Among several sticky tar babies Bush left Obama the worst are: Guantanamo, torture, capital war crimes! The clock is ticking for Obama. The time for 'good faith' is running out! Unless Obama moves to close Guantanamo now and end the practice of torture while bringing war crimes charges against Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al., he risks being so charged himself!
Preventive detention is the classic defining characteristic of a military dictatorship. Because dictatorial regimes rely on fear rather than consensus, their priority is self-preservation rather than improving their people's lives. They worry obsessively over the one thing they can't control, what Orwell called "thoughtcrime" -contempt for rulers that might someday translate to direct action.One hundred days have come and gone! There is still no strongly worded condemnation of the practice of torture! There is still no support for the bringing of war crimes charges against Bushco! The 'closing of Guantanamo' is merely confused --not resolved!
Locking up people who haven't done anything wrong is worse than un-American and a violent attack on the most basic principles of Western jurisprudence. It is contrary to the most essential notion of human decency. That anyone has ever been subjected to "preventive detention" is an outrage.
--Ted Rall, Resign Now
As the New York Times noted: "... the unresolved eight year nightmare will continue raining down drip by drip, disrupting Obama's high ambitions". If torture had not been wrong, illegal, immoral, then why did Bush spend so much of his time denying it, lying about it, conning the American people and the world?
Bush lied about US policies of torture and other war crimes because Bush knew it was wrong and deliberately set about to 'fool' the people! He failed because he was and remains a lousy liar, a cretin, an ignorant ass wipe who did not win the White House fairly. His morally bankrupt party stole the White House in what Republicans themselves boasted was a coup d'tat! Bush and his party are likewise 'credited' with Reaganesque and outrageous deficits which coupled with astronomical transfers of wealth upward to the elite have brought the nation to the very edge of financial collapse! We expected more and we deserve more from the Democrats! We held them to a higher standard! Will Obama prove us wrong to have done so?
Obama reversed himself with a declaration that no more photos of torture will be released! Is this not an admission that there are --indeed --more photos that SHOULD be released? Is this not an admission that the practices of torture, some of which should have resulted in capital crimes charges against Bush himself, are still underway? If Bush's orders resulting in death make Bush culpable for the death penalty, then where is the clause that absolves Obama of the same crime?
(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.This federal law is still on the books! It is still ignored by the office of President of the United States, the office that is empowered by the US Constitution with the authority to enforce and uphold the laws of the United States. Does this basic concept no longer mean anything to the people and, most importantly, to those who are sworn to uphold the law? I want ...no! I demand to know when the laws of the United States came to mean absolutely nothing.
--US Codes, Title 18, Section 2441
I find it significant that both public immorality and disregard for the 'rule of law' have increased with the rise of the religious right, radical fundamentalism and 'religiosity' in general. I find significant that support for war crimes, state sponsored murder, death squads, torture and other Nazi-like atrocities was extremely strong among the religious right, devotees of Pat Robertson and similar ilk. As I have stated, the 'religious right' is not just wrong but dead wrong and immoral. Pat Robertson, it may be recalled, advocated 'death squads' and the murders of foreign leaders with whom he disagreed! This is just evil --pure and simple!
Ever since he was released from Guantanamo in February after six years of due-process-less detention and brutal torture, Binyam Mohamed has been attempting to obtain justice for what was done to him. But his torturers have been continuously protected, and Mohamed's quest for a day in court repeatedly thwarted, by one individual: Barack Obama. Today, there is new and graphic evidence of just how far the Obama administration is going to prevent evidence of the Bush administration's torture program from becoming public.I demand that those government officials in both administrations be arrested, charged and tried for the capital crimes that are specifically and unambiguously the subject of the above cited federal law --US Codes, Title 18, Section 2441!
In February, Obama's DOJ demanded dismissal of Mohamed's lawsuit against the company which helped "render" him to be tortured on the ground that national security would be harmed if the lawsuit continued. Then, after a British High Court ruled that there was credible evidence that Mohamed was subjected to brutal torture and was entitled to obtain evidence in the possession of the British government which detailed the CIA's treatment of Mohamed, and after a formal police inquiry began into allegations that British agents collaborated in his torture, the British government cited threats from the U.S. government that it would no longer engage in intelligence-sharing with Britain -- i.e., it would no longer pass on information about terrorist threats aimed at British citizens -- if the British court disclosed the facts of Mohamed's torture.
--Glenn Greenwald, Obama administration threatens Britain to keep torture evidence concealed
If the laws do not apply to elected officials, then they do not apply to us!
Government may not have it one way! Those governments that presume to be above the law are, in fact, outlaw governments. They are illegitimate.
Despite the Obama order that no more photos be released, there are still more photos to be seen! Certainly --the photos are evidence that US Codes were and continue to be violated with impunity. Orders that the photos be suppressed are obstructions of justice and are, in themselves, prosecutable! I will support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate this order! Clearly, however, any move to impeach Obama is transparently hypocritical if the same charges are not brought against the gang of heinous war criminals who dared call themselves the 'Bush administration'! The photos will be released --eventually! And the order to suppress them will look foolish if not criminal! Some of them have already been leaked. I am not interested in rationalizations that we hoped had bit the dust along with the failed Bush administration, primarily the cop out that Al Qaeda will be angered! Fuck Al Qaeda! I doubt that they are half as angered as am I! Secondly, I doubt that Al Qaeda exists as anything other than the CIA 'shill' organization that they were in their inception, the CIA 'shill' organization that they most certainly continue to be.
Obama refuses to hold responsible and accountable the very people who authorized and utilized a heinous and un-American program of torture, perhaps murder! It is imperative that the US prove to the world that it take these issues seriously! The entire world takes them seriously and will forever dismiss the US, a waning 'superpower' in any case if it should not! The US has no moral choice but to:
- expose and 'own up' to heinous practices of torture and state-sponsored murder!
- bring specific charges against individuals who have issued specific orders in specific cases;
- bring charges against the architects of these policies in both the Bush and the Obama administrations!
Mr. Obama, TEAR DOWN THESE ILLEGAL PRISONS!
MR. OBAMA, BRING TORTURERS AND MURDERERS TO TRIAL!
MR. OBAMA, STOP THE WAR CRIMES, STOP THE MURDERS, STOP THE TORTURE! NOW!
A list of broken promises continues to grow! These crimes are but a continuation of Bush administration policies.
Mr. Obama --you were NOT elected to be Bush-lite!
You were elected to UNDO Bush's many failures!
You were elected to RIGHT the many wrongs that had been done by Bush!
You were elected to UPHOLD the rule of law!
You put your hand on a black book and swore to protect and defend the Constitution! That act meant nothing to Bush. We had hoped it meant more to you!
Mr. Obama, the commission of war crimes abroad is NOT authorized to any branch of the US government by the US Constitution! Either you will uphold the Constitution or you will not! If you will not, it is the moral responsibility of the US citizenry to remove you and replace you with someone who will.
24 comments:
I couldn't agree more... Obama's decision not to prosecute CIA operatives for their "interrogation techniques" is very disappointing.
Angela, Obama is 'explained' by pundits. It would seem that Obama has "no choice" but to assauge the 'middle'. Thus is pointed up the FATAL FLAW in the American system.
In many European countries, the middle becomes, in fact, a coalition in which the voices of the left CANNOT be simply ignored or disdained.
In this case, a coalition, threatened with the withdrawal of 'leftist' support could NOT continue to 'rule'.
In our system, 'we' can be IGNORED and DISDAINED with impunity. I don't call that Democracy. Do you?
It's by no means democracy, either in the American system and in Europe. Also here, in fact, especially in the UK but also in other EU countries, we assist to a relentless restriction of civil liberties and dissidents have no voice whatsoever. Italy, for example, is run by the Mafia and even if centre-left parties have a place in the Parliament, they are not different from the right wing coalitions. They might speak "leftist" but just because in the "handbook" they are meant to say certain things, but behind the scenes they run business with their same opponents. And they give citizens the illusion of living in a "representative democracy", although people have no decisional power at all after having voted for pre-packed coalitions, all financed and supported by the same economic élite.
Great blog, I'm glad I found it!
By definition a democracy is a system of government that responds to the will of the people. Consider the fact that people favor a universal government-run health care system by a 2:1 margin, but the powers that be don't want it so it ain't gonna happen. That margin would be 3:1 or 4:1 if the right-wing propaganda network would just tell the truth in the matter.
So no, I wouldn't call that a democracy. The government manipulates people's opinions through propaganda, and won't even respond when the manipulation fails.
Great comments Angela and Sad.
Angela sez ...
especially in the UK but also in other EU countries, we assist to a relentless restriction of civil liberties and dissidents have no voice whatsoever. Italy, for example, is run by the Mafia...The 'mafia' in America may have had relatively innocent origins --'protection' against the crooks at City Hall. Power accrued to local bosses and, of course, power corrupts. Now --the biggest crime syndicate in world history is without a doubt the AXIS of the MIC/K-Street/CIA.
Sad sez...
That margin would be 3:1 or 4:1 if the right-wing propaganda network would just tell the truth in the matter.Indeed! And because of the power exerted by MIC/K-Street/CIA, the 'right wing' propaganda machine is now the entire MSM.
There was once an 'alternative' media. It did not last long.
Sadly, I think they will continue to marginalize all of this 'torture talk' because they know they will have to go after the upper echelon...so to avoid that they will just bury it all. I don't see the public just allowing them to scape goat the underlings, deservedly or not, so they will try to wash it all out...with help from the MS media, of course.
On a personal level, I did call my senator's office recently about continued harassment of the 'not guilty' adjudication of a USF engineer student from Florida that was arrested, (they were on break and were meeting some friends up in SC, had a trunk full of rinky-dinky fireworks and 'home-made' stuff...) incarcerated finely brought to trial...the one kid that held out...was found not guilty...yet even after that...our government kept after the innocent man.One kid took a plea...I think he got 5-7 years, both of them I believe were incarcerated for some time originally.
If they would have been anyone else (in meaning: white gentry) other then who they were, the incident would have been resolved on the spot for what it was...an innocent prankster episode of college kids...but they (corrupt, incompetent racist government) pursued ridiculous trumped up charges and drug these people through the coals...and then back again.
Anyhow, I was literally yelling over the phone about the malfeasance and corruption of the American justice system...and on and on...I believe the only thing I got accomplished is getting another check mark next to my name that probably resides on some list within some government database that highlights probable non-compliant citizens...at least I do hope that is how they view me, because they sure as hell do not seem to be listening to ANYONE of us.
I hope you continue to expose these issues, some of this may be sticking, even the general darling of the Iraq surge has spoke of these incidents as being 'against Geneva conventions'... We just have to keep on keeping on, keep at them, at some point we will have to make a breakthrough. If we do not, nature will take it's historically proven course.
benmerc
benmerc sez...
even the general darling of the Iraq surge has spoke of these incidents as being 'against Geneva conventions'.Good observation! It reminds me that these idiots are still living in a past in which access to the actual contents of Geneva were limited to those who had ready access to either a law library or large public library. The internet has changed all that.
A recent exammple was the idiot Michael Hayden who tried to get away with a COMPLETELY BOGUS interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. What was so utterly amazing about Hayden was his arrogance. Now while many may be excused for not knowing many of the subtleties of Geneva, no US citizen has an excuse for failing to recognize that Hayden was trying to BULLSHIT the nation! If the US education system had been doing its job, EVERYONE would have known Hayden was trying to bullshit us all!
Thanks, Len. You express my views and outrage pretty much dead-on.
As to Hayden, I missed his fourth amendment cock-up...can you enlighten me?
Keep it up. Peace (or I'll see ya in the camps--))
Gurn Blanston
blanstonshrieks.blogspot.com
Gurn Blanston sez...
As to Hayden, I missed his fourth amendment cock-up...can you enlighten me?
It was at a news conference. I can't recall the date. A reporter cited the Fourth Amendment as the context for his question re: detainees, treatment et al. Hayden --the idiot that he is --interrupted the reporter before he could finish his question. But the reporter persisted; but when he began to cite 'probable cause', Hayden arrogantly and belligerently interuppted by declaring that the STANDARD was NOT 'probable cause', rather 'REASONABLE SUSPICION'. To his credit, the reporter contradicted Hayden and read (as I recall) the text of the Fourth Amendment and STILL Hayden insisted that the 'standard' was 'reasonable suspicion' and NOT 'probable cause'!!! Believe me, he said, we know what the standard is and it's 'reasonable suspicion'.
Hayden is a fuckin' liar and I will tell him so to his stupid pie face.
Here is the TEXT of the Fourth and it proves that Hayden is the idiot that he had proven himself to be:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In summary --"...no Warrants shall issue, but upon PROBABLE CAUSE!"
Hayden should have been fired summarily not merely for being an imbecile but, rather, an arrogant, pig-headed one!
What I find strange is how the majority of Americans don't want to know about crimes being committed by their government. There is so much misinformation mixed in with the truth that they get lost. They can't follow the thread and give up and go back to watching tv or shopping.It reminds me of that scene in Conspiracy Theory where that guy has to buy a copy of Catcher in the Rye or else he doesn't feel right. Someone's been messing with our brains.
"What I find strange is how the majority of Americans don't want to know about crimes being committed by their government. There is so much misinformation mixed in with the truth that they get lost." by Anonymous
As long as Americans are supported by foreign nations lending the US money by buying US Treasuries, I feel this will continue. When societies primal needs are met, food, water, shelter, energy, and protection, for years at a time, the people without a doubt will let down their guard. We live in a time and place now, where people no longer being concerned about those necessities are completely focused on accumulating more nonsense (bigger SUVs, bigger houses, and the symbolic granite counter-tops). And this is all done with the mentality pushed down by "our leaders" that we deserve it regardless of how hard we work or how much we make. You see the problem is solved when people do some discovering of their own, instead of believing what the media tells us to. However, it is way too easy to keep the status quo, turn a blind eye, and delve into all the fine things we have. Denial is an amazingly powerful force, I don't have any examples, but there have been studies of people not believing their very own eyes because of a pre-existing belief they had.
The US Debt is unsustainable in my opinion, we either need impressive economic growth (please show me where that is coming from), or a drastic increase in taxes, in which case they already take 50%+ of our annual income. Most likely, we need both. Why oh why can we not have politicians with a conscience?
no, Obombaton's decision makes him an ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT for failure to uphold his Oath of Office and prosecute those who broke the law.
that's what it makes Obombaton.
Obama is continuing Bush's policies of rendition, military tribunals, indefinite confinement, a large residual force in Iraq, missiles into Pakistan, etc.. And he's deepening our involvement in Afghanistan, too. Doesn't sound like all that much of a change to me.
Oh, and I forgot, warrantless wiretapping, too.
BAM!!
You hit every single point with eloquence and passion. What a great article!!
Keep up the good word work and with hope, eventually the people will come around. I believe that some sort of revolution will eventually come.
Hey Len! When are you going to let that poor guy hanging by his ankles get down and put some clothes on?
Anonymous said...
no, Obombaton's decision makes him an ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT for failure to uphold his Oath of Office and prosecute those who broke the law.
Not exactly!
An 'accessory after the fact' is someone who assists but DOES NOT actually 'participate' in the commission of the crime. Clearly --any order issuing from Obama that DOES NOT end the torture and/or withdraw American troops AF OF THE DATE OBAMA took the Oath of Office is NOT MERELY 'accessory AFTER the fact'.
Unless Obama moves immediately --in good faith --to stop the crimes in question he shares guilt and not merely as an 'accessory'.
His title is 'President'. He is the 'Chief Executive' and, as Truman put it: 'The buck stops here!. Truman also said: 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!'
OK Len!..... So what's the next step?
We do not live in a democracy or a representative republic and we are so far from free it makes me want to hurl. We can SAY (from our roped off zones) we disagree with murder, theft, the use of weapons of mass destruction, preemptive war, torture, bailouts of failed corporations...we can write our letters and make our calls...but at the end of the day, we are forced to pay for these things. And if you comply, do you REALLY disagree with these things? You are paying for crimes and for the biggest criminal/rogue nation on the planet to continue their nefarious deeds!! For STUFF!! Someone mentioned the mob, who forces you to pay to be protected, to pay to not have your stuff destroyed, to stay alive. Here's my money, just keep me safe, here's my money, don't lock me up. When is the last time this government used your money in the way you wanted it to be used? The Raytheon boil your fat under your skin crowd control weapon? The biological and chemical stews being brewed at Ft. Detrick? Halliburton Hotels?
Makes my head spin.
We're cowards. No one is willing to give up whatever little secure refuge we have. Millions are suffering and dying, but as long as we have our car and TV and Wal-Mart and our hour of ranting on the Blogosphere,we obey and refuse to fight and die to help the masses. Because that's what "They" are hoping for. Let's face it, humans are like mosquitoes.
anonymous sez...
We do not live in a democracy or a representative republic and we are so far from free it makes me want to hurl.
That is sad but true.
Democracy is always the first victim of militarism. Domestic democracy is abandoned when presumed external enemies are cited to justify the build up of arms. The need to build up arms is cited to justify the crack down on dissent. The crack down on dissent is likewise justified.
Gen. Smedley Butler was precise and correct when he said: "War is a racket!" It's not about external threats, it's about CONTRACTS. As long as industrialists make money facilitating the mass murder of human beings, there will be NO peace! EVER!
I am curious to find out what blog platform you are utilizing?
I'm experiencing some minor security issues with my latest website and I would like to find something more secure. Do you have any solutions?
My web page - hcg-injections
I had been using blogger (blogspot) the 'new version'.
It stank! It's hard to use...it's buggy...a total pain in the ass!
Today, I learned that I could revert to the 'original' blogger and did so. But even it was screwed up and I had made a decision to MOVE EVERYTHING to Word Press and urge all my friends to do the same.
But, in responding to your comment, I see that, the original layout is restored.
I will stay with this for while and see how it goes.
Blogger (blogspot) is a google creation and they need to understand that there are ALTERNATIVES.
Thanks for posting.
I had been using blogger (blogspot) the 'new version'.
It stank! It's hard to use...it's buggy...a total pain in the ass!
Today, I learned that I could revert to the 'original' blogger and did so. But even it was screwed up and I had made a decision to MOVE EVERYTHING to Word Press and urge all my friends to do the same.
But, in responding to your comment, I see that, the original layout is restored.
I will stay with this for while and see how it goes.
Blogger (blogspot) is a google creation and they need to understand that there are ALTERNATIVES.
Thanks for posting.
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