Finland's Military Sees Bush As 'The Worst Terrorist Since Adolf Hitler'

by Daniel Freedman
Fri, 4 Aug 2006 at 1:27 PM
updated Sun, 14 Jan 2007 at 1:48 PM

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A conscript to Finland's military tells me that in a training lecture at boot camp the instructor told the recruits that President Bush is "the worst terrorist since Adolf Hitler." Bin Laden and Bush were referred to as the "two idiots."

During the presentation, the conscript tells me, the instructor "had pictures of Bin Laden, Bush and Saddam up next to each other."

They were also told "along the lines of 'we have israel and the US to thank for all the crises and wars in this world.'"

The recruit acknowledged he may be punished for telling me what happened behind closed doors on a military training camp, but said it was a "crime" for this to go on.

Finland holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

We puts calls in to Finland's Embassy in Washington and the European Union's mission to Washington and are awaiting comment.

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, second right, speaks during a media conference after an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Tuesday Aug. 1, 2006. European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday called on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to an "immediate cessation of hostilities" followed by international efforts to get agreement on a sustainable ceasefire. Seated left is EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and second right is EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero Waldner. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Update: The press counsellor at the Embassy of Finland, Kristiina Helenius, tells me that it is "totally not typical" of the Finnish military, nor "part of the training." They're "very sorry this has happened." She said Finland is "100% sure it's just an individual."

Update II: The conscript tells me that the pictures of Saddam, Bin Laden, and Bush were all on a powerpoint presentation. This makes it seem, he suggests, that it was endorsed by higher military authorities and regularly used. All this took place in a lecture on WMD.

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