Conservative media ridicule, smear captured British sailors (Media Matters)

[marmar]

This is how they treat the only remaining member of the "Coalition of the Willing"? - OP's comment


Conservative media ridicule, smear captured British sailors

On March 23, the Iranian government captured 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf, alleging that they had entered Iranian territorial waters. During their captivity, the detained sailors apparently participated in the production of various propaganda materials, leading several conservatives -- including New York Post columnist Ralph Peters, National Review Online contributor John Derbyshire, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck, and syndicated radio host Michael Savage -- to mock and smear the captives.

On April 4, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced at a 7:30 a.m. ET news conference in Tehran that the 15 British sailors and marines would be released. While Ahmadinejad maintained that all of the captives had admitted to trespassing in Iranian waters and that Iran had "every right" to put them on trial, he said that it was "a unilateral decision" to release the captives. He added that the decision was, in part, a "gift" to honor both the upcoming Easter holiday and the Muslim commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad's birth. He said the captives would be taken to the Tehran airport immediately following his remarks.

In his April 3 Post column -- headlined "Where's Winston?" -- Peters called the captives "wankers" and asserted that they "wimped out in a matter of days and acquiesced in propaganda broadcasts for their captors," a reference to videos aired on Iranian television in which several of the captives said that they had entered Iranian territory. Peters continued: "Jingoism aside, I can't imagine any squad of U.S. Marines behaving in such a shabby, cowardly fashion. Our Marines would have fought to begin with. Taken captive by force, they would've resisted collaboration. To the last man and woman." He went on to write that the "once-proud" British military has "collapsed to a sorry state."

In an April 3 post on National Review Online's weblog The Corner titled "Brit Wimps," Derbyshire linked to Peters' column and stated, "Once again, it's me and Ralph Peters on the same wavelength, deploring the cowardice of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by Iran." Derbyshire further wrote: "When it happened, I said I hoped the ones who'd shamed their country would be court-martialed on return to Blighty, and given dishonorable discharges after a couple years breaking rocks in the Outer Hebrides." Derbyshire added: "And in any case, there was no evidence of torture or mistreatment in any of the filmed cases I have seen. They look just fine. You can't fake that. The girl sailor had that headscarf on within hours. From what I've heard of torture, even weaker cases can hold out for a few days." In an April 3 post on Time magazine's weblog Swampland, Time.com Washington editor Ana Marie Cox criticized Derbyshire's attack on the sailors.
...snip...

Further, on the March 28 broadcast of Michael Savage's nationally syndicated radio show, a caller asked if the British troops were given Bibles upon their capture. In response, Savage said: "I don't think these people need a Bible. They probably need a condom," adding, "By look of the British sailors, they look like they took them off the back streets of Liverpool." Savage went on to say that they were "lucky they found a job in the navy. I mean, I don't know. You take a look at them -- no wonder they were captured. I don't think they even know they were on a boat":

CALLER: And, you know, all these groups, you know, that are worried about whether the terrorists at Gitmo have a dinner mint on their pillow at night. Are these sailors getting culturally correct meals? Do they have a Bible? You know, where are these people asking these questions now?

SAVAGE: I don't think these people need a Bible. They probably need a condom. By the look of the British sailors, they look like they took them off the back streets of Liverpool. Thank you for the call. I don't think these people need a Bible. They're lucky they found a job in the navy. I mean, I don't know. You take a look at them -- no wonder they were captured. I don't think they even know they were on a boat. ......

The complete piece is at: http://mediamatters.org/items/200704040002

[tularetom]

1. I guess you could say the same things about McCain

[MadMaddie]

2. Completely disgusting....

[BuyingThyme]

3. I had no idea.

[Lautremont]

4. "From what I've heard of torture" is a key phrase in there.

Key, at least, in exposing all of these sorry sack-o' conservitards for the flying lily pads that they are.

[ComerPerro]

5. Funniest thing I heard about the captured soldiers was from BillO

"We need to find out just what Iran did to these hostages to get them to say what they did, and if they did something like torture, we need to make them pay" or something to that effect.

Um, wait... Isn't torture totally ok and justifiable?

Oh, yeah. Only when the US does it.

[Norwood]

6. Sickening but not really surprising

Who else was left to attack really but the sailors themselves.

[pigpickle]

7. hatred sells, even self-hatred

[Bitwit1234]

8. Where any of those callers ready to volunteer

to fight in Iraq. Did they fight in Viet Nam..bet they didn't but then their are the so called "bravest" the ones who ran and hid instead of fighting.