Featured Post for 05-/15-05/22: Obama at this point, by covering up for official torture, and by signing on to and expanding the war in Afghanistan, is dooming his presidency, further staining the reputation of the United States, and ultimately furthering the decline of the country that was set in motion by his predecessors.

The illogic of Obama’s position on these photos is stunning. Since we know the photos exist, the refusal to make them public can only feed a sense that they must be worse than the horrific photos of torture at Abu Ghraib Prison which were already released. Nobody is going to assume that the photos in the White House’s possession are less offensive than what has already been discovered and made public–for why would the administration be worried about that?

The truth is always better than a cover-up, and what we now have the president advocating is a cover-up of American torture.  FULL STORY

Enough is enough. It’s time to free John Walker Lindh, poster boy for George Bush’s, Dick Cheney’s and John Ashcroft’s ‘War on Terror,’ and quite likely first victim of these men’s secret campaign of torture.

Lindh is in the seventh year of a 20-year sentence for ‘carrying a weapon’ in Afghanistan and for ‘providing assistance’ to an enemy of the United States. The first charge is ridiculously minor (after all, it’s what almost everyone in Texas does everyday). The second is actually a violation of a law intended for use against US companies that trade with proscribed countries on a government ‘no trade’ list like Cuba or North Korea. Ordinarily, violation results in a fine for the executives involved. FULL ARTICLE

Shocking evidence from a classified Senate Armed Services Committee report released last week makes the most compelling case to date that senior Bush administration officials intentionally lied about torture.

Under the bright lights of national news cameras, President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld described the horrors of Abu Ghraib as acts committed by a “few bad apples,” when in fact, they were actively encouraging the armed forces to torture prisoners at detention centers worldwide.

The details in this and other documents recently released should send chills down your spine. They confirm our worst nightmares about the types of interrogation tactics approved, including slamming suspects into walls, waterboarding 2 individuals a combined 266 times and exploiting another’s fear of insects by confining him in a box with an insect.

Horrifying as they are, these details only scratch the surface of what our 50 years of experience interviewing victims of torture tells us. We know that abuse always escalates over time, especially when sanctioned at the highest levels.

The administration’s response? Give torturers a free pass. The Obama administration announced recently that it would guarantee immunity to CIA officials and others who carried out clearly illegal interrogation tactics. This action directly contradicts the administration’s assertions that nobody is above the law.

The President and others in his administration have begun to change their tune in response to mounting public outcry. And now Obama has signaled that he may leave the door open for further investigation of those in the highest rungs of power in the Bush administration.

This moment represents a crucial opening in the fight for accountability. It’s a chance to finally slap the cuffs on those who authorized interrogators to take the gloves off and ensure that those responsible for abuse are held to account for the irreparable harm they’ve caused.

And most importantly, it’s an acknowledgment that accountability is the only way to put an end to the failed policies of detention without trial and detainee abuse.

What happens next will determine whether the whole story about Bush-era torture will see the light of day or remain shrouded in secrecy. We need to ensure that a non-partisan independent commission leads the investigation, and that it’s free from political influences, has subpoena power and enough money to pursue the truth.

Shakespeare said it best: ” The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars….. But in ourselves.”

The fault, Mr. President, in our present situation, is ‘ not in our stars… But in our stripes.’

The American stars are something to be proud of, sir. Represented by the stars on our flag, they stand for truth and justice for all. It seems to me, that the stripes that are represented on our flag, now stand for the stripes worn by our detainees , and for the stripes that we force other nations to wear when we dominate them.

I was just watching Thomas Ricks, the author and journalist, on C-Span. He was speaking about his latest book , ‘The Gamble, ‘ which is about the occupation of Iraq. The really pertinent point I wish to make is about the whole mindset that our ‘mainstream’ leaders, pundits and reporters seem to have. They gloss over the fact that Iraq was illegally invaded and is being occupied for almost six years.

Need I repeat to you sir, that anywhere from 100,000 to one million Iraqi civilians are dead because of what our nation has done? It is disgraceful enough that over 4000 of our young soldiers are dead, with tens of thousands scarred (physically and mentally) for life! Yet, many Americans, including Mr. Ricks, who opposed the invasion and are outspoken about the crimes of the Bush/Cheney crew, continue this ‘C’est la vie ‘ argument.

Mr. President, were we not taught that ‘ Two wrongs do not make a right?’ If it was wrong to invade, is it not wrong to stay and become the colonial ruler of Iraq?

The world now knows that the Bush/Cheney crew lied us into an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. The world now knows that the Bush/Cheney crew broke the Geneva Accords and committed torture and rendition.

Let us imagine a scenario whereupon the Chinese government, who have so much at stake economically in America, got antsy. They did not trust the Bush/Cheney crew to guarantee their enormous exports to America. They did not trust keeping their investments here, going by what the Wall Street cronies have gotten away with.

Since Bush and Cheney used pre emptive strategy, the Chinese wonder, why not them? So, they did. They attacked us, and with our vast resources out of country, they won and soon after began an occupation.

Such a terrible chain of events, all because of pre- emptive war.

The very folks who say they are saving us from tyranny and turmoil create worse for us.

Our nation, sir, faces the worst economic threat since the early 1930’s. You have inherited more than a mess…… A Disgrace! Isn’t it time to talk straight to the American people? Isn’t it time to explain that we are too stretched militarily throughout the globe?

We simply cannot afford to spend 50 cents of every federal dollar in budgeting for defense related affairs. We cannot afford to maintain over 750 military bases in over 100 different countries. Most urgent, we cannot afford 70 or 80 billion dollars a month for the Iraq occupation.

We are broke sir!

Tell the American public. Look straight into the camera and tell them that it is either ‘ guns or butter.’ We have enough ‘guns ‘ now sir, enough to supply the whole damned world!

While you are at it, sir, urge the Congress to bring the liars and con men from the previous administration to justice. How often, when some minor felon goes before the bar, and the judge lectures “After all, we are a nation of laws, and you did break the law… ”

The last time I looked, that lady statue outside the courts was blind …. To position and rank and social standing. Investigate and indict, sir, and then you and we as a nation can truly ‘move on.’

Like the pre-programmed robots we’ve all become, we’ll celebrate this as a welcome and much-needed change from the reviled Bush-Cheney administration. A step in the right direction, we might even say.

In addition, the Pope of Hope has promised not to torture. Our society is so fuckin’ corrupt that a US president can announce—without shame—a purported plan to say no to committing crimes against humanity. Of course, we view this as “normal” and we foolishly believe him and even praise him.

Obama’s blood brother, Dick Cheney, happily plays his pre-ordained role in this passion play by going on national television and declaring that our (sic) president’s vague pledge to possibly adhere to accepted international law—a pledge more honored in the breach—is making the US less safe.

The pundit patrol gleefully spins into action. You see, what passes for intelligence and insight in America typically involves being handsomely paid to put on a suit and go on TV to debate whether its Obama or his Dick that’s got it right.

This is mental illness in plain view—unabashed, unfettered lunacy not even trying to masquerade as sanity. If we woke up, it would take perhaps 3-5 seconds to recognize this: Obama is a heinous criminal. Cheney is a heinous criminal. The same can be said for the volunteer soldiers and all those who give the orders; the law enforcement types and all those who give the orders; the judges; the professional liars who stock the media ranks; and, of course, all the humans that comprise the power structure of Corporate America.

Since we habitually choose denial instead of rebellion, our willingness to play along at home by, for example, analyzing the subtle nuances that differentiate Obama from his Dick makes us heinous criminals, too. When things are as bad as they are now, there’s more than enough guilt to go around.

Just about everything about US and global culture (e.g. raping the environment, the propaganda machine, avaricious materialism, insatiable military conquest, sexism, homophobia, racism, patriarchy, etc.) adds up to death and destruction. Yet we—the species with the allegedly superior cognitive skills—opt to spend our time getting worked up over Obama debating his Dick.

Joe votes Republican. Joann votes Democrat. Nothing changes.

Jane human loves Sean Hannity. John adores Jon Stewart. The planet remains in peril.

Joann and John think Obama’s plan is the cat’s meow. Joe and Jane agree with Dick. Big picture: It makes no difference at all.

Whatever side we choose in these fabricated conflicts, human society maintains its steady, relentless path toward mass homicide/suicide. If we ever decide to look up from our text screens and video games, we might actually catch the last act.

Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

Dear John,

I live in this area. I am asking you, as county prosecutor,  to go forward with the process to hold both George Bush and Dick Cheney criminally responsible for the illegal attack on Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of over 4000 of our soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians. It is time that we, as citizens, do what even our new President Obama stated in his press conference: ” No One is above the law… ”

Please contact Mr. Vincent Bugliosi for information on what you could and should be doing to bring justice to these men.

Remember the famous quote: “Let justice prevail … or may the heavens fall! “