Letters to the Editor
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They wanted this war.
All of these people, from Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld on down, are war criminals. I won't be surprised to see Bush issuing blanket amnesties and pardons at the end of his term to short-circuit any serious investigation of his corrupt administration. Congress should pass a resolution censoring Bush and suspending his power to pardon on the grounds that he is complicit in so much criminality and abuse of power.
The Military, in investigating itself, is predisposed to excuse almost any crime, no matter how heinous. When there is a great deal of public outrage they will do the politically expedient thing and punish a few low-level "bad apples". The situation with civilian contractors and the CIA is even worse. We need an independent, non-military commission to investigate and punish crimes of the military like in most civilized countries. Those that do don't have our military's problems.
The way things are going, Iraq will have descended into anarchy and civil war by the time the Bush gang leaves office. Right now we may be witnessing the beginning of a region-wide conflict that could eventually draw in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Israel and even Turkey. This would lead to the deaths of millions and polarize the world for generations. What will the World think of us then?
We must never forget that we're at war in Iraq not because of any attack or threat, but because it suited the ambitions of the neo-con ideologues. We're at war because it was seen as politically beneficial for Bush and his cronies. He wanted to be a "war president". Now thousands are dead and Iraq is on the verge of chaos. Isn't that a crime that outweighs all others, a crime even worse than treason?
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The Hilton Family Ad in the Middle of the Body Section
The basis of Salon, as far as I can ascertain, is to inform and entertain in ways not accomplished by traditional media, and for that it needs to be applauded. And, along the way it provides a unique forum with an abundance of bright letter writers taking part. Why, then, if you really value the reader's input would you allow the Hilton Family ad to be placed in the midst of the Body section of the letter? Are you that desperate for money? Are you that insensitive to the reader's needs?
I jumped to this section to respond to an important story, but since I can't fucking read what I'm writing here since the ad obliterates the copy, I'm now more infuriated by your greedy tactic than I am about Rumsfeld's idiotic "leadership."
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We've become what we hate
What are we defending at this point? While I don't think it was okay to fly planes into the World Trade Center, we act more and more like terrorists ourselves every day. We have caused even more Iraqi deaths at this point than the 9/11 deaths we sought to avenge. In fact, if you add up the 9/11 deaths and our troop deaths, it still doesn't come close to the pile of dead Iraqi civilians we have served up over four years in our efforts to 'liberate' Iraq. We have shamed ourselves in the eyes of the world with Abu Gharib and Gitmo, and we daily throw more lit matches into the mideast powder keg. Now we've enabled Iran to gleefully start their bomb project and wave it in our face every chance they get, and they know, and the world knows, there isn't a thing we can do about it without grave consequence. Thank God at least our retired generals can and are speaking out. Rumsfeld should step down, but not just because he is guilty of war crimes--He should step down because he isn't even any good at what he's doing. If he consciously TRIED to screw up the Iraq war he couldn't screw it up any worse than he has. Come November, we should kick the Republicans out of Congress and impeach Bush and all his creepy little clowns. And then we better start demanding accountability from our representatives and leaders. At this point, the America I knew and loved is pretty much toast.
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Harsh treatment?
"...During the same period, detainee Mohammed al-Kahtani suffered from what Army investigators have called "degrading and abusive" treatment by soldiers who were following the interrogation plan Rumsfeld had approved. Kahtani was forced to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, was accused of being a homosexual, and was forced to wear women's underwear and to perform "dog tricks" on a leash. He received 18-to-20-hour interrogations during 48 of 54 days..."
"...On Dec. 2, 2002, Rumsfeld approved 16 harsher interrogation strategies for use against Kahtani, including the use of forced nudity, stress positions and the removal of religious items...."
So for over forty days and some nights, someone called Kahtani a fag and made him wear women underwear on his head. Big deal. They took his Koran away. Again, big deal. Dog tricks on a leash is too vague to make an opinion. Parading him around naked in front of the opposite sex is pushing the limit. The only clearly abusive behavior was forcing him into stressful positions.
Name calling and embarassing prisoners aren't something worth condemning Rumsfeld over and detracts from actual abuse like holding prisoners in painful positions. Real torture is beating prisoners with wire cables, shock their genitals with car batteries, or raping them. Condemn Rumsfeld if the military does those things to its prisoners.
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Wrestling holds?
No holds barred seems to be the philosophy of Donny the Dummy.Was there ever any doubt that the Privates, Specialists and Sergeants convicted for their abusive behaviour acted in isolation ? If so, what about military discipline? Is it not the Secretary's responsibilty to ascertain that this discipline is upheld? What about General Miller? Gitmo and Abu Ghraib = Concentration camps! Is there really any difference? It is high time to relieve the neocons of the majorities in House and Senate and bring the responsible clique to justice. And should king George the W decide to issue pardons while he still can, the recognition and adaptation of international courts should be invoced to punish those responsible, including the king and last but not least the dictator of the Pentagon. That would go a long way in regaining the respect which the USA lost in the international community and the peoples of the world.