Think Progress

Don’t Spray Urine on My Koran And Call it Rain

On May 17, Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita told the public “we’ve not seen specific, credible allegations” of Koran mistreatment by U.S. guards or interrogators. Seventeen days later, the Pentagon acknowledged “that soldiers and interrogators kicked the Muslim holy book, got copies wet, stood on a Koran during an interrogation and inadvertently sprayed urine on another copy.” That information was released at 7:15 PM on Friday night, after the evening newscasts, the best time to bury a story. But the specifics of the latest administration deception obscures the larger point: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld specifically authorized religious degradation as an interrogation tactic. That ill-conceived policy has endangered the lives of U.S. soldiers and impeded the progress of peace and democracy in the Middle East.

The White House described the Koran mishandling as “a few isolated incidents by a few individuals.” But religious degradation was an interrogation tactic approved at the highest levels. In December 2002, Donald Rumsfeld “authorized interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay that included the removal of religious items, forced grooming such as shaving facial hair, and removal of clothing.” These tactics were “designed to offend Muslims.” An investigation of Guantanamo Bay by Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, “found cases in which a female interrogator ‘touched and spoke to detainees in a sexually suggestive manner in order to incur stress based on the detainees’ religious beliefs.’”

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12 Responses to “Don’t Spray Urine on My Koran And Call it Rain”


  1. kindness says:

    I would be really curious to see what the Christian right wing would do if a protest took place where people lined up and pissed on bibles.

    Can anyone say hypocracy would abound?


  2. Russ Ruszkowski says:

    Now the biggest part of the story will have to become Rummy’s involvement with the 2002 memo authorizing “tactics.” While he didn’t authorize pissing on Korans, he did seem to authorize other tactics that have no other purpose than to spit in the face of detainee beliefs.

    Then for him to grandstand his “outrage” at the media – what a dick!


  3. Andros says:

    Who comes up with these ..explanations?!!! Ah, again, it’s the Republicans trying to explain the inexcusable to their own constituents. Who said something about IQ earlier???!!


  4. Skid says:

    I would love to see a diagram or something on how an air duct would draw urine from a soldier pissing outside the building and splash it on a Koran in a prisoners cell. I keep getting this image of an ACME-assisted diagram plan drawn up by Wiley E. Coyote to catch the Roadrunner, which, by the way, never worked.


  5. David B says:

    So now that we do know that these incidents did happen, where is the White House apology to Newsweek?


  6. Skid says:

    Yeah Dave, I’ve been watching/listening/whatever the news today, and though the Koran/prisoner abuse has been mentioned, it seems to be presented vaguely (what’s new). The accounts are followed by siting accounts of prisoners lying, then the semantics of the word “gulog” in Amnesty Internaional’s report. The next thing you know, its a segment about the world’s largest paper chain and whatever Brooke said about Tom.


  7. SLS says:

    Your all stupid and racist. Impeache bush now! I will be the first to ask someone to donate to the cause.



  8. Prada.G says:

    o.k. you know i’m kind of feed up with the whole gitmo situation.1st off their a bunch of terrorist, and killers.
    Why in the hell do we simpothize with their rights.I say screw their rights.You all not see the big picture.How many of our kids and brothers and sisters, have to die defending a bunch of freak’n morons.Then George dubya Bush tell’s us just the most retarted lies and we listen. Really people are we as a society just got the wool over our eyes and refuse to take it off or what.I say fight terrorist wit pure terror.For every one of them that kills someone by self destruction kill his family torture and brutalize them.then maybe they’ll see that the promises of wealth and well being for thier families will be hell on earth.I’ll tell you like this George Bush should thank god i didn’t get sent to iraq, cuz i’d shoot everything that didn’t have a flag on it. How do we expect to fight an conventional war agianst unconventional threat.thats just dumb.and if we the people of the united states of america can’t see that our president is the biggest freak’n jackass on the planet.we all deserve to die horrible deaths.thats just my opinion and i’m stick’n to it…


  9. Nude fzy says:

    Your know end news! What is this? Discounts!


  10. William Patrick Wend » Prisons says:

    [...] to Arkansas to execute a mentally retarded man. A country that “does not torture,“ urinates on copies of the Koran, and allows the disturbing things that took place at Abu Ghraib to [...]



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