A Tale of Two Stories
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“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” So begins Charles Dickens’ classic story of two cities. I am rather fascinated by the two opposing stories of Guantanamo Bay detainees that are circulating in the press. There is the obvious “detainees are abused” story, which is the most popular in mainstream media. However, conservative bloggers often scour the internet and find an overlooked story which is very different. The two stories are so different that they cannot both be true. Perhaps both are false; however, if one is true, the other must be false.
Take these two articles published by the Department of Defense news service:
- Navy Dentist Stays Busy at Guantanamo Bay Detainee Camp
- A human interest feature story highlighting the dental care received by detainees by a U. S. Navy dentist.
- Guantanamo Detainees Receiving ‘First-Rate’ Medical Care
- “‘It’s not that we like hanging around the bad guys,’ he said. ‘The thing about it is that the job we do for a living is a very humane one, and we just keep that mindset.'”
Add these two examples to other under-reported stories — such as ones relating that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay are hamstrung by policies which restrict them from being any more aggressive than my RDCs were in boot camp, sometimes much less aggressive — and one is hard-pressed to envision exactly how this is being tortuous.
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One Response to “A Tale of Two Stories”
Copyright © 2002–2011 Kevin Robert (Basil) Fritts, all rights reserved.
May 27th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
General Defends Treatment Of Detainees
General Defends Treatment Of Detainees
Tacitly acknowledging that the Geneva Conventions are not being followed to the letter, Air Force General Richard Myers disputes allegations of abuse nevertheless.
Terrorism suspects held in the U.S. Navy prison c…