of course, this publication of a fallen dictator in his underwear is also a violation.

But, you know what,...the right-wing really doesn't give a damn about laws pertaining to war or human rights. They have no respect for such things. None!!!

[Roland99]

9. But yet the U.S. showed video of Saddam being checked for lice?

Fucking hypocrites.

[gratuitous]

10. The Sun obtained the photos from "U.S. military sources"

Another tiresome display of misplaced anger and feigned outrage by this corrupt administration.

[tanyev]

11. And the biggest problem with the Abu Ghraib torture

is that the photos were published, not that the torture took place. And the problem with the Newsweek story is that they ran it, not that the desecration took place. I am so sick and tired of this administration treating every wrong they are responsible for as a PR problem.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. Ya mean NOW we've finally decided to enforce Geneva?

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. It's all a publicity con, to remind the American public that our

brave and resourceful military has captured the second greatest villian on earth (their POV).

This picture, in a British paper, would get no notice stateside if the government had not made it a major issue, resulting in it getting splashed across the front pages and throughout the blogosphere. The government's outrage is creating the very publicity that they are condemning, all to remind us that Saddam has been captured.

Shrub's numbers must be very low.

[d.l.Green]

15. They put this photo on the cover of the NYPost today also. It's childish

and demeaning and it just challenges my sense of their being some decency in every human. Everyone involved in this is wrong, from the person(s) responsible for photographing him like that, to those who released the photos, to those who decided to publish them. Okay, he's guilty of something, but humiliating him won't do anyone any good. If anything, I think it will tend to make decent people realize what a sham this all is...:thumbsdown:

[Brooklyn Michael]

35. Yet, no condemnation of Murdoch or the NY Post

I'm shocked....shocked, I tell you....

[stevedeshazer]

16. Note the timing

1) Saddam-in-his-undies printed in UK paper owned by Murdoch.

2) New York Times prints story detailed horrific prisoner abuse in Afghanistan.

3) Tee-vee "news" shows ignore second, much more important story, show Saddam in his skivvies and giggle.

4) Controversy solved...Limbaugh says, "it's just a prank, no one was harmed."

5) In other news, Larry King may or may not testify in the Michael Jackson trial. More after these messages from our friends at Archer Daniels Midland....

[rocktivity]

17. Since when did THEY start caring about Geneva Convention guidelines?

The U.S. military ought to be asking who had that kind of access to Saddam, and where the camera came from.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Tempest]

18. THEY WERE TAKEN BY THE U.S.!

And now Bush is upset because they were published?

What a Goddamn hypocrite.

[tom_paine]

19. So suddenly the Busheviks are SOOOO concerned about the Geneva Convention?

PLEASE. Those disgusting cowards care NOTHING for the Geneva Convention. Their attitude is just like that of the nation they are trying to make Amerika like, Saudi Arabia.

They are just throwing bricks of bullshit, as usual.

These odious murderers and criminals that comprise the Imperial Family and Stooges has NO SHAME, NO CONSCIENCE.

[Tempest]

20. This indicates the Newsweek Koran story was planted by the administration

The Newsweek story was written by a GOP operative, and was leaked to him by an unnamed source.


The Saddam photos were handed over by the U.S. and was printed in a Murdoch owned paper.


Devious, aren't they?

[Griffy]

22. and its a DISTRACTION from the Blair memo, WHILE attacking media! nt

[rodeodance]

29. I think you are onto something

[go west young man]

23. The difference between the U.K. press and the U.S. press

is the difference between Galloway and the Democrats. The British aren't going to just give in and apologize. They are going to tell it like it is and if the government doesn't like it then too bad.

[bluedog]

25. US was happy to release these

all media outlets ran with these 24/7

[rodeodance]

26. (WPost) U.S. Condemns Publication of Hussein Photos

"U.S. Condemns Publication of Hussein Photos"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

U.S. Condemns Publication of Hussein Photos

By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 20, 2005; 10:51 AM


The U.S. military announced an investigation into the source of photos published today by the British tabloid, The Sun, of Saddam Hussein in captivity, including one of the former Iraqi leader in his underwear.

The photos, the military said in a statement, "were taken in clear violation" of Defense Department directives and may have breached Geneva Convention guidelines for the human treatment of detained individuals.


.....The Sun, Britain's most popular newspaper, is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also owns the Fox Broadcasting Co. It is famed for its photos of topless models and an unabashedly sensational approach to news and photography. At least some of the photos also appeared today in the New York Post, which is owned by News Corp. as well.

Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces in December 2003 and is awaiting trial by an Iraqi court.

The photos show him puttering around his room at an undisclosed location, folding laundry and sleeping. The front page headline is "Tyrant in His Pants."

[rodeodance]

27. see this DU story-where bush says pics not a worry--but now

military says-the pics possibly violate Geneva convention.
Quite a disconnect I would say.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1487416

[Catrina]

34. They must think

the rest of the world is as easily duped as the American people were, at least for a while.

Someone should send those pictures of Saddam's sons to the US media and ask them to remind the public that the Bush administration has no problem with violating the Geneva Convention. In fact, AIRC, they think all those International Laws are 'Quaint'.

The pressure is building, they can't plug all the holes they made much longer, and their old tricks are no longer very convincing or effective to the vast majority of people in the world. They have cried wolf too many times.

I'm just waiting for the adults to take over again, meantime it's hard to do anything other than yawn, when you see their so obvious, getting-really-old childish games anymore (except for the fact that they have had such tragic results).

edited for grammar

[Nickster]

28. This is all about getting the public used to censorship.

Everyone rally around censorship. Real news is bad for you. It promotes terrorism.

I think the pictures are just stupid, but it gives them one more reason to suppress a media outlet.

[rodeodance]

31. we should pics of SH getting his mouth swabbed for days on

end--now the military is worried? what a joke!!

[rodeodance]

32. we should pics of SH getting his mouth swabbed for days on

end--now the military is worried? what a joke!!

[ckramer]

30. "violated "...Geneva Convention guidelines

That's the Iraq war, isn't it?

[Catchawave]

33. ....and Olbermann sez:

from his e-list:

Tonight on Countdown
------------------------------------------------------

The U.S. military acknowledged Friday that a photo of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his underwear, which a British tabloid newspaper published on its front page, was real and said it was "aggressively" investigating how it could have been taken and by whom. The photo and others also published not only angered the U.S. military, which issued a condemnation rare for its immediacy, but were expected to further fuel anti-American sentiment in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7917696/

But boy, whadda picture. Let's just say this. Next Calvin Klein underwear model, he's not.

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us.

President Bush will be in Grand Rapids Saturday to present the commencement address at Calvin College. More than 800 students and faculty members have drafted a letter protesting several of the president's policies - most prominently the war in Iraq. Still, thousands are expected to pour into the private college for the event. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. No tickets remain for commencement. http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=16596&template=breakout_local.html

All hail Howard Eirinberg, the Henry Kissinger of the wiener world. To the relief of harried picnic planners across the U.S., Eirinberg has ushered in an unprecedented era of cooperation between hot dog makers and bun manufacturers. For some 100 years, hot dogs have sold in packages of eight while buns sold in packages of six or 12 -- one of life's inexplicable annoyances, leading to extra buns that turned to mold or had to be frozen. Why the discrepancy? http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0505190341may20,1,1360034story?coll=chi-homepagebiz-utl

Countdown Hall of Fame: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Wink).
And... the Top 5 of the Week.

That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.

Finally,
25-year-old woman was charged with trying to hire a man to kill her ex-husband, and police say she used one of his credit cards to pay for the would-be hit man's flight from Australia. Police Capt. Michael Dehm said it was a report of an unauthorized $2,824 credit card charge from the ex-husband that led authorities to Terra L. Endres, 25. Endres was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree criminal solicitation and first-degree identity theft, both felonies. She was being held in the Oswego County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONTRACT_KILLING?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html&SECTION=HOME
Love gone wrong. Ouch.

-- Carey Fox

Countdown Home: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

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