Open letter to Durbin

I found this nice little letter to Senator Durbin:



So Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois thinks our Guantanamo soldiers are Nazis?

As a soldier stationed in Germany, the land where Hitler's Nazis once trod, I found my blood boiling by the words coming from the liberal Democratic senator from Illinois.
Senator Durbin, along with the rest of his left wing and terrorist sympathizing party thinks President Bush should close the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, because--in his words--the soldiers at Gitmo are "acting like Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, Pol Pot, or others who had no concern for human beings."

Two things here: Where is the outcry for his resignation from "distinguished" top Democratic politicians such as John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, and Nancy Pelosi?

Second: Since when is the "distinguished" senator such an expert on gulags, Nazis, Pol Pot, Lenin, Stalin, or Mussolini or any other dictatorial regime?

For the senator to display this little disrespect for the hard working, dedicated soldiers who put their safety and lives on the line every day guarding a prison full of known terrorists, is enough for members of both sides of the aisle to demand the senator's resignation from Congress.

Let's explore for the education of this liberal senator the reality of the Nazi death camps, the regime of Pol Pot, and the Soviet Gulag:

The death camp at Auschwitz was where approximately 400,000 people (read Jewish men, women and children) were cremated between March 31, and November 27, 1944.

The temporary Nazi death camp at Buchenwald, approximately 238,000 prisoners--mostly Jews but some non-Jewish Poles, Russian and German dissidents--were incarcerated. Of these people, 50,000 either died or were murdered.

By 1945, the Nazi death camp at Dachau had 206,206 registered. The total number of dead may never be known.

Soviet gulags included such labor camps as Kolyma, located in northeastern Siberia where temperatures drop to 90-below in the winter. After the Russian Revolution, the labor camps were closed down, but they were reopened Joseph Stalin. It is estimated that around 50,000,000 political prisoners and dissidents perished in Russian gulags between 1930 and 1950.

Pol Pot of Cambodia was known in his socialist party as "Brother Number One." He ordered the execution of from one to three million of his countrymen, which was about a third of the population of the country.

All together in the Nazi death camps, Soviet gulags, and the regime of Pol Pot, approximately 53,456,000 political prisoners, ethnic Jews, and others died.

Currently housed at Gitmo approximately 550 enemy combatants from the global War on Terrorism. This is equal to the population of many small towns in the United States.

But this is a far cry from the millions of dead from the combined regimes of the Nazi death camps, the Soviet gulags, and the regime of Pol Pot. It is well documented that the very dangerous combatants at Gitmo are very well taken care of, regardless of Senator Durbin's unfounded opinion.

Senator Durbin went on record saying that "some may believe that my remarks crossed the line, to them I offer my heartfelt apologies." For him to say that "some may believe..." about his negligent comments, indicates that he has no problem with his remarks. He is just sorry that he got caught.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld rightfully compared the senator's remarks to those of "Hanoi Jane Fonda" in calling U.S. soldiers war criminals during her visit to North Vietnam in 1972.

I don't see how the senator will ever live this down. I also don't see why other prominent members of the Democratic Party aren't calling for his resignation. To me, the senator effectively committed political suicide.

I can tell the senator firsthand that there is no Nazis party in Germany now. We liberated Germany from Hitler's regime during the final days of World War II. Liberal Dems would be very wise to learn the true Nazi history, and not go on empty-headed rantings such as this.

About the Writer: Steve Boggess is a sergeant in the U.S. Army, who after completing a tour of duty in Iraq, is currently stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. Steve receives e-mail at armyguy35@hotmail.com.