Jeez it's like a snapshot of real meathead amerikkka once the meager constraints of law are removed.
This describes the fantasy content of many frustrated 'little guy' minds. These were the creatures who formed 'black crow' einsatzkommando death units for a certain nutcase austrian 68 or so years ago.Now they post rants on a craigslist near you.
There is a punk rock rule, 'never become the thing you once despised' and we now see this rule shattered along with the more important rule of law.
But as Radio Birdman sang, 'The hand of law is coming down' inexorable natural law, not some thing weakly dreamed up by politicians and attorneys, but a more powerful law and the hand will swat this mess like an idiot deerfly.
Posted by Chris Rich at June 16, 2007 05:10 PMIn my dreams, some big newspaper does a three week expose on the truth about torture at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. I am sure that most Americans would never accept what happened at Abu and continues to take place at Gitmo. Like the Government forbiding the visuals of coffins, they also want to keep the additional pictures (remember those?) from the public. Wouldn't want the general masses to see and read the truth about the Darkside of America. They just might have a strong reaction.
Posted by Judith at June 16, 2007 06:22 PMThanks to Bush and this Administration, the entire notion of international justice has been weakened by Washington's open hostility to the International Criminal Court. Gee, I wonder why they would be hostile.
If former Liberia ruler Taylor can be brought before an International Court at the Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity, why not Bush? Are we so big and so important that war crimes of this Administration are overlooked by the International Court? If there was anyone in recent history that should face the Iraqs in a court of law, it is George Walker Bush, The Decider-in-Chief. Hard to claim innocents when you brag about being the Decider.
Posted by Judith at June 16, 2007 07:09 PMIf there was a redeeming aspect to the affair, it was in the thoroughness and the passion of the Army’s initial investigation. The inquiry had begun in January, and was led by General Taguba, who was stationed in Kuwait at the time. Taguba filed his report in March. In it he found: Taguba knew his report would make him unpopular: “If I lie, I lose. And, if I tell the truth, I lose.”
“Here . . . comes . . . that famous General Taguba—of the Taguba report!” Rumsfeld declared, in a mocking voice. The meeting was attended by Paul Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld’s deputy; Stephen Cambone, the Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J.C.S.); and General Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, along with Craddock and other officials. Taguba, describing the moment nearly three years later, said, sadly, “I thought they wanted to know. I assumed they wanted to know. I was ignorant of the setting.”
In the meeting, the officials professed ignorance about Abu Ghraib. “Could you tell us what happened?” Wolfowitz asked. Someone else asked, “Is it abuse or torture?” At that point, Taguba recalled, “I described a naked detainee lying on the wet floor, handcuffed, with an interrogator shoving things up his rectum, and said, ‘That’s not abuse. That’s torture.’ There was quiet.”
When Taguba urged one lieutenant general to look at the photographs, he rebuffed him, saying, “I don’t want to get involved by looking, because what do you do with that information, once you know what they show?”
I learned from Taguba that the first wave of materials included descriptions of the sexual humiliation of a father with his son, who were both detainees. Several of these images, including one of an Iraqi woman detainee baring her breasts, have since surfaced; others have not. (Taguba’s report noted that photographs and videos were being held by the C.I.D. because of ongoing criminal investigations and their “extremely sensitive nature.”) Taguba said that he saw “a video of a male American soldier in uniform sodomizing a female detainee.” The video was not made public in any of the subsequent court proceedings, nor has there been any public government mention of it. Such images would have added an even more inflammatory element to the outcry over Abu Ghraib.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/06/25/070625fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=1
Posted by Judith at June 17, 2007 12:30 AMIs this what they call `Don't ask, Don't tell`!
Posted by littlejohnuk] at June 17, 2007 07:20 AM"Democratic free expression" does not mean it is okay to call women on this site whores because they disagree with your insane theories.
Thanks Scout. I have been trying to get people on this site to understand that not all Christians are insane, right-wing nuts. Everytime you posted, you made a mockery of those efforts.
Posted by Judith at June 17, 2007 08:17 AMWhat's with the ghost story at the top?
Anyway, internationally and on our side of the aisle Abu Ghraib and the like are a shame. But I don't think most Americans and most Republicans give a damn, if anything, they're happy about. It's no scandal to them, it's almost a point of pride.
Posted by Brian Bell at June 17, 2007 10:59 AMBrian, it is how Sam Provance described Abu Ghraib. I wondered where the ghosts that haunted that place came from - both Saddam and Bush I suspect created the awful ambiance.
Posted by Mary at June 17, 2007 11:21 AMICC Judge: "Witness Mary, please tell the court why you are certain that the US Government committed pre-meditated war crimes at Abu Ghraib".
Mary: "Well, there are ghosts there. I wondered where the ghosts that haunted that place came from - both Saddam and Bush I suspect created the awful ambiance."
ICC Judge: "Well, that's good enough for me. Mr Bush, you are clearly guilty as charged, and are sentenced to be taken from this place to a place of execution, where you will have Manufacturing Consent read to you over and over until you are dead".
Mary: "Yaaaaayyyyyy!"
Posted by CaptainReality at June 17, 2007 11:52 PMObviously missed the point, on purpose.
Posted by at June 18, 2007 11:47 AM