Is torturing war prisoners a betrayal of U.S. values?
Sure it is. Torturing war prisoners or anyone is not only a betrayal of U.S. values, it is a betrayal to humanity.
Seattle Post Intelligencer ponders the following:
That's jungle rule, means no rules, or rules that are applied selectively for selected groups of people. Roots of fascism reside in it, as is any precursors to autocracy. In a democratic nation, like U.S., it should be nipped at the bud before it becomes too late.
More and more information are coming out from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse. Bush administration has played all its card with conservative media's ample support to portray the prison abuse as isolated incidents, but evidence poring over suggest completely different scenario. The Washington Post, The Denver Post, New York Times and many other newspapers have done exemplary work in presenting impartial view on what went wrong on these prison systems, despite the heavy pressure imposed on them by the affected groups.
Letting the dog bites the inmate, practicing karate kick on inmate's head, and having lots of fun by torturing the prisoners in degrading and excruciating manners signify the established impunity for the guards, MPs and many others, they knew they wouldn't be punnished, so the ugly animal side of human beings came out as frontal aggressions.
Here are a few excerpts from a Post's report:
Would the Congressional hearing produce any credible result? Perhaps not.
New York Times reports:
Let us hope that the America's core values that's been betrayed and forcefully and plofully suppressed for the last few years with imposed fears, distortion of facts and dishonest politics, would be woken up once more to rinse itself from thickened scum, like the brownish stuff on a prisoner's body in Abu Ghraib, for the sake of humanity.
Seattle Post Intelligencer ponders the following:
These and many other reports indicate that treatment of prisoners in violation of the Geneva Conventions is common among U.S. forces dealing with captives in the war on terror. The apparent efforts to hide these activities would lead to the conclusion that somebody knows they are doing something wrong. But somebody also must think it is a necessary wrong or why else would it be such a pervasive practice?
That's jungle rule, means no rules, or rules that are applied selectively for selected groups of people. Roots of fascism reside in it, as is any precursors to autocracy. In a democratic nation, like U.S., it should be nipped at the bud before it becomes too late.
More and more information are coming out from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse. Bush administration has played all its card with conservative media's ample support to portray the prison abuse as isolated incidents, but evidence poring over suggest completely different scenario. The Washington Post, The Denver Post, New York Times and many other newspapers have done exemplary work in presenting impartial view on what went wrong on these prison systems, despite the heavy pressure imposed on them by the affected groups.
Letting the dog bites the inmate, practicing karate kick on inmate's head, and having lots of fun by torturing the prisoners in degrading and excruciating manners signify the established impunity for the guards, MPs and many others, they knew they wouldn't be punnished, so the ugly animal side of human beings came out as frontal aggressions.
Here are a few excerpts from a Post's report:
"You mentioned you saw various things you thought were immoral," one investigator asked him. "What things are you referring to?"
"The sleep and food plan that was the majority of the crap," Davis said. "You see inmates stand all day and not get food until they are scheduled to sleep. They stand for three to four hours. . . ."
"Why did you not inform your chain of command about this abuse?"
"Because I assumed that if they were doing anything out of the ordinary or outside the guidelines, someone would have said something," Davis said. "Also, the wing belongs to MI and it appeared MI personnel approved of the abuse."
Davis said Graner and Frederick encouraged him to participate in the incidents.
"The MI staffs, to my understanding, have been giving Graner compliments on the way he has been handling the MI holds," Davis said. "Example being statements like 'Good job, they're breaking down real fast'; 'They answer every question'; 'They're giving out good information, finally'; and 'Keep up the good work' -- stuff like that."
The detainees were stripped and forced to the floor of the cellblock.
"Graner was placing them into position," Harman told investigators.
"How long did the human pyramid last?" an investigator asked her.
"The pyramid lasted about 15 to 20 minutes," she said.
At one point, David jumped onto the pile of naked men, Sivits said.
"That is when Sergeant Davis ran across the room and lunged in the air and landed in the middle of where the detainees were," Sivits said. "I believe Davis ran across the room a total of two times and landed in the middle of the pile of detainees. A couple of the detainees kind of made an 'ah' sound."
Would the Congressional hearing produce any credible result? Perhaps not.
New York Times reports:
given the quality of the testimony so far, it is not likely that the Senate hearings will produce the answers the public deserves. While this may not be the ideal time for an independent investigation, it is getting hard to see another option. Neither the Defense Department's inspector general nor Mr. Rumsfeld's office seems capable of mounting a reliable investigation so close to home. The best bet is for Congress to form a special committee with subpoena powers and an investigative staff.
Let us hope that the America's core values that's been betrayed and forcefully and plofully suppressed for the last few years with imposed fears, distortion of facts and dishonest politics, would be woken up once more to rinse itself from thickened scum, like the brownish stuff on a prisoner's body in Abu Ghraib, for the sake of humanity.
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