This week, The Associated Press interviewed Darby about the event. Topping the disclosures: Darby says he was afraid fellow soldiers would kill him once they learned he was the tipster.
From the story:
"I had the choice between what I knew was morally right and my loyalty to other soldiers. I couldn't have it both ways," the 27-year-old military policeman said in the just-released September issue of Gentleman's Quarterly.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Darby said that if presented with the same circumstances at Abu Ghraib today, he would do the same thing. "It was a hard decision to make when I made it, but it had to be done," he said. ...
His worst moment, he said, came on May 7, 2004, during lunch with 10 fellow MPs in a mess hall filled with 400 troops.
"It was like something out of a movie," he recalled. [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld appeared on television, dropped Darby's name, "and the guys at the table just stopped eating and looked at me. I got up and got the hell out of there."
Only later did he learn he had been named in a New Yorker magazine article a few days earlier, he told AP in the telephone interview.
In response to queries from AP, Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said he recalled no effort to protect Darby's identity. It was known "very early and quickly became common knowledge," and people were "talking about his courage in coming forward," he said.
Darby is scheduled to leave the Army and the Reserves, after eight years of duty, on Aug. 31. He no longer lives in his hometown of Cumberland, Md., where "a lot of people up there view me as a traitor. Even some of my family members think I'm a traitor."
He said he has returned home only twice, for a wedding and his mother's funeral.
"I'm not welcome there. People there don't look at the fact that I knew right from wrong," he said. "They look at the fact that I put an Iraqi before an American."
Traitor? Not really. Slimey weasel SOB might work better. Hey, what did they do with guys like this in Nam?
21 comments:
UGGG. Everytime you mention Free Republic I feel the need to remind the world that not all conservatives are so... too many adjectives come to mind.
Those who bring shame upon America, traitors they are.
Those who EXPOSE those who bring shame upon America, true Americans they are.
Those who rely on the behavior of a group as the source of their pride?
Fools they are.
Light, knowledge, truth and freedom, the genuine sources of America's pride they are.
Proud American are you?
Proud am I. Especially with SNAKES ON A PLANE.
Snakes on a plane?
Scare me they do.
BUT...if we ban snakes on airplanes, won't the terrorists have won?
"Humiliation" does not equal "torture". Well, maybe to some people, but they tend to file frivolous BS lawsuits, so who takes them seriously?
Beating a prisoner is torture. Putting them in a nekkid pile is not. Big difference. What's next, we have to give 'em fluffy pillows and hot chocolate?
"Waah! They said mean things about Achmed's mom! I want my ACLU attorney!"
What was the method of coercion used to convince them to jump in that "nekkid" pile? Even if you don't consider it torture it goes without saying that our methodology hasn't won us any friends.
Consider this. Before the Abu Ghraib photos were released most Iraqis were ambivalent towards the U.S. After the photos were released anti-American sentiments shot up to around 85%.
I don't have an idea as to how many terrorists there were before Sept. 11, 2001, but I think it's a safe bet that the number is a lot larger now.
Darby is a hero in my book because he did the right thing. Unfortunately, doing what's right will probably yield a lifetime of negative consequences.
We capture them, we "humiliate" them, and it's a big deal.
They capture us, and they lop off heads. Not such a big deal to some; in fact, many cheer and fire guns into the air.
Hell of a difference in my book.
Libertarian Guy:
Study on the lack of logic and wisdom in your thoughts you must.
The fundamental causes of our current difficulty they are.
Say what you will about the most vile (supposed) Christian... they don't stack up to the radical Muslims.
There's your fundamental cause, Yoda.
And if I hear one more "Well, what about Timothy McVeigh?" reference, from ANYONE... Jesus, folks, let's count how many McVeighs in the world versus how many itchy-fingered die-for-Allah nutbags in the world... not even close.
Watch out, I'm in a mood today. ;)
Somebody needs to read about the Crusades, when Christians delighted in boiling Muslims alive. The Muslim world still remembers the atrocities of the Crusades, even though most Christians have never learned about them.
Marcus says our "torture" or "humiliation" of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib hasn't won us any friends. Who gives a rats' rear-end. Who do you want for friends, Marcus? France? Iran? North Korea? China? If the left in this country would worry about winning this war as much as they worry over our image, we'd be perceived as a nation of strength and courage-not weak and divided. Think about that. I know you won't, but try.
And another thing. Crusades? You're joking right? This is 2006 and we've got Islamic fascists to kill. They started this jhiad. Not America.
Those soldiers in that prison, all of them were heroes. You want to extract information from those thugs, hugs, kisses and compassion won't get the job done. This is war and you can't win it by joining hands and belting out "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke."
I take exception to the "flag-waving conservatives" who claim to stand up for our soldiers. I do stand up for our soldiers. I only wish the left would too.
newtster -- I feel saddened for you that your moral compass is so misaligned that you can call the perpetrators of these acts heroes. I don't advocate horrific acts against another human being on either side, but I take special exception to when the supposed good guys commit these types of acts. Somewhere in my heart I believed we were supposed to be better than that.
I really hope that you will someday develop some depth in your thinking that goes beyond what Rush or Savage tell you to think.
Lib and Newt:
Vastly incapable of understanding this conflict you currently are.
A war between countries this is not.
A war between religions this is not.
Notice that by now you should have.
Your condoning the behavior of the American soldiers at Abu Ghraib puts you in league with the lemmings who condone beheadings and cheered 9-11.
The inhumanities conducted at Abu Ghraib, the slaughter of thousands on 9-11, and the horrific beheadings of hostages in Iraq have all accomplished the same thing.
They have created more violence.
Fight those acts, condemn those acts we must.
Otherwise end this war never will.
A smile to my heart master yoda brings...
for the ability of his eyes to see things.
Newster: You said:
And another thing. Crusades? You're joking right? This is 2006 and we've got Islamic fascists to kill. They started this jhiad. Not America.
Newster, it is obvious that you know nothing about the Muslim world. In THAT world, it is the year 1427. And in Madrassas (schools) across the Middle East and South Asia, students are not learning about the American Revolution, or the fall of the Tsars, or the First World War, or Vietnam. They are learning about what happened to the Muslim world during the Crusades. They know all the atrocities that were committed by Christians by heart.
Make no mistake about it, if you want to "know your enemy" you must give up your idea of the universe. Being dismissive of those with whom you have NO knowledge is not going to help this country win the so-called "war on terror."
Never mind that terror is a tactic, and not an enemy.
Pardon the rant, but your ignorance of other peoples and other cultures is appalling.
Seems like they need to give up being sore about the Crusades. Let it go, already.
Are you listening, South Carolina?
You and I can let go, but fundamentalist Muslims cannot and will not let go. We Americans are dealing with tribal cultures, such as the Wahhabis. Their main drive is revenge: revenge that can (and DOES) last for centuries. These are blood feuds that make the Hatfields and the McCoys look like petty, schoolyard brawls. The West is now the "blood enemy." In THEIR eyes, we are reaping what we have sown. They want "an eye for an eye." Sound familiar?
We in the West condemn beheadings, torture and violence UNLESS we do it! We're justified because we're "For God and Country warriors" who are dealing with "itchy-fingered die-for-Allah nutbags."
Let it go, indeed. At our own peril.
Piss off a Christian fundy, and the result is a stern letter to the local paper, or maybe an advertiser boycott.
Pee in Achmed's hummus, and get your head lopped off.
Non-Muslim woman gets raped, and her attacker (hopefully) gets punished.
Muslim woman gets raped, she's likely to be stoned to death.
***
Yeah, that's fair.
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