MoveOn.org says it's time for thinking Americans to speak up regarding the unconscionable abuse of prisoners held by the US-led occupying force in Iraq. The organization writes:
As America learns more about the prisoner abuse scandal, it's becoming clear that the path to the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib prison began at Donald Rumsfeld's office in the Pentagon. According to an article in the New Yorker magazine, a policy put in place by Secretary Rumsfeld "encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq."
And Dubya says Rummy is doing "a superb job." MoveOn suggests that if the Terrorist-in-Thief won't take action, the US Congress must. And so should you.
TAKE ACTION: Call your congressional lawmakers right away via the Congressional Switchboard, 202-224-3121, and insist they urge Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. (Let MoveOn know you're calling too.)
MoveOn has more to say on the matter:
Bush approved a policy that the Geneva Convention wouldn't
apply to suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters held in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. When the war in Iraq started to go badly, Rumsfeld extended
these aggressive interrogation policies to Iraqi prisons. According
to the current issue of Newsweek,"It was an approach that they adopted to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees and prisoners of war. In doing so, they overrode the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and America's top military lawyers - and they left underlings to sweat the details of what actually happened to prisoners in these lawless places. While no one deliberately authorized outright torture, these techniques entailed a systematic softening up of prisoners through isolation, privations, insults, threats and humiliation - methods that the Red Cross concluded were ‘tantamount to torture.’"
High-level officials in the Pentagon were sent from Guantanamo Bay to
Iraq to implement the more aggressive policies, and it appears that
command of the prison was placed in the hands of military intelligence
officers. Techniques that had been approved only for suspected al-Qaeda
terrorists were suddenly applied to Iraqi prisoners (up to 90% of whom
were mistakenly detained, according to the Red Cross).Continued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
Golly, gee, since the USA is actively running a gulag spread around the world, engages in sending citizens of foreign nations to third parties to be tortured for no reason at all, has run a school for torture for more than 30 years, and has gone out of its way to even recognize international treaties on human rights, weapons proliferation or even the fucking Geneva Conventions, what do you think!
2 - Shark
"...it's becoming clear that the path to the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib prison began at Donald Rumsfeld's office in the Pentagon."
Not only was the policy Rumsfeld's, but he and Wolfy were doing a circle jerk while looking at those pictures.
Bush dropped in for a threesome and did a quick reach-around on the Wolfman.
I love these guys!
3 - Jim Carruthers
I was watching the Lewis Black HBO special last night, and he had a great point that it isn't Shrub, it also applies to Clinton, and Bush Sr. and Reagan.
They all consistently refuse to take any responsibility for their actions or policies. The USA junta is in total denial about anything which takes place in their name, In place of responsibility and leadership (which I was taught in Basic is comprised of leading by example, inspiration and deed) you are getting a junta which operates under the rule of "plausible deniability".
Rather similar to how corporate 'murrica operates. How soon 'till they blame this all on Bart Simpson.
Not responsible, just deniable.
4 - Marc
Jim just which of this "junta" did you vote for?
Shrub, Clinton, Bush Sr. or Reagan?
Wouldn't that make you an willing accomplice?
And wouldn't it be the "American way" to only judge after all the facts are in? Not before.
5 - Staely Wayne Manor
Marc,Carruthers is a Canuck.Therefore I
doubt he voted for any of aforementioned
politicos.Then again I'm American and I
voted for none of them either.