Let's take a look at the Red Cross and ask this question. What specific organization prepares and feeds over 90% of all the meals the Red Cross takes credit for during each major disaster which may consist of hurricanes, flood, wild fires, WTC TERRORIST bombing, tornados and other umentioned catastrophies. Care to take a stab at answering that one? I'll give you a hint. It ain't CAIR or your Muslims or your Hindus nor your "unbelievers.

Research it.... I double dog dare ya.

Many of the political organizations on your list are just laughable.

“Although…we have a large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

Talking Turkey? They will tell you they ARE an Islamo Facist Muslim Nation. Take some time to research... find out how Christians there are routinely murdered, jailed and how many Christian churches are assaulted by often times Turkish government forces. Perhaps I should start forwarding you some e-mails from a "gasp" Christian family that lives there that I am close to.

LINK

Just Like Welfare and Socialized Medicine - You Don't Have To Work For It.... THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

That's too bad about your friends in Turkey...maybe they should consider moving back to the U.S. where we have a President who believes in religious freedom (or no religion) for all. However, I have little sympathy for any religious group (Christians, Muslims or Jews) that continues to fight over a sliver of ancient rock and arid desert and who actually looks forward to the end of the world and all of humanity.

My personal theory is that 9/11, the wars, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism and Christian fundamentalism has brought about a change in U.S. religious thought and caused a decline in its membership:

"So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists. In a nation that has long been mostly Christian, "the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion," the report concludes."

LINK

. . in my lifetime has been most important during catastrophes. However, there are still Christian churches being vandalized/destroyed right here in our own country; there are citizens and non-citizens still being victimized/killed here in our own country; there are citizens in our own country who condone 'water boarding'/torture. Does this make the US a 'hateful' country? NO! The truth is that there are hateful persons in all countries. The principles that our founding fathers embraced can be found in many religions. Not all Christians embrace these principles, just as not all Muslims embrace the principles of Islam. One can find the basics of human behavior that are articulated in the Ten Commandments in almost every world religion. In almost every city in our country one can find a worship place for Christians, Jews, Muslims -- and others. That is what makes the United States great. Freedom of religion is one of our most cherished freedoms.

Many other organizations have worked along side the Red Cross in bringing comfort to those who have suffered - throughout the world.

Good afternoon. Am I to imply that you believe that anyone who conducts or condones waterboarding to be deserving of being characterized as hateful? Just asking.

After doing some research, which included statements by military officers - water boarding is considered 'torture'. Intelligence officers have found that in the recent use of water boarding, intelligence gathered was not always factual - and sometimes downright misleading. I am not privy to those who condone water boarding - therefore I don't know if they are 'hateful' or not - but if water boarding is not providing us with the intelligence that we need - of what value is it in 2010? If water boardinf is 'torture' - isn't it our national policy that we do not employ physical or mental torture as do other countries? Just asking.

Many in the military have experienced waterboarding, and its use as one of several methods used to collect accurate intelligence has served us well. Certainly, you will find interogators who put less creedence in its results than others, but one must understand that it is but one method. Interrogators/analysts work in teams and are usually last in line of information seekers. I would imagine that the individual soldier who first captures one of these bastards and who likely has a cross to bear will be substantially less nice.

To characterize the previous use of waterboarders as being hateful, would indeed be disparaging to a long list of serving military and veterans.

The military doesn't practice waterboarding except to train their own personnel to resist the technique. It's illegal and the military has been prosecuting it as a war crime since the Spanish Civil War. Find me a reference where the military has used or condoned waterboarding on prisoners in the last 100 years.

You made my point. Now that we both know it exists and those of us who have endured it fully realize it is not the worst that could happen. I never said I liked it, but in extreme circumstances...well, some things just need not repeating.

My research certainly validates what you say is true. However, in 2010,there is debate on whether water boarding is considered 'torture'. . .and whether it should be part of American policy to utilize for intelligence gathering. Some have reported that the current enemy would welcome 'death' as a martyr rather than give information to the 'infidel'.. . and that some intelligence has been misleading. This is not WWII, Korea, or even Viet Nam. What I hope is true is that our current miitary strategists are well aware of this and are in the process of developing strategies for 2010. . .so that Al Queda will be defeated.

that a US Public that will accept a US President using "It all depends on what the definition of "is" is as a defense for lying to truly understand what "torture" really is! Personally, I'm willing for our intelligence officials to do whatever they have to do with captives to obtain whatever info they have as I know the objective is to save US combatant lives. Most of all, I am in favor of whipping their A$$E$ and disengaging as soon as possible. That means killing as many of their leadership & operatives as possible and dismantling their organizational structure(s).

Most of all, I am in favor of whipping their A$$E$ and disengaging as soon as possible. That means killing as many of their leadership & operatives as possible and dismantling their organizational structure(s).

That's my understanding of the current US policy.

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I don't believe Military Officers were involved in waterboarding. I believe it was conducted by specially trained CIA Officers as part of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques". And there CIA memos (that former VP Cheney attempted to get released but the current administration refused) that outline operational successes achieved due to info gained through waterboarding. I don't believe you can be involved in warfare and attempt to remain astride the morality horse--if you are't willing to dismount and join the enemy on the ground, using the same tactics he uses, you are most probably destined to be defeated.

"... if you are't (sic) willing to dismount and join the enemy on the ground, using the same tactics he uses..."

America is better than that. We have morals and standards and lines we will not and should not cross no matter what the provocation. That's what makes us different and better.

Your attitude makes you the same as them. If you are willing to join them in their tactics, what makes you any different from them?

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We're all entitled to our beliefs and opinons. . . and many of us watch the TV program The Unit. I've asked this question before. . . will the American public have the political will to acknowledge/approve 'torture'? McCain spoke out against it. Are you, a military man who served honorably, willing to approve torture? This is a difficult situation that we are in. . . not an ordinary 'war'. I'm not asking for a public answer from you. I do not expect Americans to be defeated.

How about posting some of those links to the "facts" that you learned about waterboarding and the quotes from military officers stating as such.

Unless, of course, you are making it all up or the links to your "facts" are to the NYT or daily KO's.

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Here are Maj. Gen. Fred E. Haynes, Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, Lt. Gen Charles Otstott, Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, Gen. David M. Maddox, Major Gen. Paul D. Eaton, Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, Brig. Gen James P. Gullen and others on video:

Military Leaders Speak Out Against Torture

Here's a letter from Generals John Shalikasvili and John Vessey and 36 other military leaders denouncing torture and the Detainee Treatment Act:

38 Retired Military Leaders Against Torture

"This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we -- not our enemies -- occupy the moral high ground," Army Gen. David H. Petraeus wrote in an open letter dated May 10 and posted on a military Web site.

Gen. Petraeus Warns Against Using Torture

Here's the Military's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency report saying, "The unintended consequence of a U.S. policy that provides for the torture of prisoners is that it could be used by our adversaries as justification for the torture of captured U.S. personnel":

Extreme Duress Could Yield Unreliable Information

Here's statement by Lieutenant General Harry Soyster, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) saying: "Experienced military and intelligence professionals know that torture, in addition to being illegal and immoral, is an unreliable means of extracting information from prisoners."

Former Head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Says Torture Produces Unreliable Information

We've known torture was unreliable for decades. Here's a part of the 1963 CIA Counterintelligence Manual: "The CIA’s KUBARK interrogation manual is straightforward about the unreliability of torture as a means to acquire useful intelligence. (KUBARK is a CIA cryptogram for the agency itself.) The “KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation” manual states: “Intense pain is quite likely to produce false confessions, concocted as a means of escaping from distress. A time-consuming delay results, while investigation is conducted and the admissions are proven untrue."

CIA Counterintelligence Manual Warns that Torture Produces Unreliable Information

Jump in all you want! Joe either is lazy or doesn't know how easy it is to do the research. However, if he only reads 'right wing' opinions - he has difficulty seeing a complete picture. I'll take the information found in law and opinions from respected military personnel over Hannity/and company any day. I'm grateful that the American public and some posters here appear to choose the law and the moral high road.

Special Report: Tough Interrogations Saved Lives: Debunking Allegations of Bush-Era "Torture" - from Military Veterans and Foreign Affairs Journal

KSM "didn't resist," one CIA veteran said in the August 13 New Yorker. "He sang right away." Another CIA official told ABC: "KSM lasted the longest under water-boarding, about a minute and a half, but once he broke, it never had to be used again."

KSM's revelations helped authorities arrest at least six major terrorists:

* Ohio-based trucker Iyman Faris pleaded guilty May 1, 2003, to providing material support to terrorists. He secured 2,000 sleeping bags for al Qaeda and delivered cash, cell phones and airline tickets to its men. He also conspired to derail a train near Washington, D.C., and use acetylene torches to sever the Brooklyn Bridge's cables, plunging it into the East River.

* Jemaah Islamiya (JI) agent Rusman "Gun Gun" Gunawan was convicted of transferring money to bomb Jakarta's Marriott Hotel, killing 12 and injuring 150.

* Hambali, Gunawan's brother and ring-leader of JI's October 2002 Bali nightclub blasts, killed 202 and wounded 209.

* Suspected al Qaeda agent Majid Khan, officials say, provided money to JI terrorists and plotted to assassinate Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, detonate U.S. gas stations and poison American water reservoirs.

* Jose Padilla, who trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, was convicted last August of providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to kidnap, maim and murder people overseas. Padilla, suspected of but not charged with planning a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack, reportedly learned to incinerate residential high-rises by igniting apartments filled with natural gas.

* Malaysian Yazid Sufaat, an American-educated biochemist and JI member, reportedly provided hijackers Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi housing in Kuala Lumpur during a January 2000 9/11 planning summit. He also is suspected of employing "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui. "The 9/11 Commission Report" (page 151) states: "Sufaat would spend several months attempting to cultivate anthrax for al Qaeda in a laboratory he helped set up near the Kandahar airport."

Imagine how many innocent people these six Islamo-fascists (and perhaps others) would have murdered had interrogators left KSM unwater-boarded and his secrets unuttered.

So much for selective "googleing" by Jeff and David's Mom....

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

. . .at least you're bringing your sources to the front. No need to 'make up' anything - right? Now - let's deal with the 'law'.

Joe, in life, there is more than one analysis of a situation - based on facts.

Google it. Lots of information.

Just as I thought - you made it up.

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

'thought' is the inoperative word here. There is lots of information - and other posters have based their thought on what they've read or their experience. You seem incapable of sharing your opinion based on what you've read or thought. You will note that there is no need for anyone to 'make up' anything. This is a serious problem in the US. Is water boarding considered 'torture'? Is it effective in gathering information? Can you answer the questions? What is your opinion based on? It is interesting that if you take the time to 'google' that there is information/articles expressing opinions on both sides of the issue. Joe, in life, there is more than one analysis of a situation - based on facts.

Obama finally admitted today that we are at war. It must have been quite a revelation for his small mind.

Question: If we are at war, why are the prisoners of this war being tried in a court of law.

I truly wish that we had a president with a spine and the cajones to confront our enemies head on and be on the offensive instead of a weak president that our enemies are mocking and laughing at.

President Obama is weak, and he cannot stand on principle because he has no principles. He promised transparency and deliberations on c-span and delivers back-room deals, bribes, and Chicago style thuggery.

Tonight, I weep for our country. We must take action now and take our country back from this weak, lying, pathetic administration.

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Thanks for your passionate input. Your opinion has been heard.

. . which many have trouble dealing with. Thank heavens lynching is no longer 'tolerated' in the United States, burning at the stake is history, and we're trying to deal with the practice of 'water boarding'.