Abu Ghraib: What did Bush know--and when did he know it?

Abu Ghraib: What did Bush know--and when did he know it?

Why is Donald Rumsfeld the cut-off when we go up the chain? Where do we consider 'the buck' really stops? Is an investigation of President Bush (and VP Cheney) necessary? Given the extreme circumstances of Abu Ghraib, I believe we should leave all possibilities open.

At Buzzflash, Maureen Farrell asks some important questions:

...though it's tempting to cling to the narratives that make us feel good, in the end, reality catches up with us any way. Right about the time William Kristol and Lawrence Kaplan were promising that America would "demonstrate to all the compatibility of its interests and ideals" and make the world "a safer and more just place," for example, the Guardian's George Monibot was saying 'It will end in disaster.' "The United States, like Israel, will discover that occupation is bloody and, ultimately, unsustainable," he wrote. "Its troops will be harassed by snipers and suicide bombers, and its response to them will alienate even the people who were grateful for the overthrow of Saddam." [Guardian]

So at this juncture, believing in the Bush administration means embracing incompetence.
And while the Taguba report reportedly went unread by the Pentagon brass, are we to believe that the Red Cross report on torture delivered to the Bush administration earlier this year did, too? And though Paul Bremer was reportedly told of the abuse in November [Guardian] are we expected to believe that CNN knew about the abuse at Abu Ghraib in January [CNN] while the president remained "out of the loop?" For God's sake, if the President had tuned into Wolf Blitzer's May 2, 2004 interview with Seymour Hersh, perhaps he would have learned about the abuse and not said, a mere one day later, "Because we acted, torture rooms are closed [and] rape rooms no longer exist. . . in Iraq." [WhiteHouse.gov]

See Paul Krugman's op-ed from today's N.Y. Times titled Just Trust Us. We cannot operate or depend on trust alone when it comes to this administration. Not anymore. Congress needs to end partisanship and save our nation's reputation before it's too late.


The Army Times has an editorial in its May 17th edition that calls for going straight to the top.

The Daily Mislead has some questions for the White House about their ignoring so many pleas to address this prison situation far earlier.

From Harvey Wasserman/Free Press-Independent News Media-- Bush the torturer must leave office:

...like My Lai, atrocious behavior in Iraq comes straight from the top. Bush's contempt for international law, including the Geneva Accords, has been legend. His stirring praise for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld must be taken at face value. If Rumsfeld is doing a "superb job," it's because Rumsfeld is doing superbly what George W. Bush wants done.

What Bush did as governor he now does as president. It has nothing to do with stopping terrorism or protecting the United States. It's not the product of a few "bad" or poorly trained soldiers. It's not about a wayward Secretary of Defense and his out-of-control military apparatus. The inevitable reaction that's now come with this first beheading has been provoked by an administration engaged in global drunk driving.

This ghastly spiral of brutality is all about George W. Bush and who he really is. And since he is doing this in the name of the United States, it is ultimately about us, and what we do about him.

I've read the story of Nick Berg

I've read the story of Nick Berg

click photo to learn a bit about Nick's life

The story is told in all its cold detail.

These are only my first impressions.

It's nearly too much to bear.

My heart goes out to Nick's family...I have a lot of questions about the circumstances which prevented his return home at a time when he desired to come home.

Because of a savage thirst for revenge, Nick won't be home at all.

Michael, Suzanne, David, Sarah--I am so, so sorry.

This war is nothing but madness and it needs to end.

The article says the people who did the beheading praised God in the name of Islam. That, my friends, is horse-shit, plain and simple. Killings in the name of God have nothing to do with the essence of Islam. The killing occurred in the presence of war, anger, vengeance, and blood-lust. I'm sick of criminals using the name of God to kill in cold blood.

All good people of the world--Islamic, Christian, Hindu, atheist-- need to consolidate and speak out against any who kill for shrouded politics in the holy name of God.

Iraq is over, people. All we've done from the get-go is to send an army to inflame the godless who act with violence in the false name of their state-God.

I'm afraid all we have left to reap in Iraq is a whirlwind of godless blood-vengeance.

Cultural reform cannot happen at the drop of a bomb, an occupation, or a new-government puppet show.

It cannot happen that way.

Nick is gone because of this folly and it makes me sick.


________

May 7th AP article about Nick:

The Associated Press [LINK]

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Nick Berg was on his way out of Iraq. He had been released from the prison where he had been held for 13 days by Iraqi police for reasons he said he did not know. He had made his way from Mosul to his Baghdad hotel. He was finished with being an independent civilian contractor and was coming home to West Chester.

That was April 9. A month later, Berg's parents, Michael and Suzanne, still haven't heard from him. They've gone from concerned to frantic.

"Our hopes are that he's still in hiding or en route and traveling in a very slow manner," Michael Berg said.

A spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq who tracks the number of civilians missing in that country was unavailable for comment. But in mid-April, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said during a news briefing in Baghdad that about 40 people from 12 countries were missing and presumed hostages.

Nick Berg, 26, owns a business called Prometheus Methods Tower Service Inc. He climbs communications towers to inspect the antennas, the electrical connections and the structure. He first went to Iraq on Dec. 21.

He stayed until Feb. 1, making contact with a company that indicated there would likely be work for him later. But he returned on March 14 and there was no work, so he began traveling. He usually called home once a day and e-mailed several times; Michael Berg is his business manager, and they needed to stay in touch.

They spoke on March 24, and Nick Berg told his parents he was coming home on March 30. Then the communications stopped, and he wasn't on the plane on March 30.

When FBI agents arrived at the Berg's West Chester home on March 31, they were relieved to know their son was alive, but in jail. The agents questioned them about various details that only they and their son would know about.

Jerri Williams, spokeswoman for the Philadelphia FBI office, said the agency was "asked to interview the parents regarding Mr. Berg's purpose in Iraq."

On April 5, the Bergs filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia, contending that their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military in Iraq.

The next day, April 6, Nick Berg was released. He told his parents he had been riding in a taxi on March 24 when he was arrested by Iraqi officials at a checkpoint in Mosul. He told his parents he had not been mistreated.

Nick Berg said he would come home through Jordan, Turkey or Kuwait. But by then, hostilities in Iraq had escalated, and Michael Berg said they have not heard from their son since.

The Bergs have hounded the State Department, the FBI and the International Committee of the Red Cross, seeking information. Michael Berg said the State Department sent an official to Nick Berg's hotel, where an employee told the official they had not heard of him.

The Bergs hired a private investigator, who talked to an American hotel guest who said he remembered Nick Berg.

Sometimes, they tell themselves their son "is a resourceful fellow who can take care of himself," Michael Berg said.

"Other times we think perhaps he was dead on April 10," he said. "My worst fear is that I'll never hear anything." [Philly.com LINK}

Reuters
Boston Globe
L.A. Times
Guardian
Globe and Mail

UPDATE: "I don't think this administration is committed to democracy."
--Michael Berg, father of Nick

*HEAR NICK'S FATHER MICHAEL BERG IN A LIVE INTERVIEW AT HERE AND NOW

Nick had a great heart. He had previously traveled to Ghana, where his family said he had purchased a $900 brick-making press for a poor village.

AP: Reaction to Nick's death

Pennsylvania community shocked by death of `real nice kid'

*Note--If you're looking for the video of Nick's death, don't expect to find it here. I won't sink that low. Sorry. I'm sure there's someone else..some ghoulish soul out there who will lack the taste, the compassion and the conscience.*

Senator Inhofe makes a political show of Taguba hearing

Senator Inhofe makes a disgusting political show at Taguba hearing

James Inhofe is equivocating and rationalizing away the violation of human rights at Abu Ghraib at the Taguba-Congressional hearing as I'm writing this post. He actually just suggested that these Iraqis deserved the treatment they got in these prisons. What a total ass he's making of himself! He sounds like a FOX News propagandist, for Pete's sake. He's whining about the politicization of this Abu Ghraib torture-story, but I have to tell you-- I've never seen such blatant politicization myself. It's sad.. really sad. Inhofe's outraged at "do-gooders" looking for violations of human rights in our military prisons. He reminds us of violations Iraqis have committed against our soldiers. (As if we didn't know).

I remind Inhofe that we are supposed to be BETTER than savages. He seems perfectly willing to forget that we are supposed to be a civil people.

Inhofe is the same fundamentalist kook who babbled, just after 9-11, "One of the reason I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."

Inhofe is also the same ugly partisan who refused to support his President or give him the benefit of any confidence during the Kosovo crisis, stating in April, 1999: "The best way we can support our troops is to keep them out of Kosovo, out of a protracted war that, in my opinion, we are not going to end up winning."

We "won" the hearts and minds in Kosovo. Inhofe was dead-wrong.

Look at what Inhofe is supporting now...the damned hypocrite. I do not suffer fools lightly and I must call them out when I see them. Senator Inhofe is a fool. Our military needs to get out of Iraq. We need an exit strategy, not a foolish political display for all the nation to see.


Knowing Inhofe's making American law is a very frightening thought.



Update: 5/ 12- Walter Shapiro writes on the subject.

The Second Superpower Meets the Pentagon

The Second Superpower Meets the Pentagon

The Second Superpower is the term coined by James F. Moore of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. As the United States government becomes more belligerent in using its power in the world, many people are longing for a “second superpower” that can keep the US in check. This Guardian article shows how this idea of Mr. Moore's is actually taking shape.When the Abu Ghraib photos depicting the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US troops began to surface, it became clear that many of them were amateur shots taken by soldiers using their own private digital cameras. The internet played a large role in distributing the images, which highlights the ease with which troops serving in Iraq can now send photos back to the U.S. and are curiously not subject to any kind of military censorship.(I wonder if things will soon change?)The morality of war will always pose the same dilemmas, but the internet (and blogs) have provided a powerful new way of exposing truths in real-time. The Internet and other interactive media continue to penetrate more and more deeply and promptly. It's hard for world leaders to hide things they once found easy and convenient to hide.

Ref: See "The Other Superpower" at Rodger Payne

The Tipping Point by Lt Col. Karen Kwiatkowski

Ship of state not leaking info, but leaking bodies

Karen Kwiatkowski's latest article, The Tipping Point, can be found at the Military Week website. As the title suggests, Lt. Col. Kwiatkowski believes we've reached that point in Iraq already. She's seeing what she calls a "bloodless evacuation of the appointed ideologues from Washington to some safe and profitable haven". Once-strategizing-and-hopeful Neoconservatives are "peeling off like a bad paint on an old Chevy". A sure sign.

Maj. General Antonio Taguba to testify tomorrow

Maj. General Antonio Taguba to testify tomorrow

Tuesday, May 11

IRAQ POLICY
Prisoner Report's Author on Hill
Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba testifies before the Senate Armed Services Cmte. on his report on the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison.
TUESDAY ON C-SPAN AT 9:30AM ET

Also on CSPAN tomorrrow:

--Prisoner Hearing in Senate: Part 2
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) chairs a hearing on the treatment of Iraqi prisoners. Intelligence Undersec. Stephen Cambone & Army JAG Thomas Romig testify.
TUESDAY ON C-SPAN3 AT 2:30PM


--Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is one of our Tuesday morning guests. Another is Stephen Mansfield, author of "The Faith of George W. Bush."
TUESDAY ON C-SPAN AT 7AM ET

Joel Katzman on Israel

Joel Katzman on Israel

Joel Katzman, PhD, has written a piece for Arutz Sheva titled "Israel, Beware!". In it, he states that the current stand on Israel by the Bush administration is all about "running scared" and "botching" the Middle East situation.

The US is terribly humiliated and fearful, because Iraqi prisoners were mild to moderately abused by US service personnel; yet the US appears to be becoming less concerned about humiliating and putting Israelis at risk, than it is about making sure that the Islamofacists and the Muslims of the world feel comfortable and protected.

I don't agree that we can dismiss the matter of Abu Ghraib as a case of moderate or mild abuse. I find that to be incredibly disingenuous from an intellectually honest standpoint. I also sense a form of either resentment, distrust, or envy for the attention the situation is getting the Muslim world. It may be best, if Dr. Katzman wishes to catch liberal American attention, to pose his argument with far more care and appreciation for the American situation.

He continues,

I truly hope that I can be written off as being overly paranoid and incapable of grasping the "holier than thou" and failed approach to peace making so common to the diplomats of "evenhandedness" and their failed land-for-peace arrangements. However, if I am not wrong, then Israeli concessions will not be allowed to stop at even the 1967 borders, and Israelis and many Jews may be unpleasantly surprised to find that the US, along with other nations, and the UN, will push relentlessly to drive Israel back to pre-1949 borders.

I would hope this is, indeed, paranoia. Yet, I share Dr. Katzman's concerns. This is a terribly trying time for America. Iraq turned out to not be a cakewalk. If the politics surrounding the failing war are hurting Israel, I can understand the discomfort. Perhaps, if America could gracefully walk (not run) away from Iraq, we could get the Middle East back on track. I honestly think it's going to take a new administration to set us on the track again.

To Dr. Katzman, I say: Please do not blame liberal people. We never chose this path for our nation...or Israel.

Learn these names

Learn about these names


John Israel
Steven Stephanowicz
Col Thomas M. Pappas
LTC Steve L. Jordan

[See LINK]

Oh no, not Lt. General Boykin...

Oh, no....not Lt. General Boykin

I'm afraid that Lieutenant-General William "Jerry" Boykin's words are going to come back to haunt all of us. America was supposed to keep its religious intent out of the Iraq war. Now we learn he's involved in this Abu Ghraib mess? Some in the media are saying Donald Rumsfeld has tried to
cover up the controversial Boykin, who was allegedly hired by him to pin down the "interrogation" process. Since most of the people that Boykin is charged with capturing in Iraq are Muslim, his past words and actions will now draw even more scrutiny in the Arab and Islamic world.

Casualty of War- Colin Powell in GQ

Casualty of War-
Colin Powell in GQ

"It is rare for a member of any president's cabinet to stand alone.."

[LINK]

Bloody Road from Abu Ghraib leads back to Rumsfeld

Bloody Road from Abu Ghraib leads back to Rumsfeld

The creation of torture units was the consequence of orders by the Defence Department – headed by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld – to prise information out of prisoners.

What we haven't seen...yet...

American soldiers beating an Iraqi to a bloody pulp.

A male U.S. soldier having sex with a female Iraqi inmate.

Soldiers acting inappropriately with a dead body.

A video allegedly showing Iraqi guards raping young boys.

Dancing the Web

Dancing the Web

Read American diplomat Phil Kosnett's story titled Little Glamor for U.S. Diplomats in Najaf . Kosnett, a 43-year-old diplomat from Black Mountain, NC, has seen his job made much tougher by the Shiite uprising in their holy city of Najaf.

Kosnett and [Col. Dana] Pittard, whose troops are poised to attack if ordered, both say harm to Najaf's holy places has to be avoided. The Imam Ali and Kufa mosques, the city's most sacred shrines, remain in the hands of al-Sadr's gunmen although they've vacated the main government office and police station.

"They may have moved out of the pizzerias but they still hold the Vatican," one of Kosnett's assistants said. "That's the biggest hostage they hold."

John at Archy rewards Tom Friedman (he does say something worth an honorable mention sometimes).

John says-

I recognize that [Friedman’s] headed in the right direction and especially give him credit for a good hook:

I have never known a time in my life when America and its president were more hated around the world than today…. It's no wonder that so many Americans are obsessed with the finale of the sitcom 'Friends' right now. They're the only friends we have, and even they're leaving.

At Rodger Payne's Blog, we learn a Conservative revolt is hitting the front pages of mainstream media.



The Army Times along with three other military papers owned by the Gannett Companies, have suggested Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Pentagon civilian and military leaders should be removed over the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal.



How does this grab ya?

At World Net Daily, I read this

Osama bin Laden's family business is on the short list of contractors bidding to build the world's tallest skyscraper...The Saudi Binladin Group, the biggest developer in the kingdom, begun by Osama bin Laden's father, is in the running for the project.

I don't know about you. I keep thinking...

"World Trade Center"....

"He who dies with the biggest and the tallest toys wins"...

"My ****'s bigger than your ****"....

Moqtada Sadr Controls Sadr City

Moqtada Sadr Controls Sadr City
With the quick takeover, which was completed at dawn, Sadr City joined two southern towns, Najaf and Kufa, now under the control of Sadr's militia...

Here's what we've got:

In Iraq, we're fighting against a Shiite cleric and those whose Shiite hearts have been won by him (some of them mere teenagers). I happen to believe we're going to have a hard time convincing these folks this is not a war against their religion since their religion is so closely tied to their government.

A U.S. raid Saturday night and the detention of two of al-Sadr's lieutenants, Amr Husseini and Amjad Saedi, triggered a whole new uprising. One-third of Baghdad's 5 million residents live in this place. They may call this place a "slum", but no matter how you slice it, you can't discount it--that's a lot of people.

Our forces are hitting al Sadr's forces where they can---Diwaniyah, Karbala, Kut and Kufa. The U.S. now has fewer than eight short weeks to transfer some type of authority to a new Iraqi government (whoever on earth that might be...). There's intra-Shiite fighting to worry about in the process of the turnover of power. Rival Shiite clerics hate al-Sadr and here we are-- stuck in the middle of their civil hatred-- precisely where we've never belonged. To boot, all the Shiites have nothing save distrust for the U.S. for reaching out and touching someone...who happen to be members of Saddam's old Baath Party (to placate Sunnis in Fallujah).

We don't belong there. We never have. FOX News Sunday tried to piece together a short propaganda pro-war film to counter Ted Koppel's reading of the names of our Fallen (how dare he?). The FOX news
propagan-documentary fell apart from its start when the filmmaker had the audacity to show Saddam's torture and rape rooms (in the wake of Abu Ghraib).The rest of the film showed our troops doing social work, which should be done by organizations created for that purpose. It drove home the sickeningly sad point that our troops don't belong there and are now suffering (some facing court-martial) for a situation in which they were thrown...untrained..unprepared..and given a wink and nod all the way up the chain of command to do what they needed to do to get the locals to "talk".

I blame FOX News for unethically misleading the American public far too long. The fact that 80% of FOX News-viewers surveyed believed weapons of mass destruction had been found and a connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq existed reveals FOX's ethical transgession. When the Vice President says he loves your work (as he did with FOX), you have to realize that they are not doing their job..which should be challenging power instead of sucking up to it.

It's time to look through the lens clearly (both literally and figuratively) and get these troops back home. Let this become a world-crisis, because that is precisely what it is. Back away and let the entirety of the world step into the vaccuum. It should never have been a lone U.S. Crusade.
The American public, although constantly misinformed, is slowly beginning to understand.
It's a no-win situation.

"Let all you do be done in love"




Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not Love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not Love, it profiteth me nothing.

Love suffereth long, and is kind;
Love envieth not;
Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly,
Seeketh not her own,
Is not easily provoked,
Thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.



Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.

Paul of Tarsus
1 Corinthians 13

Seymour Hersh: Chain Of Command

New Yorker Feature-
Seymour Hersh: Chain of Command


[LINK]
Mr. Hersh shows how the M.P.s at Abu Ghraib were failed by their commanders—both low-ranking and high.

In his devastating report on conditions at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq, Major General Antonio M. Taguba singled out only three military men for praise:

1. Master-at-Arms First Class William J. Kimbro, US Navy Dog Handler, knew his duties and refused to participate in improper interrogations despite significant pressure from the MI personnel at Abu Ghraib.

[not mentioned in article, but I wish to mention:]

2. SPC Joseph M. Darby, 372nd MP Company discovered evidence of abuse and turned it over to military law enforcement.

3. 1LT David O. Sutton, 229th MP Company, took immediate action

One of the new photographs shows a young soldier, wearing a dark jacket over his uniform and smiling into the camera, in the corridor of the jail. In the background are two Army dog handlers, in full camouflage combat gear, restraining two German shepherds. The dogs are barking at a man who is partly obscured from the camera’s view by the smiling soldier. Another image shows that the man, an Iraqi prisoner, is naked. His hands are clasped behind his neck and he is leaning against the door to a cell, contorted with terror, as the dogs bark a few feet away. Other photographs show the dogs straining at their leashes and snarling at the prisoner. In another, taken a few minutes later, the Iraqi is lying on the ground, writhing in pain, with a soldier sitting on top of him, knee pressed to his back. Blood is streaming from the inmate’s leg. Another photograph is a closeup of the naked prisoner, from his waist to his ankles, lying on the floor. On his right thigh is what appears to be a bite or a deep scratch. There is another, larger wound on his left leg, covered in blood.

The Pentagon official told me that many senior generals believe that, along with the civilians in Rumsfeld’s office, General Sanchez and General John Abizaid, who is in charge of the Central Command, in Tampa, Florida, had done their best to keep the issue quiet in the first months of the year. The official chain of command flows from General Sanchez, in Iraq, to Abizaid, and on to Rumsfeld and President Bush. “You’ve got to match action, or nonaction, with interests,” the Pentagon official said. “What is the motive for not being forthcoming? They foresaw major diplomatic problems.”
Secrecy and wishful thinking, the Pentagon official said, are defining characteristics of Rumsfeld’s Pentagon, and shaped its response to the reports from Abu Ghraib.

[From the Major Gen.Taguba report:] "There are a large number of Iraqi criminals held at Abu Ghraib. These are not believed to be international terrorists or members of Al Qaeda." Taguba noted that [Major Gen. Geoffrey] Miller’s recommendations “appear to be in conflict” with other studies and with Army regulations that call for military-police units to have control of the prison system. By placing military-intelligence operatives in control instead, Miller’s recommendations and [General]Sanchez’s change in policy undoubtedly played a role in the abuses at Abu Ghraib.

One lingering mystery is how [Maj. Gen. Donald J.] Ryder could have conducted his review last fall, in the midst of the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, without managing to catch it.

Bush: "You can count on God and me"

"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear."

--—G.W. Bush Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004
___

"What hawks never seem to realize is that while war is sometimes necessary, it always breeds inhumanity. There are no "evildoers" and good guys when bullets fly. When enemies threaten you, it's you or them, and you shrug off "collateral damage." And when our leaders preach that "they" are evil, and we have God on our side, anger can morph oh-so-easily into brutality. Think Rwanda. My Lai. Al-Qaida. Hitler.

We've lost. How many more must die before we admit it?" [LINK]

Debbie Armstrong speaks for Lynndie

Lynndie's Aunt Debbie is proud of her

Seen at the website for the David Lawrence show:
(I repost the message as I found it--written in caps)

IM (sic) AM LYNNDIES AUNT AND PROUD OF IT! THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT LYNNDIE DONT EVEN KNOW !!! SHE IS A GOOD KID AT WRONG PLACE AT WRONG NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS SHE WAS FOLLOWING
ORDERS.I GUESS SOMEBODY HAS TO TAKE THE FALL!DO YOU THINK THAT THE IRAQS WOULD DO THE SAME TO THE AMERICANS GIVEN THE CHANCE?

Posted by: debbie on May 8, 2004 04:05 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I would invite Lynndie's aunt, Debbie Armstrong, to make any comment here at Iddybud. We need to have an American discussion in a place we all feel safe.

Philly Inquirer to Rumsfeld: Resign or be fired

Philadelphia Inquirer calls for Rumsfeld resignation

Editorial | After Abu Ghraib:
Donald Rumsfeld must resign, or be fired

Donald Rumsfeld should resign as U.S. secretary of defense.

If he lacks the decency and courage to do so, President Bush should fire him.

Accountability also means the departure of Rumsfeld's top lieutenants, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the architects of the dubious invasion rationales and the disastrously incompetent occupation.

All must go.

WP- Deep divisions in U.S. Military-
U.S. May Be Winning Battles in Iraq But Losing the War, Some Military Officers Say
"The people in the military are mad as hell."

Timeline of abuses in Abu Ghraib prison

Jan 13, 2004: Joseph Darby, a reservist in the military police, alerts his superiors of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.

Jan 16: The US Central Command announces that an investigation "has been initiated into reported incidents of detainee abuse at a coalition forces detention facility." A Pentagon spokesman says a criminal investigation was underway. But no details are provided.

Jan 31: Major General Antonio Taguba is named the chief investigative officer and begins a review of procedures in the prison.

March 3: Taguba presents his preliminary findings to Lieutenant General David McKiernan. His report is classified, but copies leaked to the press say he found that military police were directed to change prison procedures to "set the conditions" for military intelligence interrogations. He singled out two military intelligence officers and two civilian contractors for blame.

April 6: McKiernan approves some recommendations of the Taguba report, which results in letters of reprimands for six military police officers and non-commissioned officers, and the relief from duties of two of them. Six guards are criminally charged.

April 28: CBS television's 60 Minutes II program airs photographs showing hooded, naked prisoners being forced to engage in simulated sexual acts. The network delayed broadcasting the images for two weeks at the request of top military officials.

April 30: US President George W Bush expresses "deep disgust" and Tony Blair's spokesman says the British prime minister is appalled. The Arab League calls on the US-led coalition to "punish everyone who has been involved in these savage acts".

May 5: US military gives a tour of Abu Ghraib jail to journalists. Bush gives interviews to two Arab-language television channels and calls the abuse "abhorrent." US media report the next day that Bush admonished Rumsfeld for failing to inform him about the photographs of the abuse.

May 6: The Washington Post publishes new photos from the jail, including one showing a woman soldier holding a leash tied around the neck of a naked man. Calls for Rumsfeld's resignation intensify. Bush offers apology during news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

May 7: Rumsfeld appears before Congress and offers his "deepest apology," but he says he will not resign. He reveals the existence of more photos and videos of the prison abuse. The international Red Cross says the abuse it found in Iraq's US-run prisons was systematic and amounted to torture. [LINK]

The road to Abu Ghraib:
A prison on the brink- Usual military checks and balances went missing

This is Part 1 of a promised three-part series by Scott Higham, Josh White and Christian Davenport from The Washington Post (via the MSNBC website).

Some of the Players:

Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba- was assigned to investigate the officers involved--had called for Steven Stephanowicz to be sacked back on March 8.

Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski- Lt. Col. Phillabaum's boss, a reservist general in charge of the 800th Military Police Brigade

Steven Stephanowicz- an interrogator, CACI International, worked w/ military intelligence officers

John Israel- translator, worked for CACI International, worked with military intelligence officers

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller - in August, 2003, Miller recommended that MPs and military intelligence officers work closely to gather information from the prisoners at Abu Ghraib

Col. Thomas M. Pappas- commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade

Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan- Col. Pappas' liason officer

Donald J. Reese- 372nd company commander given perhaps the most sensitive mission: control of Tier 1A, where "high priority" detainees were held for interrogation by civilian and military intelligence officers

Lt. Col. Jerry L. Phillabaum--officer in charge of Abu Ghraib, a reservist who commanded the 320th Military Police Battalion

Spec. Joseph M. Darby- the soldier who placed an anonymous note describing the photographs under the door of an Army criminal investigator

Maj. Gen. Donald J. Ryder- conducted a "comprehensive review of the entire detainee and corrections system in Iraq" in October 2003

Adel L. Nakhla, a U.S. civilian contract translator



The charged soldiers:

Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II- a charged soldier

Pfc. Lynndie R. England-charged soldier

Spec. Sabrina D. Harman- charged soldier

Spec. Megan M. Ambuhl- charged soldier

Sgt. Javal S. Davis, charged soldier

Spec. Jeremy C. Sivits-a charged soldier

Spec. Charles A. Graner Jr- a charged soldier

Guy L. Womack- a Houston lawyer representing Graner

Six of the seven criminally charged soldiers (all except Pfc England) are now stationed in Camp Victory, a U.S. base near the Baghdad airport, where they are awaiting their fate. They face charges that include conspiracy, dereliction of duty, cruelty toward prisoners, maltreatment, assault and indecent acts.

More on Abu Ghraib in Today's News


Boston Globe- Details emerge of a wartime prison in chaos

NYT- US general says no reason to close Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq

Independent: US military confirms existence of horrific pictures and video

Charlotte Observer- Abu Ghraib should cause us to search our souls

The Oregonian- In Abu Ghraib, a wake-up call: Our own democracy is in danger

Independent- Jessica Lynch and Lynndie England: An American odyssey

ABC News- Who is Nadem Sadoon Hatab? Why we will be hearing more about a makeshift prison camp named Camp White Horse.

NYT / Frank Rich- The War's Lost Weekend

Dr Farrukh Saleem- Credit goes to American media

I remain convinced.. that all the checks and balances built into the American system by America’s constitutional forefathers shall, once again, make America’s model representative democracy represent America’s true heart and soul.

Captain Kenneway defends Pappas, Jordan, and others at Abu Ghraib

A former company commander of the New England-based 325th Military Intelligence Battalion said he never witnessed inhumane interrogations of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison complex.
"If that was done, it was done on an individual basis," said Capt. Steve Kenneway, who commanded 112 Devens(MA)-based reservists in the battalion's Alpha Company.....

Kenneway was present for many interrogations at Abu Ghraib, but did not conduct them.....

He said most of the work was overseen by Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligency Brigade, and Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, who worked with the 205th, and said both men were good soldiers.

"I found him to be a very supportive commander to his soldiers," he said of Jordan.

Both men were accused in the Taguba report of being "either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuse at Abu Ghraib."
"(Pappas) was in charge of the largest military intelligence battalion ever assembled," Kenneway said. "That's a monumental task for one guy to oversee. We had that guy run seven battalions. He did the best he could."

Catastrophe

The Observer / Guardian writers Peter Beaumont, Paul Harris, and Jason Burke reveal how the abuse of prisoners began long before the sickening images which have outraged the world appeared.

Joseph Darby, a 24-year-old reservist at Abu Ghraib, had plucked up his courage and slipped an anonymous note underneath the door of one of his superior officers. It described brutal incidents of abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the existence of graphic photographs taken by Darby's own colleagues.

That move triggered the crisis which has emerged from the brutal hallways of Abu Ghraib to echo through Washington's corridors of power. Darby eventually turned over a computer disk of pictures to a sergeant in his unit on 13 January. A few hours later, army investigators seized other computers and disks from members of the unit. By 14 January - according to this version of events - General John Abizaid was on the phone to Rumsfeld, as Kellenberger was also raising his concern.

UK Troops shot Iraqi civilians dead in cold blood, new dossier claims

Lawyers acting for the dead men's families will urge the High Court (in London) to ask Geoff Hoon, the British Secretary of State for Defense, to hold an independent judicial inquiry into the deaths.

Hilal Finjan, an elderly school guard killed around Basra last October.

Ali Kadhim Shamkhi was shot in the stomach on November 10, 2003 as he ran to help his father

Jawad Kadhim Bahidh was on his roof with his wife and six children on August 28, 2003, and was shot after lighting a cigarette.

As'ad Kadhim Jassim's taxi was hit by "a barrage of bullets" on November 3, 2003 after it passed through a checkpoint which witnesses claim seemed to be unmanned and unlit.

Ameen Ajman Ismail was providing security for a demonstration on September 14th, 2003.

Husam Salih Owaid was a cigarette-seller close to an angry demonstration August 9, 2003.

Ghanim Gatteh was killed during a wedding celebration on January 2, 2004.

Ammar Shakir Mahmood was shot as he watched neighbours celebrate the lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq on May 28, 2003.

Today in History...

VE Day- May 8, 1945



After six years and millions of lives lost, the Nazi scourge was crushed and the war in Europe was finally over.

David Brooks on Iraq as it stands I believe David Brooks is a closet-realist

From Brooks' latest column:

"It's hard not to be appalled by the Pentagon's blindness to the psychological catastrophe these photos were bound to create."

*it's positively unforgiveable....the likely fact that the practices were privatized and institutionalized makes it so.*

"Believe me, we've got even bigger problems than whether Rumsfeld keeps his job."

*it doesn't mean he shouldn't lose it...he should. Pronto.*

No matter how Iraq turns out, no president in the near future is going to want to send American troops into any global hot spot."

*how "hot" was it before we stormed in....really???*

...the "realists" of right and left are... a recipe for disaster..."

*oh, really? and we're not seeing a disaster occur before our eyes now?*

"We've got to acknowledge first that the old debates are obsolete.....We've got to reboot. We've got to come up with a global alliance of democracies to embody democratic ideals, harness U.S. military power and house a permanent nation-building apparatus, filled with people who actually possess expertise on how to do this job."

David Brooks is slamming the realists he seems to ideologically fear, yet here he is crying out for their help. You know what? The realists are the only ones who've seen matters clearly all along. Brooks may consider their debates as "old"....but there can be no productive progression unless the "old" is gradually and intelligently transformed and calculatingly refined to the "new".

Bush, Rumsfeld, and the Neocons never opened the American floor to any kind of debate whatsoever. It was THEIR way or the "anti-American" highway. They stormed their way through Iraq like blind and charging rams abandoning reason for territorial challenge. Rams, as we know, are caring creatures, much like the Neocons, and will charge until the other is incapacitated. It's their animal-drive upon which the ram's natural reason is based. If we are, indeed, savage creatures and believe in nothing save the law of the uncivilized, then I suppose we can justify the drive behind the goals of Bush and the Neocons. The America the Founders decided upon looked mightily different to me.

Bush has been telling you and me that we HAD a global alliance all along...a tight coalition of willing nations. We didn't need anyone else, so he said. Is David Brooks now admitting that Bush has been a failure? I think Brooks' head is in the right place and he's beginning to see the light of reason. I'm still not sure about his heart, though. I mean, he just said he still wouldn't trust us...the disastrous "realists" who know there are always going to be limits to power. If Brooks' intuition based upon recent events still isn't helping him to see those limits, no one can help him except himself. I think he should meditate some more and get back to us.

When government becomes lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law

Anthony Lewis has returned to write A President Beyond the Law.

How could American men and women treat Iraqi prisoners with such cruelty -- and laugh at their humiliation?

...something much more profound underlies this terrible episode. It is a culture of low regard for the law, of respecting the law only when it is convenient.

Again and again, over these last years, President Bush has made clear his view that law must bend to what he regards as necessity. National security as he defines it trumps our commitments to international law. The Constitution must yield to novel infringements on American freedom.

Out of the mouths of babes...

This came from my 6-year-old niece:



"..we have this President
who said to the loggers it is o.k. to cut down trees
because he loves oil more than trees
oil is stinky, trees are not
he is a bad bad President!"

Guardian: UK forces taught torture methods

....The sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was not an invention of maverick guards, but part of a system of ill-treatment and degradation used by special forces soldiers that is now being disseminated among ordinary troops and contractors who do not know what they are doing, according to British military sources.
The techniques devised in the system, called R2I - resistance to interrogation - match the crude exploitation and abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.

One former British special forces officer who returned last week from Iraq, said: "It was clear from discussions with US private contractors in Iraq that the prison guards were using R2I techniques, but they didn't know what they were doing."

"The spirit of liberty is the spirit of not being too sure you are right."

-- Learned Hand

Meet Me at the Rumsfeld Grill


Muslim on a string......................Job on the line

I'll be watching Senators Warner, McCain, Inhofe, Roberts, Allard, Sessions, Cornyn, Talent, Chambliss, Dole, Graham, Ensign, and Collins in their questioning of Donald Rumsfeld today. If none suggest his resignation, I'll understand that the GOP side of the Congress no longer cares for the healing of this nation, instead preferring to sup from the slimy plate of politics. Will they act in the best interests of America today? Are they patriots or partisans? We'll all be watching.

*Hearings on Capitol Hill today
Senate Armed Services Committee at 11:45 am ET
House Armed Services Committee at 3:00 pm ET


The Taguba report on prisoner abuse is HERE.

Will there be even more revelation of horrors yet to come?

Slate / William Saletan- Rape Rooms: A Chronology / What Bush said as the Iraq prison scandal unfolded.

Guardian / Julian Borger- 'Cooks and drivers were working as interrogators': Witness: private contractor lifts the lid on systematic failures at Abu Ghraib jail

About Private Lynndie England



Mother of Lynndie England speaks:
"My daughter was just following orders. I think there's a conspiracy."

"....she told me nothing happened which wasn't ordered by higher up."

"Oh my God. I can't get over this. She wanted to see the world and go to college. Now the government turned their back on her, and everything's a big joke."

--- Terrie England

___________________

A young American soldier called Lynndie England appears on more news pages than anyone else on Friday.

___________________

Who taught Lynndie and her boyfriend and the other American sadists of Abu Ghraib prison to do this?

___________________

Fort Ashby, West Virginia is suddenly thrust into the worldwide spotlight.

___________________

The Faces in the Photos-Lynndie was only one of them.

___________________

Today in History..

1915- Lusitania Sinks



1945- Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies at Reims

Who do you think you're fooling, Bush-Cheney crybabies?

"This political line of attack is offensive and should be stopped."

--Marc Racicot, Bush-Cheney campaign chairman

Do they think we don't pay attention?

One short week ago:

"I must admit that I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Cheney chose to step off the high ground and resort to Kerry-bashing for a large portion of his speech."

--Fletcher Lamkin, President of Westminster College, Fulton, MO, who was disgusted by Cheney's offensive attacks on John Kerry in a speech given at the college

Hitching A Ride 'Round the Blogs

Thanks to the Duchess for leading me to this beauty:

Center For American Progress:
100 Mistakes for the President to Choose From


Anonymoses led me to a couple of articles I wanted to share with you. The first is by Joseph Wilson titled The Cult That's Running the Country .

....as of this writing, the senior administration officials who took it upon themselves to protect a political agenda by exposing a national security asset are still in place. They still occupy positions of trust; they continue to hold full national security clearances. The breach of trust between the administration and its clandestine service will not be healed until they are exposed and appropriately punished.

That no real outrage has been expressed by either the president or Republicans in Congress raises the question of whether our secrets are safe in this administration's hands. By the end of February 2004, efforts to launch congressional inquiries had been voted down in three House committees. Henry Hyde, Republican chairman of the International Relations panel, claimed, "It would be irresponsible for the committee to ... jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation." On the contrary, according to congressional sources of mine, Republicans, pressured by the White House, have simply refused to exercise oversight responsibility on this national security matter.

....At a time when all experts on national security agree that we need to strengthen our ability to collect human intelligence, the unwillingness of some to seriously address this act of betrayal is surely damaging that effort.

But as with all cover-ups, such as Watergate and Iran-Contra, the revelation of the whole truth in this matter will likely be a long time coming, and have repercussions none of us can anticipate.

The second article is from a speech given by William Rivers Pitt on the Kent State campus at a ceremony to mark the 34th anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. It's titled "Tin Soldiers and We are Coming":

The truth is that it is all too convenient to use tricks of language to blame Iraqi 'terrorist insurgents' for the deaths of all those Americans. Trade places with them, however, and face an invading army commanded by leaders whose goals and motives are fully criminal, face an invading army that would kill and torture and humiliate, and think about what you would do. Language is a funny thing. It can be used to reveal, and to disguise. Even today, 34 years later, you can find a similar argument right here. Were the people shot down here insurgents? Were they terrorists? Were they patriots?

.... We have gathered here today to mourn the loss and celebrate the lives of those who fell here 34 years ago. This is sacred ground. 34 years ago, some very ordinary Americans rose up to strike a blow against a disastrous war, and the price paid for this decision to speak up and speak out was fearful and mortal. The wheel has rolled, and has come around once more.

....We must rise again on this sacred ground, we must enter again into the valley of the shadow of death, and we must fear no evil, because this must be stopped, and we must be the ones to stop it. Patriots once marched here, and must march here again. We. Must. Learn.

This is your wake up call, Mr. Bush. Your 15 minutes are just about over. Tin soldiers and we are coming.

I was reading Desolation Row and caught a ride (via link) to Akim at Empty Days. He's morally clear, I believe, in his thinking that we are taught, from the time we're children, "to believe [our nation] is superior to everybody else" and now we're told we're "fighting some rabid terrorists that are not even human", so why are we surprised when some GIs get "confused and start treating everybody as subhuman scum"? I think it runs along the same thinking of my own when I first learned about the photos. It also goes along with Marie Cocco's thinking in her latest column titled "Prison debacle shouldn't surprise us".

.

Difference between Kerry and Bush is clear

"When I was in the Navy, the captain of the boat was in charge and the captain always took responsibility. Today I have a message for the men and women of our Armed forces ... I will take responsibility for the bad as well as the good.''

--Sen. John F. Kerry today at Colton High School in California [LINK]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See: George "I am not sorry" Bush- -
Aides have to apologize for Bush

A man is big enough to apologize when he, or those he commands, commit an act of evil. A good Christian has the humility to admit he was wrong and to move on. George W. Bush can do neither of these.

Think about that seriously, good readers. Bush couldn't being himself to make a simple apology, which would have been incredibly powerful on his nation's behalf. We decent people of America are sorry...he's supposed to be our first-line representative. The Iraqis weren't looking to Scott McLellan with hopeful eyes or ears. They were looking to Bush. They probably didn't even notice the squeaked-out limp after-the-fact apology forced by the King of Jordan today.

I realize our troops have had to dig up their POW-comrades' cut-up body parts in shallow sand-graves in Iraq. The savagery of our enemy has been abhorrent. The answer is not this appalling cruelty in return....not if we mean what we say about winning the Iraqi heart and trust in the good faith of our intentions. Convincing Iraqis of our good faith is already a challenge when you're bombing a nation to rubble. Torturing prisoners who may or may not be guilty of a damned thing? Definitely worth an immediate apology. If we're truly "better" than savages, then there should be no question.

Once again, why couldn't Bush bring himself to do it on Arab television? I submit that Bush doesn't have the character of the kind of leader we so desperately need in this post-9-11 world.

Today in History---

1940- John Steinbeck wins Pulitzer for "The Grapes of Wrath"

"It don't matter (if they kill me). I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere, wherever you look. Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready and where people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build. I'll be there, too."

--Tom Joad / From "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

Rumsfeld had better go soon...and take Wolfowitz with him

If Rumsfeld goes, Wolfowitz and Feith must surely go along with him. If Bush wants to salvage his presidency, he'd best ditch these three before Colin Powell bolts and flushes them all down the toilet by simply telling the truth.

This headline, Bush backs Rumsfeld as Pentagon chief may be the definitive "turning point" for Bush's presidency. He may have just secured a guaranteed loss in November. I'm beginning to think Bush, along with his protected Rumsfeld, Feith, and Wolfowitz, are all suffering with some form of delusional psychosis.

"All but the most blindly devoted Bush supporters can see that Bush administration officials have no clue about what to do in Iraq tomorrow, much less a month from now."

--Robert Kagan [LINK]

*This is not something I'd expect to hear from Robert Kagan. See Rodger Payne's conversation with Mr. Kagan this past February

Also see Slate- the book club/American Power, Past and Present
Our legitimacy problem.
By Niall Ferguson and Robert Kagan

This Veteran is an important Voice on the Abu Ghraib issue

I highly recommend that you read Vet's running commentary on the situation. He's an experienced and reasoned voice.

VOICE OF A VETERAN

Vet's latest:

New Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Tenet Calendar Link on the Right Side of This Blog

UPDATE: We'll just focus on Rumsfeld first - he needs to leave now. But here's the problem: Wolfowitz will take over - the 2nd in command at DoD who was unaware of the true casualty figures in Iraq when questioned last week - inexcusable from a prime architect for the war that didn't need to happen. But then, "unaware" is the word of the week from this administration, pitifully put forward by Rumsfeld as some sort of defense for his ignorance of the Iraqi prison debacle. That was followed by George Bush who said he was "disappointed" in Mr. Rumsfeld for not keeping the White House informed of the situation. The blind leading the blind leading the blind...

_____________________________

This rings so true:

We are officially now in a Quagmire, with a capital Q:

(1) We have lost the support of those Iraqis who supported us
(2) We have lost any chance for impacting the Muslim world
(3) We have created potentially long-lasting damage within the military that could take years (like Vietnam) to overcome
(4) Our pronouncements for freedom and democracy in the Middle East now mean little because we don't "walk-the-talk."
(5) Our country becomes more and more divided in half
(6) Our allies, many of whom we've blown off, can't help us


Who is responsible? You don't have to listen to any media to know that it's those in charge. It begins at the top:

(1) With a government that works in secrecy
(2) With a government that disregards human rights (e.g. Guantanimo)
(3) With a government that is throwing the baby out with the bath water in terms of our individual rights (Patriot Acts I and II)
(4) With Cabinet members who don't know what's going on during their watch or allow illegal or unethical activities to exist.
(5) With a disregard for the proper uses of our military in pre-emptive wars, and the personal (and now mental) dismantling of our citizen solders (the National Guard and the Reserves), the vast majority of whom do their best to assist our active duty troops.

_________________________

Most important, I think:

I would be remiss if I didn't dish out some well-deserved criticism of a few liberal (even some progressive), vocal critics now also airing their dismay on various blogs. Some of you are taking this opportunity to come out of your military-hating closet that you've felt forced to be in throughout the Afghanistan-Iraq wars. That is exactly the wrong thing to be doing right now. Let's put the blame where it belongs and not spread it where it doesn't belong.

Bush presidency in serious jeopardy over Iraq

GE and Siemens have pulled out of Iraq (Siemens for good, GE for now) due to the insecurity and the perception that it's all coming apart.
In India (where we've "helped them along" by outsourcing so many American jobs) the markets are plummeting as uncertainties directly related to Iraq are causing concern. Investors all over the world are in a tizzy with confusion over the ongoing bad news from Iraq. Some investors are pulling out their hair with worry that a Bush loss in November could jeopardize their "investor-friendly" tax policies.

Colin Powell is ready to break free of this administration. The tension between Powell and Rumsfeld hangs like a wall of ice on an August dog-day. I can just feel a CBS 60 Minutes segment coming on. When a soldier like Gen. Powell breaks ranks, you know you have a problem.

Rummy has his own problems.

We have nothing but a pile of twisted anger to which we'll hand over sovereignty (not) on June 30. If we proceed blindly, proudly with this obsolete dream, then the dawn of July 1 will bring civil war...just in time for the summer-sweltering Iraqi killing fields to witness the mixing of oil and dust with more blood. Perhaps the CNN and FOX cameras will be instructed to be turned off at that time. June 30 will be the cut-off date for them, too, perhaps. Then we shall not have to see the gore and the death. When American media stops the drumbeating...when the cameramen and those fair-skinned men and women with the windblown hair, microphones, khaki-colored bullet-proof vests, and Chiclet-white teeth are all gone home, it will surely mean the Iraqis are all happy as clams and that the mighty President Bush has set them free, caught Saddam, created a new and democratic government, and left a beautiful freedom behind. All will be set straight in old Persia then.

Right?

One year ago today on Iddybud


ASHLEIGH BANFIELD'S REMARKS (full-text)
MSNBC's Banfield Slams War Coverage
April 29, 2003

MAN ON HORSEBACK
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Media AWOL in noting irony of Bush's flight
By Eric Zorn

Bechtel tied to bin Ladens

Meet Your War Cabinet

The Pentagon's one-size-fits-all 'liberation' is a disaster in Iraq
Jonathan Steele in Baghdad

Economy/States: Rescue's Just Not Part of the Plan"
Washington Post May 4, 2003

WAR'S A DIFFICULT BUSINESS WHEN YOU'RE FACING THE ENEMY--AND HE'S TEN YEARS OLD.
Killing a child: 'I did what I had to do'
08.04.2003
REUTERS


Wanted: New Player for the "Axis of Evil Team"

**And more....see my link.

Check out my incredibly-musically-talented friends' new CDs....


I think you'll like them.

Disney Company too afraid of the Bushes and their political revenge to allow distribution of Michael Moore's "Farenheit 911" in North America

According to Michael Moore's agent, last spring Michael Eisner expressed particular concern that allowing Miramax to distribute Moore's new movie "Farenheit 911" would endanger tax breaks Disney receives for its theme park, hotels and other ventures in Florida, where Mr. Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor.

"It's not in the interest of any major corporation to be dragged into a highly charged partisan political battle," an unnamed Disney senior executive has said.

An important question is asked:

Should this be happening in a free and open society where the monied interests essentially call the shots regarding the information that the public is allowed to see?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (DN.J.) asked the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday to hold hearings to address "a disturbing pattern of politically based corporate censorship" in America.

I'm Karl Barth

.....I took the test......
.....They tell me I'm most like him
See Barth quotations here......

"We reject the false doctrine that the church could have permission to hand over the form of its message and of its order to whatever it itself might wish or to the vicissitudes of the prevailing ideological and political convictions of the day."

You are Karl Barth! You like your freedom, and are pretty stubborn against authority! You don't care much for other people's opinions either. You can come up with your own fun, and often enough you have too much fun. You are pretty popular because you let people have their way, even when you have things figured out better than them.

What theologian are you?

Rats! Are they saying my CD collection will eventually rot away?

Bummer!
"If people treat these discs rather harshly, or stack them, or allow them to rub against each other, this very fragile protective layer can be disturbed, allowing the atmosphere to interact with that aluminum..."

A government agency charged with fighting Internet censorship is quietly censoring the Web itself
From the website Citizen Lab

"The minute you try to temper assistance with evading censorship with judgments about how that power should be used by citizens, you start down a path from which there's no clear endpoint."
---Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard University law professor

Colonel Pittard has a confusing mission, and my heart goes out to him for his loyalty to our country



Colonel Pittard

Allow me to begin by saying I do not know Colonel Dana Pittard. From what I do know of the Colonel, I believe he is a loyal and good American. I've read a lot about him, he's captured my attention and my heart in many ways. I want to make some comments in his support and in the support of all the men and women in the U.S. armed services in Iraq today.

Compare these stories/these statements from/about Colonel Pittard.

The first is from just a month ago:

"The support of the population is key to everything we do. From the commander down to the squad leader, we must touch, engage the Iraqis,'' says Pittard, who commands the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade, which arrived in the country less than a month ago.
..The unit's predecessor in the province, the 4th Infantry Division, focused on fighting, which has claimed the lives of 34 U.S. soldiers and left nearly 200 others wounded. There have been a few accidental killings of Iraqis and frequent detentions of civilians. Now, while still trying to kill or capture as many insurgents as possible, the brigade is getting involved with everything from attempting dialogue with Islamic college radicals to combating an insect plague ruining date palm plantations.

And now....

"My intent is to destroy Sadr's militia, absolutely destroy it," said Col. Dana Pittard, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, which is leading the operation dubbed Operation Duke Fortitude. "And then to capture or kill Sadr. That is our mission. We're just waiting to be unleashed."
...Acknowledging that invading Najaf could offend Muslims worldwide, he added: "It's that sensitive. If we do this wrong, it will be felt from Morocco to Indonesia."

Colonel Pittard has been placed, by this Pentagon, in a completely confusing position. They want him to be a social worker one day and a trained soldier with a fighting mission (which is what he trains for) the next.

This is where the mission falls apart. It's not up to Colonel Pittard to pretend to care about the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. His mission is to destroy anything that gets in the way of his nation's goal.

Pentagon/Rumsfeld/Bush--you'd best shit or get off the pot. Get a new U.N. resolution. Get your social workers from the U.N. if you need them. Let Colonel Pittard do his job. Give General Abizaid an exit strategy. Get our troops home where they're loved, appreciated, and needed. I'm so ashamed of this administration's pie-in-the-sky lunacy about today's military. They've tried to be some kind of heroes, and they've wound up revealing themselves to be megalomaniacs endangering American security at home and throughout the world. Our President, I fear, is a theo-megalomaniac who, in his public relations, creates a crusade-style mission attitude. This bodes terribly for our armed forces' mission.

I'm speaking out for those in our military who cannot. Get on the stick. We're using your military carelessly. General Sanchez is doing his best with the most chillingly horrendous Commander-in-Chief in American history. Colonel Pittard and General Sanchez cannot and would not tell you this. I can...and I will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Defenselink, Lt. John R. Vines is quoted to have said that mastering information operations will go a long way toward influencing people "to lay down their weapons and quit fighting and rebuild their country." But for now, he said, "We don't do that nearly as well as we could."

It's crystal-clear we aren't doing it well. It's an opportunity-area the size of an elephant, yet the Bush administration continues to stubbornly insist pro-American P.R. in Iraq is working. It's not working.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Being steadfast in defense of carefully considered convictions is a virtue. Being blankly incapable of distinguishing cherished hopes from disappointing facts, or of reassessing comforting doctrines in face of contrary evidence, is a crippling political vice."
--George Will [LINK]

I just read electablog for the first time today.

electablog is good reading. Most of you will probably say "Jude, where've YOU been? We've known about Dave a long time."
So call me slow already.

Questions

Is this giving you a sense of foreboding about trouble for the U.S. in Greece? The Olympics?

What consequences do the private companies involved in Abu Ghraib (and their agents) face?

Why are so many former U.S. diplomats telling Bush his Middle East policy is 'dangerous'? Do they expect he'll listen..or will he just consider them another "focus group"?


Why is it that two months after a classified Army report found that two contract workers were implicated in the abuse of Iraqis at a prison outside Baghdad, the companies that employ them have not removed any of those employees from Iraq? They have said it's because they have heard nothing from the Pentagon. So I ask you, why have they heard NOTHING from the Pentagon??

What does Robert Fisk think about the Abu Ghraib situation contrasted with our own prejudices and our own "high-flown" morality?

Are you daughters of America ready to be drafted? How do you feel about the chief of the U.S. Selective Service System proposing the registering of women for the military draft?

Why is Bush shoveling so much money to U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories as if the Soviet Union still existed and the Cold War still raged?

Why is Tent Lott upset about having to search for the Abu Ghraib reports on NPR instead of having it presented to Congress long ago? What is heinously wrong with this picture? Why are we governing through the mainstream media?

Has Lynddie England's reputation been forever ruined? Will she, a U.S. amed services volunteer, be held as a scapegoat for a much more widespread and "higher-up" institutionalization of prisoner torture/abuse? Was it fair for mainstream media to plaster her face all over the world instead of using techno-graphics to give her a presumption of innocence? Do you think she looked like a monster or a war-weary, jaded frathouse girl?

Did you know that an investor group headed by former Vice President Al Gore said today it is launching a cable news network for young adults? (Newsworld International?)

Bush to Discuss Prisoner Abuse With Arab Media

If he's as impressive in interviews with Arab journalists as he impresses most intelligent Americans whenever they observe his arrogant bumper-sticker-speak (mostly in no discernible context to the questions asked of him), prepare for Arabs to come away angrier than before as the arrogant bloviator makes the feeble attempt to talk at them with all his sloganistic sputtering.

He refuses to agree to be interviewed by Al Jazeera and he won't say why. I think it's just another prideful and foolish decision..only one of the kind which I've come to expect from Bush.

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UPDATE: President Bush failed to apologize to the Arab people today in these interviews. This was a foolish omission. Why did he leave the apology to a Military spokesman when he had the Arab world's undivided attention himself? It couldn't be clearer to me that America needs new leadership. This isn't a cheap political promotion. This is about the future peace and security of America and a hope for salvaging the diplomatic ties we've had to so many of our allies...especially our ties to Middle Eestern allies.