Letters to the Editor
Jim White
Published Letters: 1094 Editor's Choice: 15
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Heckufa job, Stevie
[Read the article: Petraeus named second most influential "conservative"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Boylan's accomplishments before and during his first posting to Iraq account for his promotion to his current job.
1.
After the Italian documentary was broadcast, the American ambassadors to Italy, Ronald P. Spogli, and to Britain, Robert H. Tuttle, echoed the stock defense, denying that white phosphorus munitions had been used against enemy fighters, let alone civilians. At home, on the public radio program "Democracy Now," Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, an American military spokesman, said, "I know of no cases where people were deliberately targeted by the use of white phosphorus."
But those statements were incorrect. Firsthand accounts by American officers in two military journals note that white phosphorus munitions had been aimed directly at insurgents in Falluja to flush them out. War critics and journalists soon discovered those articles.
In the face of such evidence, the Bush administration made an embarrassing public reversal last week. Pentagon spokesmen admitted that white phosphorus had been used directly against Iraqi insurgents.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/21/international/21phosphorus.html
2.
But the American statement contained a quotation that exactly duplicated a comment attributed to an anonymous Iraqi at the July 13 explosion site in an earlier military statement: "They are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics. They have attacked my community today, and I will now take the fight to the terrorists."
Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a military spokesman, said he had "no idea" how the duplication had happened. "I have sent a message out to discuss this with the leadership," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/international/middleeast/25iraq.html?pagewanted=2
Note that after the first posting to Iraq, Boylan then went to Ft. Leavenworth. The commander there at the time was Petraeus.
The longer we go without an official military response to Boylan's public meltdown, the more evident it is that Boylan's trolling was a sanctioned part of his job.
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Is it possible?
[Read the article: Mukasey's nomination and the sudden opposition to "waterboarding"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Can it be that snippets of reality are finally starting to sink in? Is there a bit of realization by the Democrats of just the enabling Glenn documents here, and the beginning, finally of some push-back?
Only time will tell, of course. And the analysis I saw yesterday suggests that Mukasey still would receive something on the order of 70 votes.
Sigh. That's better than 90 but leaves a long, long way to go. If Mukasey is actually denied confirmation AND retroactive immunity is removed from FISA, then I will actually believe that some sort of minor course-correction back toward the country we used to be has started. If the journey starts now, great. If it starts next year, so be it, but it will be more difficult. The journey back is not one that will be short, easy or even pretty, but it is mandatory for the survival of the country.
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No, it isn't possible
[Read the article: Mukasey's nomination and the sudden opposition to "waterboarding"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That's the answer to the question I posed back on page 1. Much has happened today in the interim. The betrayal, and what it means for the United States and for the world, is staggering.
Simply put, I feel that I no longer have a home. This is not the country in which I was raised. ondelette has posted convincing evidence that leads me to believe that over half of our government now should stand trial in capital cases. There is no question that our government engages in torture, and now, given a clear, unambiguous opportunity to stop that practice, our government chooses instead to continue it.
I've already done the usual. I've fired off blistering emails to Schumer and Feinstein, asking how they can sleep at night now that they have ensured that any US soldier captured by the enemy will be tortured. I've contacted the DSCC and told them to remove me from their lists until they boot Schumer.
My only solace comes from hearing that Kucinich will force action next week on his articles of impeachment against Cheney:
Despite the lack of media coverage, however, when citizens are asked what they think about holding members of the Bush administration to account, they respond with an enthusiasm far greater than that displayed for impeaching Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal. It is this reality -- as opposed to the state of denial fostered by so much of the media and the political class -- that Congressman Dennis Kucinich will act upon next week, when he offers a privileged resolution on the House floor to bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
/snip/
Frustrated by the refusal of Democratic leaders to set up a process for holding hearings on his proposal, Kucinich will use an arcane House rule allowing for the prodding of the process with privileged resolutions to try and force consideration. Once introduced, a privileged resolution must be addressed within two legislative days.
Kucinich is expected to offer his privileged resolution on Tuesday. He expects to continue pushing it until the House acts. That action is likely to be a successful move by Democratic leaders to table the measure. Such a vote could be instructive, however, in that it would provide a rare measure of the willingness of at least some House members to respond to the popular will -- which is that Dick Cheney be held to account.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071102/cm_thenation/1248000_1
More "through the looking glass". In order to keep impeachment off the table, Pelosi will now table it.
I know the conventional wisdom says Democrats are just waiting for the 2008 elections to achieve the power they need to set things right. It's just hard for me to believe there will be anything left to set right at that point.
I need a beer.
Bop--let's howl at the moon a while.