On the June 14 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh described the recent suicides by three prisoners at the Pentagon detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as “a PR move,” echoing a State Department official's characterization of the incidents from which the department quickly attempted to distance itself.

After three detainees at Guantánamo Bay committed suicide, Colleen Graffy, the deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy, characterized the suicides on June 11 as “a good PR move.” Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the State Department, responded to Graffy's comments on June 12, stating, “I would not characterize this as a PR stunt,” and adding, “We have serious concern any time anybody takes their own life.”

Limbaugh, who frequently refers to the Guantánamo facility as "Club Gitmo," suggested the President Bush's surprise appearance in Iraq was not a public relations move but rather, “the PR move was the three suicides at Club Gitmo.”

From the June 14 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: [W]e're in the midst of a lot of optimism, and here is this story from al-AP [Associated Press]. The headline: "Pentagon to Disclose Interrogation Tactics." So I saw that headline. I said, “What the hell is this? Why are we going to start disclosing our interrogation tactics?” By the way, somebody wrote that this is a “PR move,” the president to bop into Baghdad and bop back out.

It was a PR move? Right. PR move: flying into Baghdad where a missile could kill him. The PR move was the three suicides at Club Gitmo. That's the PR move, folks.