Absurd Absurdities...
Considering all the recent publicity about abuses in US detention centers all over the globe that we have been hearing about for the last two years plus like Abu Graib, renditions, etc., not to mention the recent report from Afghanistan over two deaths perpetrated by US personnel on two Afghan detainees, it seems even more ridiculous for George Bush to passionately defend the detention practices of the US.In an article from the New York Times today, Bush seemed a bit flustered with the most recent report from Amnesty International which stated that the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had become "the gulag of our times."
Regarding the treatment at Guantanamo Bay of men detained during the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Bush said, "I'm aware of the Amnesty International report and it's absurd - it's an absurd allegation."
The group had also spoken of "atrocious" violations in the United States' handling of prisoners.
President Bush took strong exception to Amnesty's charges. "The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world," he said, and then repeated, "It's an absurd allegation."
The language was insistent and unusually sharp for the president, but it echoed an earlier comment by Vice President Dick Cheney, who had said he was "offended" by Amnesty International's description. Both men suggested that freed detainees were spreading mistruths to harm the United States.
Let me get this straight...everyone who ever claimed abuse and/or torture at the hands of American captors (or jailers, as it were) is lying and every one of them has made it up? The photos that hit us from Abu Graib were not evidence of abuse? If not, why were a handful of soldiers (excluding all superiors, of course) tried and convicted? Was the most recent Army report a fabrication with it's stories of how two detainees died? Are all the reports just made up? According to George Bush and Dick Cheney they are. What is wrong with this picture...correction...severely wrong with this picture?
The executive director of Amnesty International USA, William F. Schulz, minced no words today in his reply to Bush..."What is 'absurd' is President Bush's attempt to deny the deliberate policies of his administration, which has detained individuals without charge or trial in prisons at Guantanamo Bay, Bagram Air Base and other locations," he said in a statement. "What is 'absurd' and indeed outrageous is the Bush administration's failure to undertake a full independent investigation...This administration never finds it 'absurd' when we criticize Cuba or China, or when we condemned the violations in Iraq under Saddam Hussein."
Well...yeah. Bush and Cheney really need to take a cold, hard look in the mirror. The world does not work on the premise of "do as I say, not as I do" You can not lead and be a good example for others if you see no need to refrain from doing what you preach at others not to do. The US has not been a good leader or role model under this administration and the record speaks volumes.
Bolton
According to Bush, Democrats are "just stalling" on the Bolton nomination (they have asked the White House for documentation that has been denied and refused repeatedly). Appears that they should be a bit concerned why Bolton would be seeking classified information on other officials...we all should be.
Polls have even shown Bolton as the UN pick for representing the US is not favorable to most Americans, but it appears that Bush's agenda is more important than the rest of the country's.
If you look at the press clipping, articles and official tow line for the Bush administration over the past several years, there seems to be a vivid pattern of the Neocon and GOP attempting to tear down any and every part of the UN that they do not agree with...it's there, all you need do is look. Is that why it is so important for Bush to install Bolton, to help dismantle it from within? Makes sense.
If Bolton was installed at the UN, how much pressure would he be able to exert on other representatives to do things the US way...things he has apparently done to his subordinates? He would be in a better seat in which to subvert intelligence to coincide with what the White House wants to do...same as he has already done in his current capacity (although it did not turn out the way it was intended from the way it looks). It is not difficult to see why most Americans would not want this man to represent them but it boggles the mind why the president would...unless, of course, his motives were not as "moral" as he would want us to believe.
The Empire is already starting to crumble...even with the top ten floors of the UN building still in tact against Bolton's wishes.
posted by Myst @ 2:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home