Rep. Hoekstra: Obama releasing torture memos embolden countries like Iraq to prosecute US soldiers

[sabra]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/27/lawmakers-raise-concern-threat-prosecuting-troops-iraq/

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reportedly wants U.S. troops involved in a deadly raid to be prosecuted. But Pentagon officials say the raid was approved by the Iraqi government before it occurred.

<snip>

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, urged President Obama to take a stand against the call for prosecution. He said such threats of prosecution could have a crippling effect on troop morale.

"If I'm a frontline guy today, CIA or military, I am ... very, very hesitant to do anything," Hoekstra said.

The Michigan lawmaker also partially blamed the president's recent statements opening the door for prosecution of those lawyers who drafted memos justifying "enhanced" interrogation techniques. He said such statements embolden countries like Iraq to try to prosecute U.S. personnel as well.

"Our guys are now fair game wherever they are because of the lack of support that they've gotten from this president," Hoekstra said.

:eyes:

[EFerrari]

1. This was the patriot that swore he would investigate CIA destroying video

of their criminal activities. What happened to that? :)

Hoekstra vows investigation of CIA tapes

December 18, 2007 04:00 am

—

WASHINGTON (AP) The Michigan congressman who is the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee defied the Bush administration Sunday and pledged to investigate the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.

http://www.record-eagle.com/statenews/local_story_351094529.html/resources_printstory

Liar.

[sabra]

2. also claimed that WMD were found in Iraq

[EFerrari]

5. Who ARE these pod people? And when is their Mothership

coming to pick them up?!

[FightingIrish]

3. I guess that in our little fabricated democracy in Iraq,

we shouldn't "embolden" people to seek justice.

[HereSince1628]

4. I sure hope our President's actions promote criminals getting prosecuted.

After all the guy is a lawyer, not some sort of failed wildcat oilman.

[gratuitous]

6. Oh, TODAY he's a frontline guy

But I don't see in his bio where he was when he could have been really a frontline kind of guy with live ammunition and suchlike. But what can we expect from somebody who wasn't even born in the United States? I wonder why Fox is providing this foreigner a platform? Does Lou Dobbs know about this?

[LiberalFighter]

7. Military and their families in his district need to blast him about this in the media.

I think Hoekstra must think that both US soldiers and Iraqis are stupid.

[ThomWV]

8. I would think the Government of Iraq is very much entitled to prosecute Americans who tortured their

country's citizens. It would seem as normal to me as any legitimate law enforcement action. If indeed we are not occupiers then what nation would allow our visiting troops to sweep their people up off the streets, take them into hiding and possibly out of the country, torture them at will, and purposefully avoid reporting their whereabouts as required by International Treaty?

[BelgianMadCow]

9. oooh the horror! A sovereign country prosecuting torturing invaders

what IS the world coming to!
Shame on you Mr Obama
:sarcasm:

If hypocrisy was a disease, the GOP would have been decimated long ago.

[quaker bill]

10. It is not releasing the memos

it is doing the torture. The act is the problem, not the information about it.

[EFerrari]

11. Unless you're a sociopath or unless you're into defending them. n/t