by Starman » Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:07 pm
Following Anna Livia's inspired example, I too would like to see this issue get the attention it deserves, and so make this modest effort to bump this thread back onto the first-page from the third, where the press of recent posting new topics has relegated it.<br><br>To whit:<br><br>"An Iraqi TV reporter Suhaib Badr-Addin al-Baz saw the Abu Ghraib children's wing when he was arrested by Americans while making a documentary. He spent 74 days in Abu Ghraib."<br><br>My heart just bursts with Pride when I think of how truly Blessed I am to live in a Country so Blessed by Gawd and dedicated to the principles of Democracy and Civil and Human Rights -- and where our Glorious Triumphant Soldiers valiantly pay the highest tribute to America and God (not necessarily in that order) by doing their Sacred Duty in protecting our Precious Freedom and American Values, especially in their recognizing that any and all Threats to our way of life MUST be taken seriously, even if it requires kidnapping and imprisoning the children and Female Relations of Suspected Terrorists and Other Designated Bad Guys, and detaining fanatic Muslim enemy children and subjecting them to torture and brutal treatment in order to turn them from their evil ways, and to milk them of every scrap of important Intelligence they can that might save the lives of our Noble Fighters and of our Americanized Iraqi allies, in order to help make the Dream of Freedom and Civil Society become true for the poor suffering deluded and exploited people of Iraq who have been so cruely misled and decieved by their religious bigot Authorities and the ruthless dictator Saddam Hussein which the US under Republican Leadership has from the very beginning of Time always and passionately objected to and wanted to prevent him getting into power ever since he and his despicable violent Ba'athe Party seized power from Iraq's legitimate government which was a trusted ally of America, while the CIA was prevented by liberal cowards in Congress from helping to prevent Saddam seizing power, violating International Law and becoming a criminal Pariah that Reagan and Bush 41 rightly condemned and refused to recognize, and did everything in the Power to Undermine and Thwart.<br>(X-treme revisionist cynical-sarcasm filter on)<br>*****<br><br>In a not-unrelated recent development that is entirely reflective of the Bush Criminal War Syndicate's fascination with technology designed to kill, maim, destroy, devastate, disrupt, brutalize, butcher, mutilate and otherwise inflict horrible pain and suffering and terror, I learned today that the Pentagon is pushing to develop a 'new' generation of landmines -- Waaaay-to-Go-Team,-Yeah!<br>[Fuckin' Madness, etc...]<br><br>I fear what we have is a crisis of Imagination, largely not acknowledged -- Collectively, the aspirations, dreams, hopes, strivings of our society have been hijacked and derailed by basically Doddering Old (White)Men Fools entirely given to deluded fantasies about their National Importance in 'serving' the needs and interests of the Nation -- combining War with Business and skimming their commission off the top ...<br><br>This is the most irresponsible, self-centered US Administration of which I'm aware, who feel themselves so above and beyond the Law they hardly even bother to refrain from the appearance of impropriety, as these briggands and murderers, thieves and frauds have repeatedly shown their complicity in some of the most despicable scams and crimes of our age.<br><br>An aspect of this is the White House's resistance to any legislation calling for rquiring that all US military prisoners be treated in accordance with Geneva Convention guidelines. What I STILL find remarkable is that the Bush Administration contends that it has the authority to 'exempt' Military and Intelligence interrogators and Military Police etc. from prohibitions against cruel treatment and torture. The 'debate' about how America's prsioners should be treated has been horribly corrupted by ommissions and distortions and what sure looks like the most grevious abuse of power -- as there's almost no acknowledgement by the press or the Pentagon or the White House that there are more than a dozen prisons in Iraq beside Abu Ghraib where horrible, outrageous abuses have been documented, and concerning the US's ongoing policy of kidnapping and torture-by-proxy through renditions, and the holding of hundreds of women and children in appalling, dehumanizing conditions absent all legal rights and due-process -- I'm just so disgusted at the typical American public's disinterest and unawareness of these issues -- How to account for such a widespread attitude of disengagement and suspension of outrage? This is a fundamental failure of moral integrity which is at core a symptom of America's crisis of legitimacy.<br><br>from:<br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29758">ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29758</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>It's That Pesky Prisoner Abuse Scandal Again<br>by William Fisher, Aug. 2, 2005<br><br>--excerpt--<br>Picking up consideration of the defence bill -- which includes 50 billion dollars for U.S. troops in Iraq -- is likely to cause widespread White House heartburn. Lively debate was already well underway when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Republican from Tennessee, abruptly pulled the bill from consideration. <br><br>The reason was White House hostility to amendments setting standards for the treatment of enemy prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other military detention centres. The White House let it be known that the president would veto the defence-spending legislation if this provision was included in final legislation. <br><br>But White House angst about this amendment does not come from the usual suspects -- the Democrats. Its authors are leading Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, a former military judge, and Sen. John Warner of Virginia, the powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. <br><br>McCain had been working with Graham and with Sen. John Warner of Virginia, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to respond to widely publicised cases of prisoner abuse. They proposed to set specific standards for the treatment of foreign detainees. <br><br>The McCain-Graham-Warner amendment would require that the U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation cover prisoners in military custody. <br><br>McCain said, ”The Army Field Manual and its various editions have served America well, through wars against both regular and irregular foes. I think we all agree to fight terrorism we must obtain intelligence.” <br><br>(Well-- I take exception here, as incredible abuses and war-crime atrocities have occurred in nearly every war or conflict the US has been involved in the last 50+ years, for which those soldiers and more importantly their commanders weren't held accountable, despite prohibitions on these kinds of treatment of detainees, suspected 'enemies' and prisoners and even civilians written into 'law' and the US Army Field manual -- <br><br>Something is VERY, VERY wrong within our Military system and in our legal establishment, it's like the 2-ton elephant in the living-room no-one is willing to acknowledge -- it goes to the heart of America as a Nation lacking moral courage and the conviction of belief in basic principles, reflected in its 'leadership' and institutions. Perhaps the most notable feature of America's policies and 'leadership' is the degree to which hypocrisy has become institutionalized -- my personal 'pet-peeve' that I just can't stand. -S)<br><br>”But we have to ensure that it is reliable and acquired in a way that is humane. To do otherwise not only offends our national morals but undermines our efforts to protect the nation's security.” <br><br>Together with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, they also introduced an amendment that would prohibit cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners and would require the United States to abide by the Geneva Convention and other international agreements on the treatment of prisoners. <br><br>The two amendments would probably have received substantial Democratic support, giving them a strong chance of passing in the Republican-controlled Senate. <br><br>McCain, a leading sponsor of the interrogation-standard amendment, said, ”We need to make sure that every member of the Department of Defence understands the procedures that are being used in interrogation and we don't have a repetition of Abu Ghraib,” referring to the prison in Iraq that became synonymous with detainee abuse. Rachel Meeropol, an attorney with the Centre for Constitutional Rights, told IPS, ”The administration's actions in authorising and condoning torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment are clearly illegal, and contrary to American ideals.” ”Continuing to ignore the abuses being carried out puts detainees, American soldiers, and even all of us at home in jeopardy. It is long past time to act, and the American people should demand a thorough inquiry, all the way up the chain of command. ” ”These senators sent a message that until the Senate deals directly with the issues of interrogation and detainee treatment, the DOD bill will not get through the Senate,” said Elisa Massimino, Washington director of Human Rights First, a group advocating stricter rules for handling prisoners. <br><br>Pressure on the senators to back off came from Vice Pres. Dick Cheney, among others. The White House issued a policy statement saying, ”The administration strongly opposes such amendments, which would interfere with the protection of Americans from terrorism by diverting resources from the war to answer unnecessary or duplicative inquiry or by restricting the president's ability to conduct the war effectively under existing law.” <br><br>In support of his amendment, McCain read from a Jul. 22 letter signed by 14 retired military officers, including Marine Gen. Joseph Hoar, the former commander of U.S. Central Command, and Rear Adm. John D. Hutson, the Navy's judge advocate general from 1997 to 2000. <br><br>”The abuse of prisoners hurts America's cause in the war on terror, endangers U.S. service members who might be captured by the enemy and is anathema to the values Americans have held dear for generations,” the letter stated. <br><br>A third amendment was introduced by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, to set up an independent commission to study reports of abuse at military detention facilities. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, said he was considering support for an independent investigation. <br><br>Sentiment favouring such an investigation has slowly been gathering steam in Congress, since legislation was introduced last January by Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. <br><br>Sen. Graham charged that the White House and the Pentagon had issued confusing and contradictory directives regarding detainee treatment. <br><br>”Our people are trained to do it one way; you're confusing the heck out of them. And what have we learned in the last two years? If you know what the rules are about interrogating anybody, come tell me, because I can't figure it out,” he said. <br><br>The White House view was articulated by conservative Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who said, ”I reject the idea that this Defence Department and our Army and our military is out of control, is confused about what their powers and duties and responsibilities are.” (END/2005) <br>****<br>And so it goes ...<br><br>Starman<br><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :smokin --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smokin.gif ALT=":smokin"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>
