Cover-Up
Remember Charles Graner? Lynndie England? Their friends and buddies at Abu Ghraib? Sure you do-- those photos shocked the world, if not all Americans (they *should* have shocked all of us; there are still people out there that shrug this off as "part of war" and "no big deal"; after all, they're all "towelheads" and "terrorists"). You'd think the shame and embarrassment over such treatment, not to mention violations of the Geneva Convention (a document Rummy et al have declared "quaint"), would have prompted our gummint to reveal all, put an end to all such abuse, and firmly resurrect support and respect for the Geneva Conventions and common human courtesies. Even the Nazis on trial at Nuremberg didn't suffer such indignities, and they killed and tortured far more people than the prisoners at Abu Ghraib did.
Well, there's additional photos, documents, and materials the gummint has covered up, and is refusing to release. The gummint initially stated they'd release this stuff, but now they've done a 180 and said, "Nope." Gee, I wonder why... A clue might be the fact that Rummy (who I think should have been fired, arrested, and bound over for trial at the Hague) stated when the original batch of photos was released that the rest of it "...can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane." Now there's suspicion that some of this visual evidence shows such atrocities as child abuse, possibly rape, maybe even murder.
I'm not too surprised. Our country is great for many reasons, is the most advanced civilization the world's seen in many ways, but has a lot of warts. Slavery, lynchings, and racism, for one. Support for banana republics, the overthrow of legitimately elected governments (see: Chile and Guatemala), and the operation of a finishing school for authoritarian dictators of previously mentioned banana republics, for another. Additionally, we conveniently ignore or underestimate tragedies like the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the horror of Rwanda, and the current genocide in Darfur, in the Sudan. For a country whose raison d'etre is predicated upon the championing of human rights, we have a decidely mixed track record.
This new court challenge means it'll be a while before we know the full extent of Abu Ghraib. The current argument doesn't really hold water: the gummint claims they don't want to "embarrass people." Well, I'm sorry-- guess what? The victims have already been embarrassed. But I'll bet you anything they'd like to see the perpetrators brought to justice. I'll also bet you the real people who don't want to be embarrassed are the people who condoned this, who allowed this to happen-- people like Rummy. I sincerely hope the judge(s) on this case are principled enough to know a pile of b.s. when they see it.
The gummint sacrificed Graner, England, and others so that more senior officials who are equally culpable could be protected. That's not to say Graner, England, et al were innocent-- they deserved to be found out and punished. But despite what Smirk, Scowl, Rummy & Co. would like you to think, it's not just a few "bad apples." If we as a nation wish to be true to our founding principles, if we really want to promote openness, democracy, honesty, and human rights, we would be better off tearing the cover off this particular Pandora's Box, revealing the horrors within, and then making an honest, genuine effort to correct our errors. Otherwise we'll just be seen as even more hypocritical than we already are. As Seymour Hersh, one of the best reporters in the country has said, it'll come out eventually. The government doesn't think it's pretty now? It'll be even uglier if we try to hide it.
Well, there's additional photos, documents, and materials the gummint has covered up, and is refusing to release. The gummint initially stated they'd release this stuff, but now they've done a 180 and said, "Nope." Gee, I wonder why... A clue might be the fact that Rummy (who I think should have been fired, arrested, and bound over for trial at the Hague) stated when the original batch of photos was released that the rest of it "...can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane." Now there's suspicion that some of this visual evidence shows such atrocities as child abuse, possibly rape, maybe even murder.
I'm not too surprised. Our country is great for many reasons, is the most advanced civilization the world's seen in many ways, but has a lot of warts. Slavery, lynchings, and racism, for one. Support for banana republics, the overthrow of legitimately elected governments (see: Chile and Guatemala), and the operation of a finishing school for authoritarian dictators of previously mentioned banana republics, for another. Additionally, we conveniently ignore or underestimate tragedies like the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the horror of Rwanda, and the current genocide in Darfur, in the Sudan. For a country whose raison d'etre is predicated upon the championing of human rights, we have a decidely mixed track record.
This new court challenge means it'll be a while before we know the full extent of Abu Ghraib. The current argument doesn't really hold water: the gummint claims they don't want to "embarrass people." Well, I'm sorry-- guess what? The victims have already been embarrassed. But I'll bet you anything they'd like to see the perpetrators brought to justice. I'll also bet you the real people who don't want to be embarrassed are the people who condoned this, who allowed this to happen-- people like Rummy. I sincerely hope the judge(s) on this case are principled enough to know a pile of b.s. when they see it.
The gummint sacrificed Graner, England, and others so that more senior officials who are equally culpable could be protected. That's not to say Graner, England, et al were innocent-- they deserved to be found out and punished. But despite what Smirk, Scowl, Rummy & Co. would like you to think, it's not just a few "bad apples." If we as a nation wish to be true to our founding principles, if we really want to promote openness, democracy, honesty, and human rights, we would be better off tearing the cover off this particular Pandora's Box, revealing the horrors within, and then making an honest, genuine effort to correct our errors. Otherwise we'll just be seen as even more hypocritical than we already are. As Seymour Hersh, one of the best reporters in the country has said, it'll come out eventually. The government doesn't think it's pretty now? It'll be even uglier if we try to hide it.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 5:40 PM
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