Image by image, confession by confession, the horror emerges

[maddezmom]

Until their publication shocked the world, these pictures were dismissed by the Pentagon as the work of 'six morons who lost the war'. Now the White House says it is as shocked as anyone about what they reveal, and that a few bad apples have poisoned the reputation of a nation. But yesterday the first evidence emerged of systematic abuse of Iraqis. In this special report, we follow the trail from 9/11, the detention camps of Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay to the shame of Abu Ghraib

By Raymond Whitaker and RUpert Cornwell
09 May 2004



As the Abu Ghraib scandal engulfed Washington last week, with the media full of pictures of grinning US military police next to naked Iraqi detainees, Jim Miklaszewski of NBC News called a contact in the Pentagon with a query about the six soldiers facing charges for the abuse. "You mean the six morons who lost the war?" the official said. From this side of the Atlantic the official's response might seem a little blinkered. What about all the questions and doubts that already existed - about the exaggerations and lies which took us into war, about the bungled aftermath of a supremely successful military campaign, and about the cost in money and lives of suppressing a growing insurgency against the supposed liberators of the country? He spoke, however, for many Americans, almost certainly including President George Bush and his Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

The obscene antics of Private Lynndie England and her boyfriend (by whom she is now pregnant), Specialist Charles Graner, who appear most often in the photographs, have crystallised half-suppressed doubts in the US about what is going on in Iraq. After a slow start, the unfolding tale of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners has swept everything else off the radar screen in Washington. Gradually the full appalling implications are being grasped by an administration that hitherto has never been concerned for anyone's opinion other than its own. A president already facing a tough re-election fight this autumn now realises he has a potentially career-ending disaster on his hands.

As late as Wednesday, as his handlers pushed him into belated damage control by giving interviews to Arab-language TV networks, Mr Bush still didn't get it. To be sure, he declared his "abhorrence" - but then seemed to lecture his questioners on their failure to understand the special godliness of America, which a few individuals had so heinously betrayed. An apology? No way.

~snip~
more:http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=519435

MODS not sure this is considered LBN, but lots of info.

[Malva Zebrina]

1. this may be a stupid question but why is this woman pregnant?

are there not anti pregnancy pills, ie birth control pills, available to women who serve in the military?

I mean it.

If there are not, then all women in the military are vulnerable.

hat is NOT very smart and I do not believe it is the truth.
'
If there are, they we must ask why this woman did not avail herself of the same.


Howcome she became pregnant and did nothing to prevent a pregnancy?


are all women serving , vulnerable to pregnancy? Or are they using it to get out of the service they committed themselves to, and that we the taxpayer, contributed to.

We do, you know, pay their salaries and their college education and all of the benefits they sign up for, while they also sign up to defend the homeland.


they are unfortuneatly, involved in killing Iraqi children. Or involved in torturing Iraqi persons who were rounded up without any real reason.

[BeHereNow]

3. Sympathy ploy...

She and her brute knew they were in deep
shit some time ago- remember the investigations
into their war crimes were conducted several
months ago and they knew they were going
to be standing trial, so no doubt they attempted
to soften the outcome for her by making sure
she stood trial looking like a pitiful potential soccer mom
who just didn't get adequate training...
That would be my guess.
BHN
Forgot to add, somehow I just can't
imagine this pair wanting a child because
they have such strong parenting urges.
If they do, they are the perfect poster couple for
the mandatory sterilization to rid the world
of mutant humanity campaign.

[WildClarySage]

5. That is,

if she's sure it's his, and not some iraqi prisoner she coerced.

[Solly Mack]

6. Women are screened for pregnancy prior to deployment

those that test positive don't deploy. During an extensive deployment, the women can opt for several forms of birth control. Believe it or not, there is a "no sex" policy while deployed. It is forbidden and it is a lawful order. As a lawful order, having sex can result in court martial.

This lawful order even stands for married soldiers deployed. However, allowances are often made for married couples-even against policy..and people (command) turn their heads.

Yes, the women have been known to try and get pregnant while in country just to return to the states. Some may not want to hear that but it's nonetheless true.

just as an aside..women have to rely on outside sources for hygiene products because for some reason, an army that will hand out condoms, can't seem to hand out tampons or sanitary napkins.

[Piperay]

16. The thought of those two

reproducing makes me :puke: wonder what kind of little brute they will be producing with their genes for it to inherit. :spank:

[JoFerret]

2. Great article. Must read. Thanks

<<What is clear, however, is that the US authorities simply did not want to know..... Even previous investigations by the military were not followed up, or simply swept under the carpet.
....

The pictures are out; however, worse is to come, and the moral authority claimed for the invasion of Iraq by neo- conservatives such as Mr Rumsfeld's deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, has been utterly dispelled. .... America is reaping a whirlwind of fury in the region.

....

How has it reached this point? The answer is that the trail to Abu Ghraib runs through the detention camps of Bagram in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to the attacks of 11 September 2001. ....



Even when mistakes do not matter, this President does not admit to them.....

It will not be easy. Even Karl Rove, ruthless political operator and the President's most influential election-season adviser at the White House, has told colleagues that it will be decades before the US recovers from the damage. The trick now will be to separate enduring disaster from the short-run requirements of securing a second term for his boss.

[maddezmom]

4. Former head of the CIA counter-terrorism centre: Coffer Black's quote

How has it reached this point? The answer is that the trail to Abu Ghraib runs through the detention camps of Bagram in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to the attacks of 11 September 2001. As the former head of the CIA's counter-terrorism centre, Cofer Black, told a congressional committee a year afterwards, "This is a highly classified area, but I have to say that all you need to know: there was a before 9/11, and there was an after 9/11. After 9/11 the gloves came off."

The message, as Mr Black went on to explain, is that there were "no limits" in an "aggressive, relentless, worldwide pursuit of any terrorist who threatens us". The notion that those whom America deems its enemies have no rights has been endlessly reinforced, not least in words by Mr Rumsfeld, and in deed.

[NashVegas]

8. Remember the attempts to start a dialog about torture?

Maybe it was in the autumn of 2002 or thereabouts, but there were media attempts to bring attention to light that there were people in positions of influence saying, 'maybe we should loosen the reins a little.'

[Judi Lynn]

11. Absolutely remember.

It also has seemed the subject has been hovering in the air, always close at hand, ever since, including all the remarks to remind us that they have been sending prisoners to Syria, Egypt, etc., with the point pounded home that there are no restrictions on what happens to them there, as it's the "other guys" doing the questioning.

Unforgiveable. These pompous, two-faced, lying hyporcrites. It's a real experience when Republicans control ALL levels of the government, isn't it?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. The "POW" versus "detainee" argument...

...the first type of prisoner has certain rights under the Geneva Convention, while the second type has no rights at all.

[cliss]

7. What's the saying? The camera doesn't lie.

George Bush and Dick Cheney opened the gates of hell, and now these "6 bad apples" have captured it all on film (more to come) for all the world to see.

This is all too new, too sudden, for any of us to grasp the significance of it. I guarantee cringing at the supermarket, as shoppers line up to check out their groceries. Their eyes will gravitate to the cover of Time magazine. There, on the cover is a hooded detainee, hooked up to electrodes, standing on a box. The cover, in BIG BOLD RED LETTERS says, "CAPTURED". Sub-heading: "Torture at Abu Ghraib prison. "How could this happen?"

Next, watch shoppers revulsion as they see their turn coming up. They look back at the magazine, and decide to buy it to see what the hell is going on over there. Their eyes narrow, as they start reading the article as their turn comes up. Anger turns to disgust. On page 97, there might be even worse photos with a bar across the face "to protect the innocent".

Just wait, George. You haven't seen anything yet. And you've only just STARTED to apologize.

[saigon68]

9. I can only hope this is true and the people forewarned

He is a creation of the Devil PURE EVIL

[Skittles]

13. cameras don't lie, but they don't always tell the whole story

in this case I beieve the whole story will be more devastating than the pictures.

[central scrutinizer]

10. Why doesn't the administration post the pictures

of all the shiny new schools and the happy Iraqi girls, finally free of the fear of being jailed and tortured for no reason, skipping off to class?

[Art_from_Ark]

14. They'd have to bus them in from outside

like they do with all their other photo-ops.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. They're not shocked.

It's becoming more evident from the statements that the real regret is that this has been exposed to the Americans at large. I couldn't agree more with statements like American's aren't like this and American's feel shame and outrage over these. But the fact is, this administration is playing a PR game and they're simply trying to do damage control over something out of control.

[saigon68]

17. PENTAGON COVER UP IN FULL COURT MODE

Meyers is working overtime to keep the lid on this. According to MSNBC the "PICTURES
AREN'T EVEN IN DC YET"

What a Freaking LIE. They could send a Giga bite of data in 2 seconds for heaven sakes ---do
they believe we are that STOOPID ??

NeoCon Fucking liars posing as Generals



Next week or the week after next the NEOCON Generals plan to let a few select congressMEN
see them..

Then after the congressMEN go on TV with their usual outrage statements THE PENTAGON
will decide what to do next.

I hope the DINOS and others keep the heat on these CRIMINALS IN UNIFORM