Torture Alert

Torture news makes a comeback this week (along with Plame, the missing Pentagon billions, the war to save the dollar, etc.) Why? I have been going through the archives here and elsewhere and basically the same issues, same rhetoric, same hype, same theories, still presented as news as they were a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. Ever watch a dog chase its tail?

Regarding the latest Abu Ghraib scandal, from The Age : "They included photographs of blood-soaked Iraqi prisoners who had been tortured or shot dead, footage of a prisoner repeatedly slamming his head into a metal door, and a film of naked male prisoners being forced to masturbate in front of the camera." Excuse me, but can I have a little verification and proof that the victims were shot dead and/or tortured to death? I could show you a photo of myself on a foreign beach at night getting dressed with a wetsuit lying at my feet and a small boat with guns in the background but that's not proof I'm running guns.

Also making the rounds yesterday was Ann Louise Bardach's For One Marine, Torture Came Home, where Ms. Bardach, speaking for the dead, tells us this marine committed murder/suicide (killed his father, then self) because of the "unspeakable" tortures he witnessed in Afghanistan. Bardach psychoanalyzes the dead. (Seems to be the trend this month with folks using a coffin as background to make political statements, a la the King funeral.)

Can someone explain to me how these newest torture photos, taken by US personnel and held by US military, were "leaked" in Australia but not the US? Were not these photos confiscated by the US military after the first leak 2 years ago? At least some of this newest batch is from the same incidents photographed previously, some even include more of Ms. England and friends. So far, none of the "new" photos appear to be any worse than the first batch. The same hoods, same beatings, same masturbation, same nudity. Is this newest batch the unspeakable horror that Sy Hersh spoke of?

Who benefits by making soldiers the criminals? Bush? Cheney? Israel? You, me? Europe? It's not making sense because we know if the powers-that-be wanted these photos and information unknown it would be unknown. The CIA was at Abu Ghraib, knew photos were taken. Did the CIA allow a group of low level low life personnel to walk off with proof of what was going on, or is the CIA "leaking" like a sieve again?

Explain to me why BushCo would make an issue of releasing the photos, knowing the pics will be seen by everyone online anyway, and making it an issue only portrays BushCo as suppressing freedom, condoning torture, etc. I can't say BushCo is that stupid, afterall this is the same crew who got away with murdering 3000 Americans on 9/11 and stealing two elections.

Explain to me how abusing, torturing, and murder by US personnel is any worse than the abuse, torture, murder that goes on in American prisons every day and has for years. Some will say because American inmates are guilty – but how does that make abuse, torture, murder any more justifiable? We also know there are innocent men and women held in American prisons.

I'm not debating the issue of torture being right or wrong; it is wrong and I presume most decent people agree. But I would debate labeling what we have been fed so far as being "horrors." I have seen horror and these photos to date are disgusting, but not horrors.

With less time of late I am not being as concise in making a point or points (hopefully that changes soon), but my points here are we're being handed "scandals" which indicates to me that other truths go undetected, and the "scandals" we're handed lead only to talking points, slapping a few lower level semi-elite folks around for show, and demonizing our own troops. Another point, a person shouldn't link (or excuse) suicide/murder to being a veteran who saw war (that was done with Vietnam vets too). Millions of people witness the unspeakable on a daily basis and do not go home and murder. And why is it, after five years of prominent folks being scared spitless to breath a word against BushCo, it's now the brave thing to do? And finally, I believe I have that new work virus going around. See below.