Sunday, March 15, 2009

Coultergeist at work!

Legal and professional disputes

Irregularities in public registration

In September 2002, Washington Post columnist Lloyd Grove wrote a column titled, "Mystery of the Ages", raising questions about Coulter's actual date of birth.[73] At the time, Coulter was insisting that she was not yet 40, despite media reports to the contrary. Attempting to resolve the discrepancy, Grove noted that Coulter had given her date of birth as December 8, 1961 when she first registered to vote in 1980 (the year of the Reagan-vs-Carter presidential election), in New Canaan, Connecticut, where the legal voting age is 18. He said that Coulter's Connecticut driver's license also listed her birth date as December 1961, but pointed out that a driver's license issued to her years later in Washington, D.C., gave her date of birth as December 1963. In her emailed reply to Grove's inquiry, Coulter maintained that she was 38 years old. In April 2005, Time's cover story on Coulter reported, "Coulter says she won't confirm the date 'for privacy reasons' — she's had several stalkers. 'And I'm a girl,' she adds."[22]

Factual inaccuracies, actual and alleged

Comedian, author and political commentator Al Franken has questioned the factual accuracy of her books, and also accuses her of citing passages out of context.[74] Others have investigated these charges, and have also raised questions about the books' accuracy and presentation of facts.[75][76][77] Coulter responded to these and similar criticisms in a column called "Answering My Critics",[78] where she claims "the most devastating examples of my alleged 'lies' keep changing" and that some accusations of her factual inaccuracy are either outright wrong or really just "trivial" factual errors (e.g. referring to "endnotes" as "footnotes", or incorrectly identifying Evan Thomas' grandfather, Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas, as his father).

New York Times' NASCAR coverage

In the first edition of Slander, Coulter alleged that The New York Times did not cover NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt's death until two days after he died:

The day after seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt died in a race at the Daytona 500, almost every newspaper in America carried the story on the front page. Stock-car racing had been the nation's fastest-growing sport for a decade, and NASCAR the second-most-watched sport behind the NFL. More Americans recognize the name Dale Earnhardt than, say, Maureen Dowd. (Manhattan liberals are dumbly blinking at that last sentence.) It took The New York Times two days to deem Earnhardt's death sufficiently important to mention it on the first page. Demonstrating the left's renowned populist touch, the article began, 'His death brought a silence to the Wal-Mart.' The Times went on to report that in vast swaths of the country people watch stock-car racing. Tacky people were mourning Dale Earnhardt all over the South![79]

The New York Times did, in fact, cover Earnhardt's death the same day that he died: sportswriter Robert Lipsyte authored an article for the front page that was published on February 18, 2001. Another front page article appeared in the Times on the following day. Coulter cited an article indeed written two days after Earnhardt's death—Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize winner who grew up in the South, wrote a personal piece on Earnhardt and his passing—bringing the total to three days in a row in which the Times covered Earnhardt's death on its front page.[74] (The paper also ran a prominent story about Earnhardt before his death.)

Coulter responded to this widely publicized error as follows:

In my three best-selling books—making the case for a president's impeachment, accusing liberals of systematic lying and propagandizing, arguing that Joe McCarthy was a great American patriot, and detailing 50 years of treachery by the Democratic Party—this is the only vaguely substantive error the Ann Coulter hysterics have been able to produce, corrected soon after publication. CONGRATULATIONS, LIBERALS!!! At least I didn't miss the Ukrainian famine (cf., Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Walter Duranty).[78]

Coulter corrected the error in the paperback edition of her book.[80]

Canadian troops in Vietnam

Coulter has been criticized for a statement she made on The Fifth Estate, an investigative journalism program produced by CBC television. During an interview by host Bob McKeown, Coulter said, "Canada used to be...one of our most...most loyal friends, and vice versa. I mean, Canada sent troops to Vietnam. Was Vietnam less containable and more of a threat than Saddam Hussein?" McKeown contradicted her with, "No, actually Canada did not send troops to Vietnam."[81] On the February 18, 2005 edition of Washington Journal, Coulter justified her statement by referring to the thousands of Canadians who served in the American armed forces during the Vietnam era, either because they volunteered or because they were living in the USA during the war years and got drafted. (Between 5,000 and 20,000 Canadians fought in Vietnam itself, including approximately 80 who were killed.).[82] John Cloud of Time, writing a few months later, suggested that Coulter may have been right, on the basis that "Canada [sent] noncombat troops to Indochina in the 1950s and again to Vietnam in 1972".[83] However, Coulter's initial assertion was that Canada sent troops into Vietnam in support of the American position; in this connection, FAIR countered that Cloud made "quite a stretch to prove that Coulter was correct."[84]

New York Times Christians/Nazis controversy

In her book Slander, Coulter also stated that the New York Times made several statements comparing Christians to Nazis. As examples, she cites a headline reading "Did the Nazi Crimes Draw On Christian Tradition?" and a quote, "The church was co-responsible for the Holocaust." She does not mention that the first quote was from a book review in which the reviewer disagreed with the thesis that the Nazi crimes drew on Christian tradition. The second quote was from a discussion printed in the Times, in which a historian also states that Pope Pius XII was responsible for saving 750,000 Jews.[85]

Controversies and criticism

Coulter's polemics - she has described herself as a "polemicist" who likes to "stir up the pot" and doesn't "pretend to be impartial or balanced, as broadcasters do"[86] - sometimes start firestorms of controversy, ranging from rowdy uprisings at many of the colleges where she speaks to protracted discussions in the media.

9/11 "Jersey Girls"

In Godless, Coulter criticized the four 9/11 widows known as the "Jersey Girls", writing:

These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them. ... I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much ... the Democrat ratpack gals endorsed John Kerry for president ... cutting campaign commercials... how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy.[87]

These statements received national attention after an interview on The Today Show, and were widely criticized.[88][89][90][91][92][93] Coulter refused to apologize, and responded, "I feel sorry for all the widows of 9/11...[but] I do not believe that sanctifies their political message....They have attacked Bush, they have attacked Condoleezza Rice, they're cutting campaign commercials for Kerry. But we can't respond because their husbands died . . . I think it's one of the ugliest things 'the left' has done...this idea that you need some sort of personal authenticity in order to make a political point..."[94][95]

Comments about the New York Times

Coulter has a long-running animosity toward the New York Times. Her book Slander accuses the news media of unfairly criticizing conservatives, and cites the Times as a prime example.[96]

In an interview with George Gurley of the New York Observer shortly after the publication of Slander, it was mentioned that Coulter actually had friends and acquaintances who worked for the Times, namely restaurant critic Frank Bruni and correspondent David E. Sanger. Later in the interview, she expressed amusement at her recollections of the Times' gratuitousness in publishing two photos of George H. W. Bush throwing up at a diplomatic meeting in Japan, then said: "Is your tape recorder running? Turn it on! I got something to say...My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." Gurley told her to be careful, to which she responded "You’re right, after 9/11 I shouldn’t say that".[13]

By way of context, during an interview earlier in June 2002 with Katie Couric to promote the same book, Coulter expressed frustration about "constant mischaracterization" through being misquoted. "The idea that someone can go out and find one quote that will suddenly, you know, portray me — just dismiss her ideas, read no more, read no further, this person is crazy... is precisely what liberals do all the time".[97]

When asked by John Hawkins, the web manager of a right-wing blog, through a pre-written set of interview questions if she regretted the statement, Coulter replied by saying: "Of course I regret it. I should have added, 'after everyone had left the building except the editors and reporters.'"[98][99] Lee Salem, the president of Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Coulter's column, later defended Coulter by characterizing her comments as satire.[100]

The subject came up again when Coulter appeared on the Fox News program Hannity & Colmes. Alan Colmes mentioned Salem's claim, and said to her that remarks like saying "Timothy McVeigh should have bombed The New York Times building" were "laughable happy satires, right?" He then said that Coulter was "actually a liberal who is doing this to mock and parody the way conservatives think." She replied, "Well, it's not working very well if that were my goal. No, I think the Timothy McVeigh line was merely prescient after The New York Times has leaped beyond — beyond nonsense straight into treason, last week". She was referring to a Times report that revealed classified information about an anti-terrorism program of the U.S. government involving surveillance of international financial transactions of persons suspected of having Al-Qaida links. Colmes continued in vein when he responded, calling her remarks "great humor", and that it "belongs on Saturday Night Live. It belongs on The Daily Show."[101][102]

Comments on Islam, Arabs and terrorism

On September 14, 2001, three days after the 9-11 attacks (in which her friend Barbara Olson had been killed), Coulter wrote in her column:

Airports scrupulously apply the same laughably ineffective airport harassment to Suzy Chapstick as to Muslim hijackers. It is preposterous to assume every passenger is a potential crazed homicidal maniac. We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now.

We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.[103]

Responding to this comment, Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations remarked in the Chicago Sun Times that before September 11, Coulter "would have faced swift repudiation from her colleagues", but "now it's accepted as legitimate commentary."[104]

David Horowitz, however, saw Coulter's words as irony:

I began running Coulter columns on Frontpagemag.com shortly after she came up with her most infamous line, which urged America to put jihadists to the sword and convert them to Christianity. Liberals were horrified; I was not. I thought to myself, this is a perfect send-up of what our Islamo-fascist enemies believe – that as infidels we should be put to the sword and converted to Islam. I regarded Coulter’s phillipic (sic) as a Swiftian commentary on liberal illusions of multi-cultural outreach to people who want to rip out our hearts.[105]

One day after the attacks (before the culprits had been identified and when death toll estimates were higher than they later became), Coulter asserted that only Muslims could have been behind the attacks:

Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims -- at least all terrorists capable of assembling a murderous plot against America that leaves 7,000 people dead in under two hours.[106]

Coulter has been highly critical of the U.S. Department of Transportation and especially its then-secretary Norman Mineta. Her many criticisms include their refusal to use racial profiling as a component of airport screening.[107] After a group of Muslims were expelled from a US Airways flight when other passengers expressed worries, sparking a call for Muslims to boycott the airline because of the ejection from a flight of six imams, Coulter wrote:

If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether.[108]

Coulter also cited the 2002 Senate testimony of FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, who was acclaimed for condemning her superiors for refusing to authorize a search warrant for 9-11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui when he refused to consent to a search of his computer. They knew that he was a Muslim in flight school who had overstayed his visa, and the French Intelligence Service had confirmed his affiliations with radical fundamentalist Islamic groups. Coulter said she agreed that probable cause existed in the case, but that refusing consent, being in flight school and overstaying a visa shouldn't constitute grounds for a search. Citing a poll which found that 98 percent of Muslims between the ages of 20 to 45 said they would not fight for Britain in the war in Afghanistan, and that 48 percent said they would fight for Osama bin Laden,[109] she asserted "any Muslim who has attended a mosque in Europe -- certainly in England, where Moussaoui lived -- has had 'affiliations with radical fundamentalist Islamic groups'", so that she parsed Rowley's position as meaning that "'probable cause' existed to search Moussaoui's computer because he was a Muslim who had lived in England." Because "FBI headquarters...refused to engage in racial profiling" they failed to uncover the 9-11 plot, Coulter asserted. "The FBI allowed thousands of Americans to be slaughtered on the altar of political correctness. What more do liberals want?"[110]

Coulter wrote in another column that she had reviewed the civil rights lawsuits against certain airlines to determine which airlines had subjected Arabs to the most "egregious discrimination" so that she could fly only that airline. She also said that the airline should be bragging instead of denying any of the charges of discrimination brought against them.[111] In an interview with the The Guardian she quipped, "I think airlines ought to start advertising: 'We have the most civil rights lawsuits brought against us by Arabs.'" When the interviewer replied by asking what Muslims would do for travel, she responded, "They could use flying carpets."[112]

One comment that drew criticism from the blogosphere, as well as fellow conservatives,[113] was made during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2006, where she said, referring to the prospect of a nuclear-equipped Iran, "What if they start having one of these bipolar episodes with nuclear weapons? I think our motto should be, post-9-11: raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences."[114] Coulter had previously written a nearly identical passage in her syndicated column: "...I believe our motto should be after 9/11: Jihad monkey talks tough; jihad monkey takes the consequences. Sorry, I realize that's offensive. How about 'camel jockey'? What? Now what'd I say? Boy, you tent merchants sure are touchy. Grow up, would you?"[115]

In October 2007, Coulter made more controversial remarks about Arabs, in this case Iraqis, when she stated, in an interview with the New York Observer

We’ve killed about 20,000 of them, of terrorists, of militants, of Al Qaeda members, and they’ve gotten a little over 3,000 of ours. That is where the war is being fought, in Iraq, that is where we are fighting Al Qaeda. Sorry we have to use your country, Iraqis, but you let Saddam come to power, ha-ha, and we are going to instill democracy in your country.[116]

In a May 2007 article looking back at the life of the recently deceased evangelical Reverend Jerry Falwell, Coulter commented on Falwell's statement after the 9/11 attacks that "pagans", abortionists, feminists, and gays and lesbians, among others, helped make the attacks happen. In her article, Coulter stated that she disagreed with Falwell's statement, "because Falwell neglected to specifically include Teddy Kennedy and 'the Reverend' Barry Lynn."[117]

In October 2007, Coulter participated in David Horowitz' "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week", remarking in a speech at the University of Southern California, "The fact of Islamo-Fascism is indisputable," she said. "I find it tedious to detail the savagery of the enemy . . . I want to kill them. Why don't Democrats?"[118]

2007 John Edwards controversy

The next year, Coulter drew criticism for statements she made at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference about presidential candidate John Edwards.[119][120] Coulter said:

I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions.[121][122][123]

This was an allusion to Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington's use of the epithet and his subsequent mandatory "psychological assessment" imposed by ABC executives.[124][125] This comment was widely interpreted as meaning that Coulter had called Edwards a "faggot",[126] but Coulter has argued on a couple of occasions that she didn't actually do so, while simultaneously indicating she would not have been wrong to say it.[127][128]

The audience laughed, but Edwards responded on his website by characterizing Coulter's words as "un-American and indefensible" and asking readers to help him "raise $100,000 in 'Coulter Cash' this week to keep this campaign charging ahead and fight back against the politics of bigotry."[129] Coulter's words also drew condemnation from many prominent Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians, as well as groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).[129][130][131][132] Coulter responded in an e-mail to the New York Times: "C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."[130] She also posted a response on her website: "I'm so ashamed, I can't stop laughing!"[133]

On March 5, 2007, Coulter appeared on Hannity and Colmes and said, "[f]aggot isn't offensive to gays; it has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt meaning 'wuss'".[134]

In response to this issue, three advertisers (Verizon, Sallie Mae and Netbank) pulled their advertisements from Coulter's website,[135] and several newspapers dropped Coulter's column.[136][137][138]

Responding to the controversy, Coulter said:

Just for the record, I've never attempted to revise, or extend, nor have I apologized and the attempts to silence me have made me even more money…Those newspapers pay me about 25 cents per month, but I picked up a LOT of speeches...Attempts to censor me have really backfired.[139]

She also said, "I wasn't saying it on TV. I was saying it at a right-wing political convention with 7,000 college Republicans. I didn't put it on TV." The CPAC convention was, in fact, broadcast on C-SPAN. In an interview with Glenn Beck, she said, "Sarah Silverman uses the word, and, oh, liberals don't mind it when she uses it."[140]

This controversy revived an earlier dispute originating from a 2003 column where Coulter disparaged Democratic Presidential candidates who mention family tragedies in their campaign speeches — including Edwards, who, she stated, talks frequently about the death of his son Wade in a traffic accident.[141]

In a June 25, 2007 appearance on Good Morning America, Coulter said: "But about the same time, you know, Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack -- so I've learned my lesson: If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."[142]

The next day, on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Coulter received a phone call from Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards’ wife, asking her to stop the personal attacks and to stick to discussing the issues. Coulter responded, saying that the Edwards campaign was “raising money off it” and denied "saying anything about him [Edwards], actually, either time." Mrs. Edwards also confronted Coulter for writing that they had a bumper sticker on their car saying "Ask me about my dead son" in reference to the death of their son Wade. Coulter responded by characterizing Edwards' call as an attempt to silence her and by attacking Edwards for his activities as a trial lawyer.[143][144]

Coulter refused to apologize, and explained her response to Mrs. Edwards in a subsequent column: "Edwards is...the trial lawyer who pretended in court to channel the spirit of a handicapped fetus in front of illiterate jurors to scam tens of millions of dollars off of innocent doctors...Apparently every time Edwards began a story about his dead son with 'I've never told anyone this before,' everyone on the campaign could lip-sync the story with him... If you want points for not using your son's death politically, don't you have to take down all those 'Ask me about my son's death in a horrific car accident' bumper stickers? Edwards is like a politician who keeps announcing that he will not use his opponent's criminal record for partisan political advantage... As a commentator, I bring facts like these to the attention of the American people in a lively way."[142]

John Edwards responded by calling her a "she-devil." He immediately added, "I should not have name-called. But the truth is - forget the names - people like Ann Coulter, they engage in hateful language."[145]

Disenfranchisement of women

Time magazine's John Cloud observes that Coulter "likes to shock reporters by wondering aloud whether America might be better off if women lost the right to vote."[22] For example, in a May 2003 interview with The Guardian, Coulter said:[112]

...It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950—except Goldwater in '64—the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted.

[146]

Again, in an October 2007 interview with the New York Observer, Coulter said:[147]

If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women.

It also makes the point, it is kind of embarrassing, the Democratic Party ought to be hanging its head in shame, that it has so much difficulty getting men to vote for it. I mean, you do see it's the party of women and 'We'll pay for health care and tuition and day care—and here, what else can we give you, soccer moms?'

Comments about Jews on The Big Idea

During an interview with Donny Deutsch on his CNBC program The Big Idea (October 8, 2007), Coulter stated that the United States is a Christian nation and suggested Christians viewed themselves as "perfected Jews".[148] Deutsch, a practicing Jew, told Coulter he found the comments personally offensive and anti-semitic; Coulter replied that she could not understand his reaction.

DEUTSCH: You said—your exact words were, "Jews need to be perfected." Those are the words out of your mouth.[149]
COULTER: No, I'm saying that's what a Christian is.
DEUTSCH: But that's what you said—don't you see how hateful, how anti-Semitic—
COULTER: No!
DEUTSCH: How do you not see? You're an educated woman. How do you not see that?
COULTER: That isn't hateful at all.
DEUTSCH: But that's even a scarier thought. OK—
COULTER: No, no, no, no, no. I don't want you being offended by this. This is what Christians consider themselves, because our testament is the continuation of your testament. You know that. So we think Jews go to heaven. I mean [Jerry] Falwell himself said that, but you have to follow laws. Ours is "Christ died for our sins." We consider ourselves perfected Christians. For me to say that for you to become a Christian is to become a perfected Christian[sic] is not offensive at all.

In an interview published in Adweek three days after the interview, Deutsch noted that when he challenged her comments, Coulter appeared "to back off" and "seemed a little upset", adding, "I think she got frightened that maybe she had crossed a line, that this was maybe a faux pas of great proportions. I mean, did it show ignorance? Anti-Semitism? It wasn't just one of those silly things."[150]

Dennis Prager, a conservative talk show host, commented that although, as a practicing Jew, he obviously did not agree with Coulter's comments, they were not anti-Semitic.[151] He noted that: "There is nothing in what Ann Coulter said to a Jewish interviewer on CNBC that indicates she hates Jews or wishes them ill, or does damage to the Jewish people or the Jewish state. And if none of those criteria is present, how can someone be labeled anti-Semitic?"[152] Conservative activist David Horowitz's reaction was similar: "If you don't accompany this belief by burning Jews who refuse to become perfected at the stake why would any Jew have a problem?... Why do some Jews think that Christians should not really believe what they believe while it's okay for Jews to really believe they are God's Chosen People? I don't get it."[153]

In response to Coulter's comments on the show, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement saying it "strongly condemns Ann Coulter for her anti-Semitic comment", and that to "espouse the idea that Judaism needs to be replaced with Christianity and that each individual Jew is somehow deficient and needs to be 'perfected,' is rank Christian supersessionism and has been rejected by the Catholic Church and the vast majority of mainstream Christian denominations."[154] The American Jewish Committee issued a statement asserting that "Ms. Coulter's assertion that Jews are somehow religiously imperfect smacks of the most odious anti-Jewish sentiment."[155] The National Jewish Democratic Council, self identified as "the national voice of Jewish Democrats",[156] called on media outlets to stop inviting Coulter as a guest commentator/pundit."[156][155]

References

  1. ^ Conservative pundit Ann Coulter '84 to speak May 7
  2. ^ Ancestry of Ann Coulter
  3. ^ "Biography for Ann Coulter." IMDB. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  4. ^ Horowitz, David. "Ann Coulter at Cornell". FrontPageMag.com. May 21, 2001. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  5. ^ "From the pens of Delta Gammas" (PDF). Anchora of Delta Gamma. Summer 2005. p. 29 (16 in PDF). http://www.deltagamma.org/anchora/summer_05_anchora.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.
  6. ^ "Ann Coulter: bestselling author and political commentator (Profile)". premierespeakers.com. Retrieved on July 10, 2006. See also Michigan Law Review vol. 86 No. 5 (April 1988), where Ann Coulter "of Connecticut" is listed on the masthead as an articles editor.
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  8. ^ See Lythgoe, Dennis (2003-10-05). "Liberals, conservatives duke it out on paper". Deseret Morning News. p. E1. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20031005/ai_n11424888. ; Hentoff, Nat (1998-12-05). "Op-Ed: Congress Goes Fishing". Washington Post. p. A23. ; Coulter herself says it was Bowman. See her online bio; see also Coulter, Ann (2001-05-03). "ABA's ratings no more". Washington Times. p. A15.
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  14. ^ ANDY AND ANN?!
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  48. ^ AnnCoulter.com - Archived Article: IT'S ONLY FUNNY UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES A PIE
  49. ^ Wong, Shelly K. "Hecklers cause Coulter to cut UConn speech." Associated Press., December 7, 2005. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  50. ^ Guidi, David. "Controversial conservative pundit elicits praise and protest Thursday". [University of South Florida] The Oracle. October 20, 2006. Retrieved on November 9, 2006.
  51. ^ «John Vincent Coulter» by Ann Coulter, FrontPage Magazine, January 11, 2008
  52. ^ Olasky, Marvin. "South Park vs. Ann Coulter". World. August 13, 2005. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  53. ^ The passion of the liberal, townhall.com, March 4, 2004
  54. ^ Norman, Tony. "If Ann Coulter's a Christian, I'll be damned". Commondreams.org. June 10, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  55. ^ Thoreau, Jackson. "U.S. founders and Christ were liberals: we cannot let right-wingers like Coulter define liberalism". OpEdNews.com. June 9, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  56. ^ E&P Staff. "Coulter: Press Either 'Incompetent' or Full of 'Left-Wing Bias'". Editor and Publisher. July 31, 2006.[1](subscription required)[2](free)
  57. ^ De Pasquale, Lisa. Exclusive interview: Coulter says book examines 'mental disorder' of Liberalism". Human Events. June 6, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  58. ^ Godless: The Church of Liberalism Book Description on Amazon.com
  59. ^ Book Review by Human Events
  60. ^ Media Matters - Coulter continued attacks on liberals, families of 9-11 victims: "[D]o I have to kill my mother so I can be a victim, too?"
  61. ^ E&P Staff. "Ann Coulter on CNBC Show: Jews Need 'Perfecting'". Editor and Publisher. October 11, 2007.
  62. ^ a b Conason, Joe; Lyons, Gene. "Impeachment's little elves". Salon.com. March 4, 2000. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  63. ^ Barak, Daphne. "Jones would have been happy with an apology". Irish Examiner. September 23, 1998. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  64. ^ Coulter, Ann (May 1999). "Spikey and me". George.
  65. ^ a b c Jones, Paula. "Paula Jones describes why she's posing for Penthouse". Larry King Live. CNN. October 24, 2000. Retrieved on October 24, 2000
  66. ^ Ann Coulter ""'Trailer park trash' strikes back". Human Events. January 30, 1998. Retrieved on November 18, 2006
  67. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Clinton sure can pick 'em". Jewish World Review. October 30, 2000. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  68. ^ Browne, Harry. "We're more ambitious than the Republicans are". Harry Browne. September 22, 2000. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  69. ^ Media Matters - Good Morning America 's Chris Cuomo interviews Coulter, promotes Godless
  70. ^ Ann Coulter: The Elephant In The Room January 16, 2008
  71. ^ YouTube - Coulter: I'll campaign for Hillary if McCain is the nominee
  72. ^ AnnCoulter.com - Printer Friendly Article: OBAMA'S DIMESTORE 'MEIN KAMPF'
  73. ^ Grove, Lloyd. "Mystery of the ages", The Washington Post, September 6, 2002. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.
  74. ^ a b Franken, Al (2003). Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-94764-7.
  75. ^ Scherer, Michael; Secules, Sarah. "Books: how slippery is Slander?" Columbia Journalism Review. 2002. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  76. ^ "Throwing the book at her", Spinsanity. July 13, 2002. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  77. ^ "Screed: With Treason, Ann Coulter once again defines a new low in America's political debate", Spinsanity. June 30, 2003. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  78. ^ a b Coulter, Ann. "Answering my critics." Jewish World Review. October 9, 2003. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  79. ^ Coulter, Ann. Slander. 2006, Crown Forum Publishing. ISBN 1-4000-4661-0
  80. ^ Coulter, Ann: "Slander" (paperback), page 261. Three Rivers Press, 2003
  81. ^ the fifth estate (television program) (aired January 26, 2005). ""Sticks and Stones"". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/sticksandstones.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. ""For the record, like Iraq, Canada did not send troops to Vietnam"(voiceover, @33:20 of Sticks and Stones)"
  82. ^ "Canadians in Vietnam" (HTML). Vietnam Veterans In Canada. 2005-06-10, September 11, 2005 updated. http://www.vvic.org/canadians.htm. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  83. ^ See Cloud, John. "Ms. Right p. 10". Time Magazine. April 25, 2005. Retrieved 2001-02-11. Cloud refers the soldiers Canada contributed to the ICC and the ICCS, the international commissions which oversaw, respectively, the cease-fire at the end of the First Indochina War, in 1954, and the cease-fire which interrupted the Vietnam War in 1973. For further information on Canada's involvement in the Vietnam War, see Canada and the Vietnam War.
  84. ^ Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (2005-04-21). "Time Covers Coulter: Action Alert". http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2496. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  85. ^ C., Scott: "World O'Crap", http://blogs.salon.com/0002874/2003/10/09.html
  86. ^ Aloi, Daniel. "Conservative pundit Ann Coulter '84 to speak May 7". Cornell University Chronicle. April 17, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  87. ^ Coulter, Ann. Godless: The Church of Liberalism. 2006, Crown Forum Publishing. pp. 100-112.
  88. ^ Grimaldi, Christine. "Writer's claims disturb families of 9/11 victims: Ann Coulter referred to group as the 'Witches of East Brunswick'." North Brunswick Sentinel. July 16, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006
  89. ^ "Ann Coulter attacks 9/11 widows." CBS News. June 7, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  90. ^ Staff Writer. "Clinton slams Coulter's 'vicious' put-down of some 9/11 widows." CNN. June 7, 2006.
  91. ^ Lathem, Niles; Algar, Selim. "Give-'em-hill Fury vs. Coulter." New York Post. June 8, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  92. ^ Staff Writer. "9-11 commish lashes Coulter." WorldNetDaily. June 9, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  93. ^ Elliot, Philip. "9/11 Commissioner criticizes Coulter." ABC News. June 9, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  94. ^ "Ann Coulter Fires Back at Critics". Fox News. 2006-06-08. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198718,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  95. ^ From the NewsMax.com staff, "NBC News Slanders Ann Coulter." Newsmax, Thursday, June 8, 2006.
  96. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Google Books Database: Slander". Google Books. Retrieved on July 16, 2007.
  97. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Interview with Katie Couric on Slander. NBC. Today. June 26, 2002. Reprinted at Drudge Report Archive. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
  98. ^ Hawkins, John. "An interview with Ann Coulter." Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  99. ^ Transcript. "Interview with Ann Coulter." CNN (Crossfire). June 30, 2003. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  100. ^ Salem, Lee. "Universal Executive Responds to 'E&P' Column on Ann Coulter." Editor & Publisher. June 28, 2006. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  101. ^ "Hannity and Colmes." Fox News Channel. June 29, 2006
  102. ^ E&P Staff. "Coulter Affirms Previous Statement About Bombing 'NYT' Office" Editor & Publisher June 30, 2006. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  103. ^ This Is War
  104. ^ Jim Ritter, "Muslims see a growing media bias", Chicago Sun Times, September 4, 2006
  105. ^ The Trouble with “Treason”, by David Horowitz, FrontPage Magazine, July 08, 2003
  106. ^ Coulter, Ann (2001-09-28). "Future widows of America: Write your congressman". Jewish World Review. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/coulter092801.asp. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  107. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Mineta's Bataan death march", Jewish World Review. February 28, 2002. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  108. ^ Coulter, Ann (2006-11-22). "What can I do to make your flight more uncomfortable?". AnnCoulter.com. http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/printer_friendly.cgi?article=158. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
  109. ^ Coulter says the poll was "by the "Daily Telegraph", actually it was by Sunrise, an "Asian"(i.e., Indian subcontinent-oriented) radio station, canvassing the opinions of 500 Muslims in Greater London (not Britain as a whole), mainly of Pakistani origin and aged between 20 and 45. Smith, Michael; Amit Roy (2001-10-30). "Britons who join Taliban to face trial". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/30/nmus30.xml. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
  110. ^ Coulter, Ann. "This whistle-blower they like", Jewish World Review June 13, 2002. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
  111. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Arab hijackers now eligible for pre-boarding" Jewish World Review April 29, 2004. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  112. ^ a b Freedland, Jonathan "An appalling magic". The Guardian, May 17, 2003. Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  113. ^ Gossett, Sherrie. "Ann Coulter 'Raghead' comments spark blogger blacklash" Cybercast News Service February 13, 2006. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  114. ^ Kurtz, Howard. "Monumental misfire" Washington Post February 14, 2006. Retrieved on July 11, 2006.
  115. ^ Coulter, Ann. Muslim bites dog. February 15, 2006
  116. ^ Tea With Miss Coulter
  117. ^ Coulter, Ann. "Jerry Falwell -- Say Hello to Ronald Reagan" AnnCoulter.com May 16, 2007. Retrieved on May 23, 2007.
  118. ^ Trounson, Rebecca (2007-10-25). "Coulter's appearance at USC prompts ovations, protests". Los Angeles Times. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/la-me-islamo25oct25,0,7812911.story. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  119. ^ TAHMAN BRADLEY "Controversial columnist draws fire for gay slur." ABC News. March 5, 2007. Retrieved on December 24, 2008.
  120. ^ Isaiah Washington Enters Treatment Facility!
  121. ^ "Ann Coulter uses slur to describe John Edwards @ CPAC." March 2, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  122. ^ https://johnedwards.com/action/contribute/coulter Flash video on Edwards' website
  123. ^ "Coulter under fire for anti-gay slur". CNN.com: Politics. Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company.. 2007-03-04. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/04/coulter.edwards/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  124. ^ Lopez, Kathryn Jean. "Breaking News: Ann Coulter Was Ann Coulter at CPAC." National Review. March 3, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  125. ^ Ann Coulter Defends Edwards Comments FoxNews.com, March 6, 2007
  126. ^ Media Matters - Coulter reference to Edwards as "faggot" gives rise to questions for media
  127. ^ http://mediamatters.org/items/200706260001 "...I did not call John Edwards the 'F' word. I said I couldn't talk about him because you go into rehab for using that word."
  128. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21016080/ incl. video excerpt of MSNBC Hardball June 26, 2007 "...I didn't say anything about him [Edwards], actually, either time".
  129. ^ a b Staff Writer. "Coulter under fire for anti-gay slur" CNN March 4, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  130. ^ a b Nagourney, Adam. "G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author" New York Times March 4, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  131. ^ Peak, Alexander S. "An Open Letter to Ann Coulter" March 3, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  132. ^ E&P Staff. "Edwards Campaign Responds to Coulter Calling Him 'Faggot'" Editor & Publisher March 3, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  133. ^ Staff Writer. "Coulter Under Fire For Anti-Gay Slur" CBS News March 4, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  134. ^ Staff Writer. "Ann Coulter Fires Back at Critics Over John Edwards 'Faggot' Barb" Fox News March 6, 2007. Includes Flash video of exchange. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  135. ^ Hamby, Peter. "Companies to pull ads from Coulter's Web site" CNN March 5, 2007. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  136. ^ Astor, Dave. "Two More Newspapers Drop Ann Coulter's Column" Editor & Publisher March 7, 2007. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
  137. ^ Staff report. "Statement by Shreveport Editor Today on Dropping Ann Coulter" Editor & Publisher March 8, 2007. Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
  138. ^ Staff Writer (March 11, 2007). "Has Ann Coulter Hit Her Tipping Point?". MSN. http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=254652&GT1=7703. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  139. ^ Hannity and Colmes
  140. ^ "Coulter defended CPAC comment about Edwards: "I wasn't saying it on TV"". Media Matters for America. June 28, 2007. http://mediamatters.org/items/200706280009. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  141. ^ Coulter, Ann; "The Party of Ideas"; uexpress.com; November 19, 2003.
  142. ^ a b That Was No Lady -- That Was My Husband
  143. ^ Elizabeth Edwards confronts Ann Coulter
  144. ^ John Edwards' better half?
  145. ^ Edwards Calls Coulter 'She-Devil'
  146. ^ Democrats would also have won in 1976 (Jimmy Carter) and 1992 (Bill Clinton), had only male votes been counted.[citation needed]
  147. ^ Gurley, George (October 2, 2007) "Coulter Culture" The New York Observer retrieved October 5, 2007
  148. ^ « Coulter: We Want Jews To Be "Perfected" », CBS News website, October 11, 2007
  149. ^ Actually Coulter's exact words were "we just want Jews to be perfected", although the CBS article that contains the transcript showing that nonetheless leads off by saying "...Ann Coulter... said during an interview yesterday that Jews need to be 'perfected' into Christians."[3] and Fox News also created a fake "quote", declaring "Columnist Ann Coulter Shocks Cable TV Show, Declaring 'Jews Need to Be Perfected by Becoming Christians'".[4] Media Matters, which had supplied a transcript later deemed problematic by CBS but which had quoted Coulter correctly on this point responded to her later comment "'...as I say in my current book, if the things I say are so outrageous, why won't they quote me accurately? I am never quoted accurately and, once again, I'm not being quoted accurately here.'" with "Coulter did not offer any purported evidence of her 'not being quoted accurately.'" The transcript Media Matters provides shows host Michael Medved immediately doing it for her.[5]
  150. ^ « Deutsch on Coulter's 'Big Idea' Comments », Adweek, October 11, 2007
  151. ^ Denis Prager Show October 12, 2007.
  152. ^ Ann Coulter Wants Jews to Become Christian -- So What? by Dennis Prager (October 16, 2007)
  153. ^ Jewish pundit defends Ann Coulter
  154. ^ ADL Condemns Ann Coulter's Comment That Jews Need 'To Be Perfected'
  155. ^ a b "Jewish Groups Condemn, Boycott Ann Coulter". CBS News. 2007-10-12. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/national/main3361954.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-12-10. (originally included a transcript cited to Media Matters; as revised it contains a more complete version)
  156. ^ a b Mission Statement || National Jewish Democratic Council

Bibliography

  • Coulter, Ann H. (1998). High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton. Washington, DC; Lanham, MD: Regnery Pub. and distributed to the trade by National Book Network. ISBN 0895263602. OCLC 39380711.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2002). Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right. New York, NY: Crown. ISBN 1400046610. OCLC 49673076.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2003). Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. New York, NY: Crown Forum. ISBN 1400050308. OCLC 52133318.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2004). How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter. New York, NY: Crown Forum. ISBN 1400054184. OCLC 55746549.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2006). Godless: The Church of Liberalism. New York, NY: Crown Forum. ISBN 1400054206. OCLC 69594152.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2007). If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans. New York, NY: Crown Forum. ISBN 9780307353450. OCLC 156784826.
  • Coulter, Ann H. (2008). Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America. New York, NY: Crown Forum. ISBN 9780307353467. OCLC 230728938.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Hmmmmmm!

http://caravan-stoptorture.blogspot.com/2009/02/united-states-torture-program-canadian.html


The United States TORTURE Program - Canadian Complicity in
Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, posted on his website "minutes from TORTURERS meetings".http://levin.senate.gov/about/The minutes speaks for itself...From false identification of national identity of the interrogator to death threats , drugging , death ...Invictus Blog has also published the documented . Follows an extract from Valtin's Blog or you can be redirected to his site - just hit the link)http://valtinsblog.blogspot.com/As the author of the Blog mentions:"So far as I know, no other transcription of this document, minus certain excerpts, has ever been published or posted before. It is done so here as a public service, to promote the position that prosecution of the government's torture crimes is of paramount importance."Extracts:"Cast of characters:Lt. Col. Diane Beaver, the Staff Judge Advocate at Guantanamo; Lt. Col. Jerald Phifer, who sent a memo to Maj. Gen. Michael E. Dunlavey, Commander of Joint Task Force (JTF) 170, requesting approval for more "severe interrogation techniques" (Dunleavy told a superior that Phifer was his "point of contact" on interrogation matters); Major John Leso, a military psychologist, who was present at the torture interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani(Leso, like Major Burney in the minutes, were members of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team [BSCT] -- Burney is reportedly a psychiatrist -- last month, the Convening Authority of Military Commissions at Guantanamo dropped the charges against al-Qahtani, concluding his treatment amounted to torture); Dave Becker, representing the Defense Intelligence Agency; and John Fredman, then chief counsel to the CIA's counter-terrorism center.I'd like to make only two observations that I think are relevant at this point. One, it is clear that coercive interrogations amounting to torture had already begun at Guantanamo prior to this October 2002 meeting. In the document itself, the participants have a general discussion recalling how prisoner "063", Mohammed al-Qahtani, "has responded to certain types of deprivation and psychological stressors," indicating, perhaps, that al-Qahtani was some kind of experimental test case. (H/T to Trudy Bond, who noted this fact in an article published at Counterpunch earlier this year.)Secondly, it struck me when transcribing these minutes the degree to which John Fredman, the CIA legal counsel and rep to this meeting, dominated the discussion. All the participants seem to bow to his authority, especially on legal issues, with Lt. Col. Beaver chiming in as well. While the BSCT members -- who are the medical professionals present -- appear to criticize "fear-based" interrogations techniques at the beginning of the meeting, in favor of rapport-building, as well as abusive environmental "approaches," as the discussion veers more and more to propositions regarding blatant torture, like the "wet towel" (waterboarding) technique, nary a protest is heard from these individuals, who have by their actions disavowed the ethics of their medical and/or psychological professions.One final note: the acronym LEA refers to Law Enforcement Agency, and basically refers to the FBI. The acronym SERE, which appears throughout, refers to the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape program found in the various military branches. Meant to inoculate U.S. servicemen against the rigors of enemy capture and torture, Sen. Levin's investigation documented the various ways in which SERE methods were reverse-engineered to provide torture techniques for use by the military and CIA on prisoners held under U.S. control. So far as we know, the first approach by the Defense Department (specifically, by DoD Chief Counsel William J. Haynes, II) to the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, parent department for SERE, regarding information on SERE techniques, was in December 2001, well before any legal memo by Bush's Office of Legal Counsel allowing (illegally) for abusive treatment of detainees. There can be no alibi that DoD was following legal advice or protected by presidential order at that point in time.Re transcription: I have tried to follow as much as possible the layout, spelling, punctuation, and font emphasis of the original. Bullets have been changed to asterisks, arrows to long dashes. All brackets and parentheses are as in original, unless otherwise indicated.Counter Resistance Strategy Meeting MinutesPersons in Attendance:COL Cummings, LTC Phifer, CDR Bridges, LTC Beaver, MAJ Burney, MAJ Leso, Dave Becker, John Fredman, 1LT Seek, SPC PimentelThe following notes were taken during the aforementioned meeting at 1340 on October 2, 2002. All questions and comments have been paraphrased:BSCT Description of SERE Psych Training (MAJ Burney and MAJ Leso)* Identify trained resisters* Al Qaeda Training* Methods to overcome resistance* Rapport building (approach proven to yield positive results)* Friendly approach (approach proven to yield positive results)* Fear Based Approaches are unreliable, ineffective in almost all cases* What's more effective than fear based strategies are camp-wide environmental stratetgies designed to disrupt cohesion and communication among detainees* Environment should foster dependence and complianceLTC Phifer: Harsh techniques used on our service members have worked and will work on some, what about those?MAJ Leso: Force is risky, and may be ineffective due to the detainees' frame of reference. They are used to seeing much more barbaric treatment.Becker: Agreed.-- At this point a discussion about ISN 63 [Mohammed al-Qahtani] ensued, recalling how he has responded to certain types of deprivation and psychological stressors. After short discussion the BSCT continued to address the overall manipulation of the detainees' environment.BSCT continued:* Psychological stressors are extremely effective (ie, sleep deprivation, withholding food, isolation, loss of time)COL Cummings: We can't do sleep deprivationLTC Beaver: Yes, we can -- with approval.* Disrupting the normal camp operations is vital. We need to create an environment of "controlled chaos"LTC Beaver: We may need to curb the harsher operations while ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross -- added by transcriber] is around. It is better not to expose them to any controversial techniques. We must have the support of the DOD.Becker: We have had many reports from Bagram about sleep deprivation being used.LTC Beaver: True, but officially it is not happening. It is not being reported officially. The ICRC is a serious concern. They will be in and out, scrutinizing our operations, unless they are displeased and decide to protest and leave. This would draw a lot of negative attention.COL Cummings: The new PSYOP plan has been passed up the chainLTC Beaver: It's at J3 at SOUTHCOM.Fredman: The DOJ has provided much guidance on this issue. The CIA is not held to the same rules as the military. In the past when the ICRC has made a big deal about certain detainees, the DOD has "moved" them away from the attention of the ICRC. Upon questioning from the ICRC about their whereabouts, the DOD's response has repeatedly been that the detainee merited no status under the Geneva Convention. The CIA has employed aggressive techniques on less than a handful of suspects since 9/11.Under the Torture Convention, torture has been prohibited by international law, but the language of the statutes is written vaguely. Severe mental and physical pain is prohibited. The mental part is explained as poorly as the physical. Severe physical pain described as anything causing permanent damage to major organs or body parts. Mental torture described as anything leading to permanent, profound damage to the senses or personality. It is basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies you're doing it wrong. So far, the techniques we have addressed have not proven to produce these types of results, which in a way challenges what the BSCT paper says about not being able to prove whether these techniques will lead to permanent damage. Everything on the BSCT white paper is legal from a civilian standpoint. [Any questions of severe weather or temperature conditions should be deferred to medical staff.] Any of the techniques that lie on the harshest end of the spectrum must be performed by a highly trained individual. Medical personnel should be present to treat any possible accidents. The CIA operates without military intervention. When the CIA has wanted to use more aggressive techniques in the past, the FBI has pulled their personnel from theatre. In those rare instances, aggressive techniques have proven very helpful.LTC Beaver: We will need documentation to protect usFredman: Yes, if someone dies while aggressive techniques are being used, regardless of cause of death, the backlash of attention would be extremely detrimental. Everything must be approved and documented.Becker: LEA personnel will not participate in harsh techniquesLTC Beaver: There is no legal reason why LEA personnel cannot participate in these operations-- At this point a discussion about whether or not to video tape the aggressive sessions, or interrogations at all ensued.Becker: Videotapes are subject to too much scrutiny in court. We don't want the LEA people in aggressive sessions anyway.LTC Beaver: LEA choice not to participate in these types of interrogations is more ethical and moral as opposed to legal.Fredman: The videotaping of even totally legal techniques will look "ugly".Becker: (Agreed)Fredman: The Torture Convention prohibits torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. The US did not sign up on the second part, because of the 8th amendment (cruel and unusual punishment), but we did sign the part about torture. This gives us more license to use more controversial techniques.LTC Beaver: Does SERE employ the "wet towel" technique?Fredman: If a well-trained individual is used to perform [sic] this technique it can feel like you're drowning. The lymphatic system will react as if you're suffocating, but your body will not cease to function. It is very effective to identify phobias and use them (ie, insects, snakes, claustrophobia). The level of resistance is directly related to person's experience.MAJ Burney: Whether or not significant stress occurs lies in the eye of the beholder. The burden of proof is the big issue. It is very difficult to disprove someone else's PTSD.Fredman: These techniques need involvement from interrogators, psych, medical, legal, etc.Becker: Would we blanket approval or would it be case by case?Fredman: The CIA makes the call internally on most of the types of techniques found in the BSCT paper, and this discussion. Significantly harsh techniques are approved through the DOJ.LTC Phifer: Who approves ours? The CG? SOUTHCOM CG?Fredman: Does the Geneva Convention apply? The CIA rallied for it not to.LTC Phifer: Can we get DOJ opinion about these topics on paper?LTC Beaver: Will it go from DOJ to DOD?LTC Phifer: Can we get to see a CIA request to use advanced aggressive techniques?Fredman: Yes, but we can't provide you with a copy. You will probably be able to look at it.An example of a different perspective on torture is Turkey. In Turkey they say that interrogation at all, or anything you do to that results in the subject betraying his comrades is torture.LTC Beaver: In the BSCT paper it says something about "imminent threat of death",...Fredman The threat of death is also subject to scrutiny, and should be handled on a case by case basis. Mock executions don't work as well as friendly approaches, like letting someone write a letter home, or providing them with an extra book.Becker: I like the part about ambient noise.-- At this point a discussion about the ways to manipulate the environment ensued, and the following ideas were offered:* Medical visits should be scheduled randomly, rather than on a set system* Let detainee rest just long enough to fall asleep and wake him up about every thirty minutes and tell him it's time to pray again* More meals per day induce loss of time* Truth serum; even though it may not actually work, it does have a placebo effect.Meeting ended at 1450.***********The Immediate AftermathIt is worth noting some of the administrative responses to this meeting. On October 11, a week after the Counter Resistance Strategy Meeting, LTC Jerald Phifer wrote a request to Major General Michael B. Dunleavy, Commander at Guantanamo, requesting use of Counter-Resistance Strategy techniques. He divided them into three categories of intensity.Category I included direct approach and rapport building techniques, but also false identification of national identity of the interrogator, yelling at the detainee, and "techniques of deception." Category II techniques included use of stress position, isolation up to 30 days, light/auditory deprivation, 20 hour interrogations, nudity, hooding, and use of phobias "to induce stress." Category III techniques included the "wet towel" (waterboarding) treatment, threats of death to the prisoner or his family, and exposure to cold.On the same day, the Staff Judge Advocate at Guantanamo, LTC Diane E. Beaver, wrote a legal brief that concluded "the proposed strategies do not violate federal law." She did suggest, though, that Category II and III techniques undergo further legal review "prior to their commencement." Still on the same day, Maj. Gen. Dunleavy wrote a memo to the Commander of U.S. Southern Command asking for approval of the techniques. He concluded, without exception, that "these techniques do not violate U.S. or international laws.On October 25, 2002, General James T. Hill, Commander at SOUTHCOM, forwarded the request to use the techniques to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While he worried about the legality of some of th Category III techniques, particularly the death threats, he urged them to consider that he wanted "to have as many options as possible at my disposal."A few days after that, on October 28, 2002, Mark Fallon, Deputy Commander at Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF) sent a memo to a colleague. He was uneasy about what he had read in the Counter Resistance Strategy Meeting Minutes. He told his colleague the comments of Beaver and others "looks like the kinds of stuff Congressional hearings are made of." The techniques "seem to stretch beyond the bounds of legal propriety."Quotes from LTC Beaver regarding things that are not being reported give the appearance of impropriety.... Talk of "wet towel treatments" which results in the lymphatic gland reacting as if you are suffocating, would in my opinion; shock the conscience of any legal body looking at using the results of the interrogations or possibly even the interrogators. Someone needs to be considering how history will look back at this.""