Gulf War Pilots Tortured by Iraqis Fight the Bush Administration

D

Dave B

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We're all waiting breathlessly to learn why this is OK.

Published on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 by the Los Angeles Times

White House Turns Tables on Former American POWs

Gulf War Pilots Tortured by Iraqis Fight the Bush Administration in Trying to Collect Compensation - by David G. Savage


WASHINGTON — The latest chapter in the legal history of torture is being written by American pilots who were beaten and abused by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. And it has taken a strange twist.

The Bush administration is fighting the former prisoners of war in court, trying to prevent them from collecting nearly $1 billion from Iraq that a federal judge awarded them as compensation for their torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The rationale: Today's Iraqis are good guys, and they need the money.

The case abounds with ironies. It pits the U.S. government squarely against its own war heroes and the Geneva Convention.

Many of the pilots were tortured in the same Iraqi prison, Abu Ghraib, where American soldiers abused Iraqis 15 months ago. Those Iraqi victims, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said, deserve compensation from the United States...

db
 
The Administration has a point. The new Iraqi govt is not the same govt that was in charge when these folks were tortured. They're not liable for the actions of the prior govt, much in the same way we're not liable for the actions of the British after we won our independence. It's essentially a new country. A better plan would be to go after Hussein's finances, though I doubt he has much now.

Chris
 
Regardless, Bush's invocation of the Patriot Act (if that's true; reported by another agency) is simply wrong. More important, Sadaam has no money; it's already been frozen for the Iraqi people. This is a real bad precedent and an indefensible position for the Admin to take.
Rich
 
"A better plan would be to go after Hussein's finances, though I doubt he has much now."

With Saddam in jail (or otherwise put out of commission) and his two sons dead, I'd be willing to bet a virtual beer that there are millions, if not billions, in some Swiss bank account that will never see the light of day again. Much like the Nazi plunder of WWII.

Tim
 
Iraqi prisoners deserve compensation for abuse by U.S. soldiers.

U.S. pilots don't deserve compensation for being tortured by the Iraqi regime.

If this became a big story the neo-cons would put a 90 mile an hour spin on it. Gotta love the doublethink. Remember if you're for the soldiers then you're against them. If you don't want them to go on suicide missions, you're against the soldiers, if you want them to have proper equipment, then you're against the soldiers.
 
Psycho-
I'm certain there was a point in there somewhere. I'm just baffled trying to figure out what it was.

The thing I like more about conservatives than liberals (I've no party affiliation, by the way), is that conservatives are not afraid to criticize other conservatives. I find the liberal camp to be much more of the Borg mentality. There's probably a good reason it was called the "Collective".

YMMV
Rich
 
The Administration has a point
Click to expand...
Not really, and I have been strong supporter of this administration.

My family has a long military history however what I've been witness
to in the past 60 years tells me we dont support our own.
We seem as a nation want to give away our rights and money to other
countries, while it's fine to be compassionate it needs to start here
first and I just do no see that, we just continue to pay more taxes
to support policies that in the end will not help the average American.


It's essentially a new country.
Click to expand...

I would not hold my breath on that it will take many years for changes
please don't believe all the spin.
 
The Bush administration is fighting the former prisoners of war in court, trying to prevent them from collecting nearly $1 billion from Iraq that a federal judge awarded them as compensation for their torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Click to expand...
So Bush is spending our tax dollars using the JD to obstruct the implementation of a lawful order from a federal judge.... so tortured pilots can not get the compensation they deserve.

I'm not sure I have anything to add to that except to say, he sure does reward military patriotism. :barf:
 
The new Iraqi govt is not the same govt that was in charge when these folks were tortured.
Click to expand...

Neither was the German government after WW II but they paid reparations to the Jews and rightfully so.

All one can hope is that the Supreme Court, where this is headed, finds for the pilots and puts an end to this nonsense.

After reading about it in today's paper, I wrote a check payable to the Gulf War Pilots and mailed it to the White House along with a letter asking Bush to match my donation.

The letter starts with "Support Our Troops Mr. President".

Copies went to my representatives.
 
Having reviewed the points made in this thread to date, I think Rich made the best point.

The courts awarded the pilots the damages.

I can understand the Iraqui attorneys contesting the award. That's their job.

But where in the Constitution does it say that the US can hire attorneys to attempt to overturn a lawful award against a foreign government?
 
I don't see how they had a case to begin with.

Catch, prosecute, and, if found guilty, punish (execute) the torturers, but those tortured are not entitled to monetary compensation.

I don't believe that the Bataan vets have yet received anything for their suffering.
 
Did the servicemen of POW camps of WWII Germany or Japan get a check when the war was over by either of those country's? Just wondering if anyone here knows the answer to this? I don't think so ?

I am not going to even say if I think they should or not........but a judge picked 1 billion......how many pilots are we talking about? How long did they get stuck as POW.....?

Did John McCain get a nice check from the hosts at Hanoi Hilton? Wow, his should have been a nice one........seems like he was there 5 or 6 years?

I am just trying to size this whole story up.......... I agree the President has no right to get his nose into this but what Judge came up with a billion? Was he a tad bit high on his reward? I need to dig into this story a lot more......don't I? ;)
 
Right, or maybe the prosecuting side wants the Iraqi government to pay? Well, the US has managed to actually remove that government and it now ceases to exist as the entity it was. In other words, the Iraq at fault no longer exists because of the US government.

Besides, what jurisdiction does a court in California have over another nation. That court doesn't have any.
 
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