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The blatant obfuscation and chicanery that were hallmarks of the Bush Era (or any Presidential reign) continues to taint America and her armed forces. More evidence of torture, abuse and human rights violations against the US have been uncovered via Wikileaks. The mythological barrier that separates “us” and “them” grows ever thinner. The war mongers hide the facts from the people because they know that the population of the US would not permit these acts to be carried out in their name if they knew about them.
“Americans turned a blind eye to hundreds of reports of abuse, torture and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers, according to reports in nearly 392,000 documents related to the Iraq war and released Friday by WikiLeaks.
The documents say the detainees were whipped, punched, kicked or subjected to electric shocks. Six reports end with a detainee’s apparent death.”
The idea that we have some sort of moral superiority or higher ethical calling will still go on, it always does, but hopefully less people will believe the mendacity that is so kindly spun for them everyday.
“The Times said the reports indicate that while some abuse cases were investigated by the Americans, most were ignored. The reports released by WikiLeaks and dubbed “The Iraq War Logs,” cover the period from Jan. 1, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2009. WikiLeaks said the files detail more than 109,000 deaths in Iraq, including 66,081 civilians. The reports also document the deaths of almost 24,000 people labelled as insurgents, more than 15,000 Iraqi government troops and almost 3,800 coalition forces.”
The death tolls for Iraq civilians were kept. One of the more egregious ‘oversights’ of the American military during their illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. When humanity is stripped from an enemy, so much easier it is to do horrendous things to them. For instance:
“In one case, Americans suspected Iraqi army officers of cutting off a detainee’s fingers and burning him with acid, the New York Times reported. Two other cases produced accounts of the executions of bound detainees.”
Embracing torture is yet another important milestone in unravelling of the rule of law and civilized society. How can we accuse others of gross violations of international law when we (all along) violate those same laws with such impunity?
“The documents, according to the Times, also claim that Americans sometimes used the threat of abuse by Iraqi authorities to get information out of prisoners. For example, one report said an American threatened to send a detainee to the notorious Wolf Brigade if he did not supply information.
But the report also said Americans often intervened when Iraqis were being tortured”
Is there any way to deny culpability now? The various departments of defense and state are now in their beset PR mode attempting to ameliorate the effects of these rather perverse revelations.
“U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Clinton slammed the release of the files.
“We should condemn in the most clear terms the disclosure of any classified information by individuals and organizations which puts the lives of United States and partner service members and civilians at risk,” she said in Washington, D.C.”
Thanks Hillary. Nothing said toward what the reports actually say, or the actions of the people we are responsible for. Just the wagging finger giving us the ‘secrets of the state’ lecture and how this may negatively effect people as a result. How about standing up for what is right and condemning the apparatus that has allowed such egregious actions to happen in the first place.
No, that would be entirely too much to expect from an elected official as the state as opposed to the people are the interests that count.
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Mystro
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