Limbaugh and the Babes of Abu Ghraib

Torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq? It's no different than fraternity hazing. Or so declares the king of reactionary radio, Rush Limbaugh.

Beating and killing Iraqi detainees, according to Limbaugh, is good fun. "I'm talking about people having a good time, these people [CIA agents and MPs at Abu Ghraib], you ever heard of emotional release? You heard of need to blow some steam off?" Limbaugh asked a caller. "This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time."

Limbaugh is attracted to people who torture. On his May 3 show, the loudmouth drug addict said "have you people noticed who the torturers are? Women! The babes! The babes are meting out the torture."

http://www.counterpunch.com/nimmo05082004.html

Most of us would likely find Harman seriously deranged and in need of years of psychological treatment. But Limbaugh finds her and Pfc. Lynndie England attractive. England is featured in many of the torture photos. In one, she smiles happily with a cigarette clenched between in her teeth as she points at a hooded Iraqi man's private parts. England's boyfriend, Sgt. Charles Graner, is a former prison guard with a history of domestic violence. None of this bothers Rush. On the contrary, Harman and England are patriotic Americans innocently engaged in "good old American pornography," as Limbaugh said on May 6.

In fact, for Limbaugh, torture is a good thing. It builds character. Americans are too squeamish, too wimpy, unable to face up to the neocon plan of total war against Muslims and Arabs, a war Bush has promised will last for generations. "I think a lot of the American culture is being feminized. I think the reaction to the stupid torture is an example of the feminization of this country," he told his audience. In other words, if torturing people makes you sick you're effeminate, or maybe French. Get used to it, Rush seems to be saying, there's more where that came from.