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This President and his administration's explanation of what happened at Abu Ghraib is not credible.
It's just a disgrace.
This President has demonstrated
a total lack of respect for the Constitution. In fact, I believe, he does not understand that the Constitution applies to him. In
fact, I believe he thinks he has the authority to give permission to others to suspend the Constitution. And he uses that authority with impunity. With
whom, you might ask?... the military, the secret service, the FBI, the CIA,
and the Attorney General, among others. In fact, any American who
is at all conscious, knows that these institutions often do, in the routine operation of their assignments, operate in secret and outside the authority of the Constitution. Our culture even glorifies such infidelity as evidenced by the movies we produce and the stars that are born who play parts in them. It didn't start with Bush, but it continues
with his administration in the most vile form we have seen to date.
Rumsfeld's explanation that an investigation was begun when word first broke
(which was last year!) about these abuses is a direct admission of guilt at the highest levels. As soon as any responsible military
person or person in the chain of command, from private to President, became aware of even
a hint that abuses were taking place, they should have spoken up, held meetings, instituted new controls and rules of engagement, delivered lectures, and taken every imaginable step possible to let those who are serving know, that if anyone ever
gets caught even coming close to abusing any prisoner, that heads would roll...
even before, or in addition to launching an investigation.
No one in uniform did any of
these things... everyone who knew and said nothing should be dismissed from the service without
honor. Just the suggestion that something was amiss should have been enough.
The military's answer to this... they've put up signs that make it a high offense to take any pictures in
there at
all. Great. The message: "The crime was that we got
caught and we're not going to let that happen again."
And Bush, the most polished liar and hypocrite that I have ever seen, went on TV to explain to the Arab population that in America our system of government honors the
Constitution and the rule of law, that our government is transparent, that
an accused is considered innocent until proven guilty. This, not more than two weeks after refusing to testify under oath, refusing to testify alone, refusing to have his words recorded.
This, while the administration argues at the Supreme Court
that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay do not have even the most
basic rights because they are not being held on US soil. (If
you believe that the rights people have... people who are in your
control... is a function of
where you decide to hold them,
then, brother, you do not believe in human
rights.) This, while thousands of Iraqi citizens were assembled outside Abu Ghraib, protesting, telling reporters that the US military came in the night and took away their fathers and sons and husbands and
they have not been heard from since... for months... no charges...
no representation... no information... no respect for human rights at all. A violation of international law and human decency. And this is not only happening in Iraq. It is happening right here in these United States.
By the way, we know the body
count of American soldiers, but do we know the body count of
Iraqi children... do they have rights... do they have
representation... how did they become the enemy of the United
States? I want to know how many children have been
killed or injured since this criminal war began. I WANT TO KNOW!!!
This entire administration is a disgrace. This Congress is a disgrace. Our entire legal profession... a disgrace. The military is a disgrace. All took an oath... all betraying their country. Our educational institutions... a disgrace. Who, I would like to know... who is left
who will speak out to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Who will speak out to defend basic human rights. Who??? If you go to the internet you will find them.
But if you turn on mainstream media... the radio, the TV or read
a newspaper... very, very, very few. When
did lying, withholding the truth, limiting dissent become
patriotism? Yesterday, we heard
reports that Disney (God, Mom, Mickey Mouse, and Apple Pie) was blocking the release of a new Michael
Moore movie that talks about Bush, his administration, and his
relationship with the bin Laden family. Why?
A
national tragedy and disgrace. Not only because of what was
done at Abu Ghraib, but because of what we see (or don't see) when we look in the mirror.
As far as I can tell, at least
Osama bin Laden is not a liar
and a hypocrite. Does this mean that I support bin Laden
or terrorism? NO. It means I support the rule of
law. And I have respect for those who will defend human
rights and justice. I would hope you would too.
If you had the courage to
read this far, I invite you to read the rest of what I've
written, too. Read it all... then tell me how wrong I
am. What are you afraid of?
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