Letters to the Editor
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JOELSPRAY: dead wrong
How ironic. One of Malek's main points is that it is wrong of George Bush and his thugs to capture people and send them off to be interrogated and tortured without any sort of judicial review. But that doesn't stop JOELSPRAY from insisting that she does not understand that "we have independent judicial and legislative branches, reviewing courts" etc.
Perhaps if JOELSPRAY were not so blinded by his anti-Arab racism, he would be more able to understand and appreciate Malek's excellent article.
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@aeschylus
...I don't know how I feel about torturing terrorists off-site. [...] I find it hard to believe that we're doing this for the hell of it. It must be producing results. I'm sure the details would turn my stomach. Waterboarding looks awful, but I think "torture" is a bit strong. (I don't care what the experts say. [...])
"For the hell of it" and "because it produces results" are not the only reasons people do things. There's also "because it makes me feel better," where "better" may mean, "tough," "less impotent," or "like I just had sex with my underage cousin."
And while you may think" 'torture' is a bit strong" as a classification for waterboarding, I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who's experienced it who would agree with you. Maybe you should experience it yourself and see what you think then. Your opinion of "experts" may not change much, but I bet your opinion of waterboarding will.
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Nothing to Hide, Right?
This is the argument sprung on anyone who tries to defend civil rights these days. Why care if the government is listening to your calls? Why worry if security singles you out while you board a plane? Why be concerned if the government wants to hold you for a couple of days without charges? You have nothing to hide, right?
The same question should be asked of the federal government in this case. Why not allow the lawsuit? The U.S. Government has nothing to hide, right? Right?
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FYI: FBI Report concludes Blackwater killings unjustified
FYI: FBI Report concludes Blackwater killings unjustified
I heard this early this morning on CNN, here is an ABC story.
The long and short of it:
14 out of the 17 people Blackwater killed on September 17th were unarmed civilians.
The report says that the remaining 3 killings MAY have been justified, though "No evidence supports assertions by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians"
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3862287
Maybe 'contractors' (read mercenaries) should fall under the rule of law? Hmmm?
You know, this isn't the first example of *ahem* 'mistakes'. Remember the bru-ha-ha in Faluja a while back? Guess who was at the heart of that. Remember the bodies of contractors were drug through the city, burned, then strung up? That was the beginning of a HUGE battle.
This administration just doesn't think the rule of law is a good thing.
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Excellent Reminder of the Dangers of Authoritarianism
Chilling article. Thought-provoking.
Unless, of course, you're the typical Freeper/right-wing nutjob that trolls progressive websites like this one.
Did someone post a rant about those "19 Arabs" that attacked us on that warm September morning? And claimed Bush attacked the "perpetrators" with "zeal"?! And Clinton had done nothing?
Reality check time.
The WTC was bombed in 1993 too. Remember? Under Clinton. And where are the ringleaders of that plot? IN JAIL. Paying for their crimes. How were they captured? Good old criminal investigation. POLICE WORK. No torture required. Who knew that one could get results that way?!
And no, I'm not a Clinton apologist; I never want another Southerner in the White House ever again (and I'm Southern!), especially a right-leaning "centrist" Democrat pretending he's progressive and "feel[s] [my] pain". But his FBI did its work properly and we got the jerks that first attacked the WTC back in '93.
Of the 19 hijackers on that fateful 2001 day, 15 were-- get ready-- SAUDIS. And ALL WERE IN THE US LEGALLY, WITH VALID VISAS. And, while we're reviewing the known facts, NONE WAS IRAQI. And for good measure, THERE'S NO REAL PROOF THAT OSAMA BIN LADEN HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH 9/11. Just his word-- or at least the soundtrack of one of his cave videos and maybe a press release or two. The FBI won't list 9/11 as a reason they want ObL on his Most Wanted poster, since they can't prove he masterminded it (which leads to the disturbing question: Well, who did?...).
(And by the way-- is anyone else bothered that the faces of the hijackers were on the TV within an hour of the attacks?!?!?)
Bush attacked Afghanistan for their support of ObL. Let's see: WE DIDN'T GET HIM. WE'RE STUCK THERE, STILL LOSING SOLDIERS. The Taliban is happily resurgent in that country. Opium production is back in full swing.
Mission Accomplished, Chimpy and Lumpy!
Bush attacked Iraq for.... Well, after all the bogus arguments and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis and thousands of dead "coalition" soldiers (mostly Americans, thank you GWB!), the only logical reason left is: Bush attacked Iraq to keep Iraqi oil off world markets and to enrich his oil-company (and security company) buddies.
Mission Accomplished Again, Smirks and Grimace!
Right now the only thing Bush is attacking with "zeal" is the US economy. Oh, and the US Constitution. Our experiment in democracy is now dying a death by a thousand signing statements.
One last thought: Waterboarding is torture. The US said it was torture when it was used against US soldiers during World War II. Someone who says "Waterboarding is BAD when the Japanese use it, but just fine when WE use it!" is expressing a moral relativism bordering on sociopathy. Which is what I think authoritarianism ultimately leads to.
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Not Innocent in US Eyes
For those of you who believe that the Maher Arar case is in the past tense, it definitely is not.
The US government did apologize to some extent, but only for not notifying Canadian authorities as to his rendition. They still consider him a suspect (??) and he is not allowed into the US.
Should he show up there again, we all know where he'll end up.
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Arab Governments win the battle for the “hearts and minds” in America!
http://www.aafaq.org/english/inbox.aspx?id_alri=35