Free Iraq

"Army Told to Release Abuse Videos":
"These images may be ugly and shocking ... (but) the American public deserves to know what is being done in our name," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU.
 

"I'm aware of the Amnesty International report, and it's absurd. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world [We have] investigated every single complaint against [sic] the detainees. It seemed like [Amnesty International] based some of their decisions on the word and allegations by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people had been trained in some instances to disassemble [sic] ­ that means not tell the truth. And so it was an absurd report. It just is."
 

"[W]hat’s pernicious about Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan is that, as bad as we think it is, . . . It’s even worse."

"The real shock in the US is the weakness and the failure of congress. Yes, the president’s been awful, dubious and craven — but that’s a given.

"Congress has been much worse. The Democrats have no power at all. The Republicans control everything. There has been no serious investigation into Abu Ghraib."
 

A note to any site visitors who, like myself, may feel yourselves unable to watch the posted video links:

I thought I couldn't. I began viewing with my finger on the "stop" button. However, the slide presentation by Aidan Delgado, a conscientious objector who had been at Abu Ghraib, is excellent and viewable. Do yourself a favour; pluck up your courage and watch. You won't be sorry.
 

"The Road to Abu Ghraib":
"Much of the worst abuse occurs right after arrest, in temporary holding facilities, where interrogators use torture to "soften up" prisoners to extract information."
 

"Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold"
Probably just a few bad apples.
 

From an off-topic commentary re Abu Musab al Zarqawi, just because I love it, the following: "If somebody in the Bush administration opens his mouth, you should assume a lie is about to be spoken. It is the only safe assumption, . . . "
 

The house that Bush bombed
 

I am going to be cynical and unsympathetic here for a change......
I watched the Delgado video but I think his words fall on deaf ears; I am sorry to say. You cant make people see and hear what they dont want to see and hear.

If governments and those people who voluntarily sign up for military duty havent learned their lesson by now, then they never will. Just in my lifetime, there has been umpteen wars globally and I would be certain that they have all yielded misery and death on mass scale.
Remember the Yugoslavian and Rwandan civil wars being particularly savage - there was news of torture and rape camps and mass murder - but who learned lessons from them?

Did the US learn lessons from Vietnam? It does not seem so. Men and women still sign up for military duty and the US government still ride roughshod over whomever they wish.

Working class men and women should stop signing up for military duty; they are no more than "cannon fodder" for the likes of Blair and Bush and indirectly Sharon. If they havent got the sense to stay away, then they shouldnt cry when some Iraqi bombards them with Molotov cocktails and RPGs. It is better to live in poverty in the UK or US, than to end up burned or beheaded in Baghdad.
 

JimmieC your post is an eye opener but something is missing. I notice you mention Rupert Murdoch, Tommy Franks, Rumsfeld, Musharaf, Cheney etc but you have missed one vital link in the chain - Douglas Feith. He is as responsible, if not more, than many people in your photos.

I must get off my soap box now.....something must be wrong with my hormones today...I feel like bull to red rag....
 

Heidi -
"Defeated," perhaps.

Deaf ears: many, there are. But getting TO the ears is more the problem. Opening up the dialogue is a huge problem. And if we're not willing to try, then why do we visit sites like Free Iraq?
 

Evelyn, if no-one else signed up for military duty over the next 50 years in either the UK or US, then wars would be harder to wage.
Politicians would have to think much harder before they launched military assaults abroad because they would have to start drafting people in, and they know it would cause anarchy at home.
Maybe there should be a clause in any future decisions made by our parliament. The clause should be that if they commit our countries to war in future, then each politician must enrol at least one of their children into the military to fight for the cause.
Other people's children are always so much more expendable.....

Now I'm going out to enjoy the sunshine; it will only last a few hours no doubt...
 

Heidi -
I totally accept your argument about non-enlistment & politicians' children (though scarcely fair to the children - "guilt by association"). But people like Aiden Delgado, speaking from first hand experience & with deep moral authority, bring understanding & perspective, enabling others to resist the "patriotic" call of the military. If ever we overcome the ignorance that feeds the "glory" of war it will be because of the dedication of tens of thousands of Aidens, each in their own way helping us to see & hear & care & change.
 

Evelyn. Aidan's voice will be stifled like any other of that ilk; Bush doesn't want to hear it, and neither do his obedient citizens. For example, look at how the Bush family censored Moore's opinion-documentary film F 9/11. The Bush family had Disney ban Miramax, (its subsidiary) from distributing it.
Also, don't forget, Moore was boo'd off stage at the Oscars for criticizing Bush.

Looks like a dose of the Stepford Wives has hit the US; Bush is surrounded by Stepford Wives. Remember the Stepford Wives? They answer to their spouses' every request with a lovely smile. When the they aren't pleasing their men in bed, they're in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.....
 

Heidi -
Agreed: We're not going to be hearing Aiden on Fox, or any of the other mainstream media. And Bush, et al, are not beating a path to alternative sources of information. (They already know it all.) That does NOT justify caving in to the b******ds! A lot of good people are open to the truth. And, I reiterate, if that is not our job, then why do we bother blogging? Just to hear the sound of our own voices?
 

Evelyn, I have many American relatives and friends and I am just saying what I have seen.
You are right of course, if one person can reach 10 or 100 or 1000, then that is great.

Fear keeps many people 'in check' though. Example, I have very good friends from Iowa. The people there (who are largely simple and pleasant farm people), believe what is fed to them on the news. When they see Fox or CNN saying that Iran or N. Korea is a nuclear danger, they panic.
It is largely a lack of perspective because they have never left the shores of the US, or even the mid-west, so that is all they know, in a sense.
I am lucky; I have travelled the world and met people from all over, so my views are not UK or US-centric.
It is the same in the UK; example, many people I know who have never left our shores are frightened of Arabs..... If only travel was made easier so people could see more and get rid of their prejudices.
Politicians - they play on fear and lack of perspective.
 

Heidi -
Agree in full!
 

Evelyn, this fear factor thing is fascinating and always seems to work. Because of this, people do not analyse with a cool head.

Do you remember how the Bush posse used to carp on about "mushroom-shaped clouds" and Iraq? Well this eventually instilled fear in a section people in the UK, mostly of limited perspective - to the point where they supported the invasion. They actually thought they were about to be nuked by Saddam. The thought of being blasted by a 25 mega-ton nuclear weapon does have that effect!!!

Also I saw a many blogsites that reiterated certain Iraqi defector claims that Saddam has WMD.

People were not analysing in a balanced way. They should have kept balanced perspective.

Firstly, it would not be that easy to develop long-range missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, under UN sanctions!!!! Not to mention enriching Uranium or developing nuclear guidance systems! Plus any testing of these missiles would be picked up in an instant.
Certain sections of the UK public must have thought that you can easily achieve nuclear fission or fusion in your back garden!...and then launch the bomb with a basic catapult!!!

If there is going to be nuclear trouble anywhere, it will be South Asia where Pakistan and India always squabble about something.
They should have their wings clipped.

Also, previous to the war, there was an interview with Mr al Saadi (who I think is now in Abu Ghraib for some strange reason), and he said that no WMD has existed in Iraq for years....even his German wife was trying to get the point across. People conveniently ignore testimonies like this.

People in the UK and US have been played shamelessly and still voted these two plonkers back in....
 

"Torture's Part of the Territory":
". . . [T]here are only two ways to govern: with consent or with fear. . . . Lacking consent, the current U.S.-Iraqi regime relies heavily on fear, including the most terrifying tactics of them all: disappearances, indefinite detention without charge and torture. And despite official reassurances, it's only getting worse. . . . The U.S. military may indeed be cracking down on prisoner abuse, but torture in Iraq is not in decline — it has simply been outsourced. . . . Should the United States stay in Iraq? If your answer is still yes, then you must accept all the consequences."
 

Evelyn, that article on torture is interesting. Recently I watched a BBC documentary called

"We have ways of making you talk"

They interviewed people that had been tortured in various countries and, they actually interviewed some ex-torturers. Even ex-torturers admitted that the practise rarely yields any benefit at all, mostly because people will say anything when faced with a drill, cattle prod or savage animal.
The BBC could find only one case (from Israel) where torture had extracted a confession that saved lives.

The Americans must know that in >90% of cases, they will get very little return. I am not sure why they bother, plus, how could you live with yourself after you have hurt someone like that?