Lady Dragonfly wrote:When a Joe sells drugs from his basement, it is bad. But if that Joe happens to be a low-enforcement officer it is much worse.
When a Joe browses Internet to solicit sex with a minor, it is not good. If that Joe happens to be your friendly neighborhood Congressman, it is revolting.
What is ironic, of course, is that it's happening on the watch of a remade Republican Party that has postured endlessly for nearly 20 years about its moral purity. With greater power comes greater responsibility, of course, and in an adminstration that has shunned responsibilty for all its actions, we have lowered ourselves in the US to the level of those nations we've in past pontificated against. I've really had to wonder whether the clowns on both sides of the party aisle wrapping themsevles in the American flag ever stopped to think about it while they were tearing down a variety of important American values, such as habeas corpus, the Geneva Conventions, etc. Or were they cynical from the beginning? Is it a requirement from climbing the muckhill of politics to the top, that you lose your nose for what's ethically proper?
And how can the actions of these people be justified, by anybody with a brain in their head, and a heart to feel something other mendacity?
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
Update: In a stunning PR move, the US has redeployed one of the servicemen convicted of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse/torture to Iraq--to train local police. No, I don't for a minute think this was done deliberately, but it shows a stunning lack of judgement.
You can read about it here, in that horrific journal of leftwing raducak terrorist gay French govenrment-hating surrender-monkeying anti-capitalist scum, Time.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
I guess local police have become less proficient in torture and abuse now that Saddam isn't there to guide them, and the good old US military is more than glad to step in and give a refresher course?
The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations David Friedman
fable wrote:Update: In a stunning PR move, the US has redeployed one of the servicemen convicted of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse/torture to Iraq--to train local police. No, I don't for a minute think this was done deliberately, but it shows a stunning lack of judgement.
You can read about it here, in that horrific journal of leftwing raducak terrorist gay French govenrment-hating surrender-monkeying anti-capitalist scum, Time.
That story has been updated since you originally posted the link. Fortunately, that serviceman's redeployment has been stopped, but only after TIME made the public aware of it. As you might expect, the people in Iraq had a lot to say when they heard about it. "Winning hearts and minds."
Essentially, one of the four soldiers, Spc. James P. Barker, has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole (a little less than a month after the trial was announced). He avoided the death penalty by agreeing to plead guilty and testify against the other three, who might receive the death penalty.
Barker said he raped the girl because he hated Iraqis. His attorney claims that the United States Army is to blame. According to him, "this type of thing happens" because there aren't enough American troops in Iraq. I'm completely serious--that's what the article at CNN says.
*crosses fingers* I do so hope they all get killed for being rapists. Slowly too. That or using the old naughty razor/slide method of execution I heard the Afghani's used to use long ago.
"You can do whatever you want to me." "Oh, so I can crate you and hide you in the warehouse at the end of Raiders?" "So funny, kiss me funny boy!" / *Sprays mace* " I know, I know, bad for the ozone"
VonDondu wrote:Barker said he raped the girl because he hated Iraqis. His attorney claims that the United States Army is to blame. According to him, "this type of thing happens" because there aren't enough American troops in Iraq. I'm completely serious--that's what the article at CNN says.
This kind of complete disconnect from reality is frightening, but all too typical in government circles.
A hates Iraqis.
A joins the US Army to go to Iraq.
A rapes an Iraqi girl.
therefore,
The rape wouldn't have occurred if more soldiers had gone to Iraq.
The conclusion is made to serve a political goal. There isn't even an attempt made to connect the conclusion with the conditions that led to it. It is not about logic, or convincing anybody, but about making the right noises to get the right people on your side, if possible. I suspect Barker's lawyers thought it couldn't hurt to make these statements and cozy up to the official line. Cheney must be very proud.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
"Barker told the military judge he was drinking whiskey purchased from Iraqi soldiers with 21-year-old Army Pvt. Steve Green, who has since been discharged, when Green proposed attacking the family".
.....
"The defendants are accused of burning the girl's body to conceal the
crime".
Looks like after a few shots of whiskey the boys wanted a bit of fun.
They probably realized it was a "wrong" sort of fun (even for a "liberating" army practicing torture in prison) so they tried to destroy the evidence by burning their victim's body.
This is as sick as it gets.
Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.
-- Euripides
Not really, granted, it's terrible and all. The people who are in, or have been in my life have dealt with things on par with that kind of thing in there lives, and stuff like that isn't all that uncommon to be honest. Yes, it showed they knew what they were doing would get them into trouble, and they had at least the intelligence to destroy the evidence. I almost feel like applauding the fact those boys had some modicum of intelligence compared to the idiots who raped my ex's and friends.
"You can do whatever you want to me." "Oh, so I can crate you and hide you in the warehouse at the end of Raiders?" "So funny, kiss me funny boy!" / *Sprays mace* " I know, I know, bad for the ozone"
Speaking about torture, there is an update; this time the story concerns Guantanamo Bay.:
POSTED: 10:59 p.m. EST, January 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI on Tuesday released documents showing at least 26 of the agency's employees witnessed aggressive mistreatment and harsh interrogation techniques of prisoners by other government agencies or outside contractors at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"On several occasions witnesses saw detainees in interrogation rooms chained hand and foot in fetal position to floor with no chair/food/water; most urinated or defecated on selves and were left there 18, 24 hours or more," according to one FBI account made public.
One FBI witness saw a detainee "shaking with cold," while another noted a detainee in a sweltering unventilated room was "almost unconscious on a floor with a pile of hair next to him (he had apparently been pulling it out through the night)."
Another witness saw a detainee "with a full beard whose head was wrapped in duct tape."
One FBI statement said that an interrogator squatted over the Quran and that a German shepherd dog was ordered to "growl, bark and show his teeth to the prisoner."
Another detainee was draped in an Israeli flag.
The FBI surveyed all 493 FBI personnel who had been assigned to the military prison facility in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and determined no FBI agent or support personnel had participated in any of the controversial practices.
"This thorough internal assessment shows the FBI was not involved in these activities in any way," said chief FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
The FBI Office of General Counsel in September 2004 ordered the "special inquiry" into any FBI participation or observations of a series of alleged incidents at the prison camp for suspected terrorists and al Qaeda sympathizers, but the results were not made public.
The FBI released the documents in response to a Freedom of Information request by the American Civil Liberties Union, but stressed that most of the findings had already been reported elsewhere.
"Note these documents have been vetted by both DoD [Department of Defense] and FBI, and that FBI believes this or substantially similar information has already been released in this litigation," the FBI said.
Results of the 26 "positive responses" and several more "not purely negative responses" reported by FBI personnel in the internal inquiry were made available Tuesday on the Web site at Federal Bureau of Investigation - Home Page. (Read the report)
Other actions FBI personnel reported either witnessing or being told about included:
Placing a detainee in a darkened cell with the intent of interrogating him for 24 hours straight; the witness reported being told that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had approved this technique.
Keeping detainees awake for days on end with strobe lights and loud music.
Dressing as a priest and "baptizing" a detainee.
Subjecting a detainee to a lap dance by a topless female guard.
Interrupting detainees' attempts to pray by putting fluid on their faces and telling them it was menstrual blood.
Beating a detainee who said he had recently undergone abdominal surgery.
Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.
-- Euripides
