Commander defends Miss USA Gitmo visit

[Judi Lynn]

Source: UPI

Commander defends Miss USA Gitmo visit

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 4 (UPI) -- The commander of the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says Miss Universe and Miss USA visited the camp for the benefit of troops stationed there.

"They were on tour to say `hello and thank you' to the guard force," Navy Rear Adm. David M. Thomas Jr. told The Miami Herald.

Crystle Stewart, Miss USA, and Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, of Venezuela were at the camp from March 21 through March 24 on a trip arranged by the USO, which provides entertainment for the U.S. military. Critics said the camp violated the Geneva Conventions ban on allowing detainees to be an object of "public curiosity" by allowing the two beauty queens to see a prisoner compound.

Mendoza wrote about Guantanamo in her blog, describing the water in the bay as "sooo beautiful" and the camp as "very interesting."


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/04/Commander-defends-Miss-USA-Gitmo-visit/UPI-29091238822996/

[Mnemosyne]

1. No words. KnR. n/t

[Mari333]

2. something so perverse about this its beyond comprehension

like sending whores into a concentration camp to liven things up for the Gestapo, is the only way I can envision this scenario.

[ixion]

7. that is, in essence, exactly what it is

I mean, what was it that was 'soooo beautiful'? Was it the torture? Or perhaps the fact that people there are held without charge? Or maybe it's the pervasive sense of death? Or is it just the whole hyper-macho BS that thrills her so?

It is perverse beyond comprehension, IMO.

[MADem]

11. I'm guessing the inarticulate dunce was talking about the island views.

It's Cuba. It's tropical. It's very pretty. The sun shines, the sea is blue, the sand is white.

[mix]

9. i agree

elsewhere i wrote:

Gitmo is a place where some of the darkest moments in American history took place, why is the military engaged in a PR program instead of quietly following the President's directive to close the place? Why the juxtaposition of torture, misogyny and exploitation, why invite two beauty pageant winners? And I know President Obama is engaged on multiple fronts and facing many crises, but on the issue of Gitmo his people should have known about this and known better.

The situation is made more appalling by the continued functioning of Bagram prison where there is no due process and no habeas corpus. Obama has ordered the end to abusive interrogation true, but Bagram is still opaque enough to cause discomfort to human rights advocates. In other words, torture and the complicity of the American government are unresolved.

[Sultana]

3. OMG

ugh, there are no words

[The abyss]

4. Gee – I wonder…

Did they get to visit the cellblocks and participate in the “fun”?


<>




What an amazing story!


Where the hell did my country go?

[Djinn]

18. nowhere

your country is just more open about it's torture now. It is NOT new, ask the victims of Op Phoenix or the fun boys trained at SOA.

[Seldona]

5. describing the water in the bay as "sooo beautiful" and the camp as "very interesting."

How vapid can one get? Unbelievable.

[pattmarty]

6. I don't necessarily blame the commanders, some probably have............

.................the goofy idea of boosting the morale of the troops (I know, but try and think like one of these guys). I blame the stupid bitches, what the fuck are they thinking? I don't have a problem with entertaining the troops, but this one is fucking sick, kinda like that scene in Apocalypse Now.

[The abyss]

12. I blame the commanders!

The scene to which you refer was a fairly accurate representation of a USO show at a forward firebase in the Asian theater at that time. The performers don’t pick the locations they are taken to; they just did their act. It was all contractual and very ad-lib. All of it was much rancher than anything the american public ever saw by watching Bob Hope.

I don’t think the USO performers were ever allowed in or around legitimate POW compounds. But – then again this place isn’t housing legitimate POWs. It isn’t even a concentration camp. Hell, the Nazi’s allowed the Red Cross to visit their camps.

Damn! I’m just sick.

[The abyss]

16. self delete

never mind

[LuckyLib]

8. So . . . tits and ass at the torture compound. How very classy for everyone involved.

Good grief, what are all of these people thinking? And neither of these bimbos had the courage to "just say no".

[Downwinder]

When does Palin visit.

Hate to generalize,but I've never been too impressed with "beauty queens."

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. Wishing everyone whirrled peas I suppose....

[Judi Lynn]

13. Image of this brainstem posted earlier by DU'er rabs in the Latin America forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x13507

You may find what else she has to say almost unbearably stupid in an added link there:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x13507#13543

[Synicus Maximus]

14. The bimbos probably never got close to the prisoners

The prison only covers a small part of Guantanamo Bay and the base covers about 45 sq. miles.

[Judi Lynn]

17. She saw them, actually, and wrote about it in her blog. It was posted in the thread

started by DU'er "rabs" in the Latin America forum:

In her post on the pageant’s website, Mendoza recounted in glowing terms her recent trip to the notorious US military base at Guantanamo Bay, which her president considers to be an illegal entity that must be returned to Cuba.

Mendoza described how she "visited the Detainees camps" and "saw the jails, where they shower, how they recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting." She goes on to say her tour was "a loooot of fun!" and that "I didn’t want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful."

http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=2575&cat=2

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x13507#13543

[Synicus Maximus]

19. My bad

[ohio2007]

21. did she force them to put her panties on their heads?

I'm sure they would have told their lawyers about that abomination and demand her flogging as a righteous punishment

[jwirr]

15. It seems that the contestants at these pageants get dumber and dumber.

You would think the the people who run these pageants would know better. But for the most part they are big corporations.

[sarcasmo]

20. Dumb twits.

[tabasco]

22. I'm reminded of the gogo dancers in Apocalypse Now.

This is even more weird.

[Vidar]

23. I was about to make a crack about "at least there not being a USO show", but it was.

[classysassy]

24. $$$$$$$$$$$ WHO

paid for their trip?.