The Dickster is of course lying about the torture he authorized and it's effectiveness. He can't help it, he lies out of reflex now the habit is so ingrained. And he's a frightened and pathetic little man. But it turns out that what really worked, what really provided the most and the best actionable intelligence was a cookie, sugar free cookies to be precise: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1901491,00.html
One of the FBI's top experts on terrorism and interrogation and a harsh critic of the bu$hite tactics of torture, Ali Soufan, interrogated the man closest to Osama who has ever been in custody, his bodygaurd Abu Jandal. A man charged with protecting Bin Laden and ensuring that he was never captured alive. He got nowhere until he gave the diabetic man sugarfree cookies. He thereby showed him respect and became a human being in his eyes instead of an evil westerner.
Soufan has testified before congress about the ineffectiveness of torture and says that contrary to Cheney's claims that torture was used succesfully it was these types of methods, not the harsh techniques, that prompted al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah to give up the identities of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attack and Jose Padilla the dirty bomber. Soufan says that once the CIA brought a private contractor to start the rough stuff, Zubaydah stopped cooperating.
Apparently, top experts in the field of interrogation agree with Soufan that resorting to torture, means you've lost control of the situation and leads to poor results compared to standard techniques. I know personnally I'd spill my guts for some oatmeal scotchies warm from the oven. But I can't help but wonder, if the recruiting pamphlets that Al Qiada is handing out all over the middle-east showed Americans bearing cookies instead of chains, electrical wires, sexual/religious humiliation and water-boarding might they not be having the success they've had at demonizing us with our own actions.
Anyway you can't be a beacon of light when you're working on the darkside like the slimebucket war criminals, Cheney and friends.
Showing posts with label torture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label torture. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
GOPster Torture and Murder by Proxy
It's entertaining to see Cheney with his 18% approval rating rounding the the talk show circuit making excuses for his crimes and working hard to drive the Republican Party to the extreme wing-nut margins by choosing Rush limbaugh over Colin Powell and calling Powell a Democrat (soon to be Democrat-Socialist per GOPorthodoxy).
But before we on the left embrace the exiled Powell, lets not forget that Powell KNOWINGLY and dutifully lied to the U.N, DIRECTLY paving the way to the Neocon's illegal and very deadly war in Iraq. He's got a long long repentant path to walk before he can redeem himself. And while El Snortbo lies everyday and is in a very real sense directly responsible for the messes our country is in due to conservative dogma run amock, one would be hard pressed to make the case that any one of his lies led DIRECTLY to murder like Cheney's and Powell's.
By the way, here is what Russ Feingold (who is not a documented liar like the three GOPsters above) had to say about the torture memos Cheney wants declasssified to promote his rationalization and war crimes defense in the court of public opinion; "Nothing I have seen — including the two documents to which former Vice President Cheney has repeatedly referred — indicates that the torture techniques authorized by the last administration were necessary, or that they were the best way to get information out of detainees. The former vice president is misleading the American people when he says otherwise."
But speaking of murder, this story http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051103412.html was also reported in Tuesday’s Democracy Now!, so you know it's credible: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/12/headlines
A key witness (and victim) Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi of both the Bu$hites torture and their war promoting lies is conveniently DEAD (supposedly of suicide) in the hands of our new best friend and all around good guy Muhmar Quadaffi of Libya, into whose care our CIA delivered him from their blacksite archapelago. This is HUGE!
Al-Libi was captured by the CIA and when he didn't tell them what they thought he should, they rendered him to Egypt where he was severely tortured (including beatings, waterboarding and mock burial) in our names and on our behalf. To end this torture done at the behest of the Bu$hites, al-Libi agreed to tell his torturers anything they wanted. What they wanted and got was false testimony that Saddam was working with al-Qiada to obtain chemical weapons to kill Americans and that's exactly what they got. This information along with other fabrications was used by Colin Powell and the Neocons to sell the debacle in Iraqle to the American people.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the bu$hites launched their illegal and unconstitutional torture regime to cover their lies and lead us into the quagmire of Iraq from which we cannot (and will not be able to for years) extricate ourselves and which is has now killed tens of thousands (minimum) of innocent people. The ugly truth is coming out and into focus and the more Dick talks the more appearent it becomes what an absolute scumbag he is.
George, Dick, Condi and the rest of the gang are war criminals, plain and simple and they need to be brought to justice before they flee to Uruguay (or is it Paraguay, I forget) like the good little fascists that they are.
But before we on the left embrace the exiled Powell, lets not forget that Powell KNOWINGLY and dutifully lied to the U.N, DIRECTLY paving the way to the Neocon's illegal and very deadly war in Iraq. He's got a long long repentant path to walk before he can redeem himself. And while El Snortbo lies everyday and is in a very real sense directly responsible for the messes our country is in due to conservative dogma run amock, one would be hard pressed to make the case that any one of his lies led DIRECTLY to murder like Cheney's and Powell's.
By the way, here is what Russ Feingold (who is not a documented liar like the three GOPsters above) had to say about the torture memos Cheney wants declasssified to promote his rationalization and war crimes defense in the court of public opinion; "Nothing I have seen — including the two documents to which former Vice President Cheney has repeatedly referred — indicates that the torture techniques authorized by the last administration were necessary, or that they were the best way to get information out of detainees. The former vice president is misleading the American people when he says otherwise."
But speaking of murder, this story http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051103412.html was also reported in Tuesday’s Democracy Now!, so you know it's credible: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/12/headlines
A key witness (and victim) Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi of both the Bu$hites torture and their war promoting lies is conveniently DEAD (supposedly of suicide) in the hands of our new best friend and all around good guy Muhmar Quadaffi of Libya, into whose care our CIA delivered him from their blacksite archapelago. This is HUGE!
Al-Libi was captured by the CIA and when he didn't tell them what they thought he should, they rendered him to Egypt where he was severely tortured (including beatings, waterboarding and mock burial) in our names and on our behalf. To end this torture done at the behest of the Bu$hites, al-Libi agreed to tell his torturers anything they wanted. What they wanted and got was false testimony that Saddam was working with al-Qiada to obtain chemical weapons to kill Americans and that's exactly what they got. This information along with other fabrications was used by Colin Powell and the Neocons to sell the debacle in Iraqle to the American people.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the bu$hites launched their illegal and unconstitutional torture regime to cover their lies and lead us into the quagmire of Iraq from which we cannot (and will not be able to for years) extricate ourselves and which is has now killed tens of thousands (minimum) of innocent people. The ugly truth is coming out and into focus and the more Dick talks the more appearent it becomes what an absolute scumbag he is.
George, Dick, Condi and the rest of the gang are war criminals, plain and simple and they need to be brought to justice before they flee to Uruguay (or is it Paraguay, I forget) like the good little fascists that they are.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
GOPolicy vs the Rule of Law
Apparently to Karl Rove whether one should act legally or illegally is merely a difference in policies between the current administration and the gang of thugs for which he served as Minister of GOPropaganda. On Tuesday Rove in his capacity as paid GOPundit on America's premier pro-torture network Faux news gurgitated the following rant for Desk Chief for Insanity - Sean Hannity:
"What the Obama administration has done in the last several days is very dangerous. What they've essentially said is, If we have policy disagreements with our predecessors, what we're going to do is we're going to turn ourselves into the moral equivalent of a Latin American country run colonels in mirrored sunglasses. And what we're going to do is prosecute, systematically, the previous administration, or threaten prosecutions against the previous administration, based on policy differences."
I guess Karl feels that following and upholding the law is a policy choice that need not burden GOPolicy makers. Then, in what would be an astonishing example of bald faced (not to mention headed) hyprocrisy if it came from anyone but a bu$hite he continued his spewings as follows:
"Is that what we've come to in this country? That if we have a change in administration from one party to another, that we then use the tools of the government to go systematically after the policy disagreements that we have with the previous administration?"
Gee Rover, perhaps you've heard of a little thing called the U.S. Attorney scandal under which at your direction, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez attempted to misuse the power of the executive branch government to take action against political opponents, timed to influence elections. Remember how your macheiavllian maneuverings resulted in jail time for innocent people (pawns to you) like Georgia Thompson in the Democratic Doyle Administration here in Wisconsin and Democratic Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman you disgusting little man? Doesn't that sort of backstabbing political hackery remind you of say Castros Cuba or our guy in Argentina, Augusto Pinnochette?
Apparently Karl's memory has much stricter bounds than his dumbfounding hypocrisy as he once again tries to pathetically play his old faux patriotism card of "real Americans vs those people from true blue states like say Illinois as follows:
"Now that may be fine in some little Latin American country that's run by, you know, the latest junta. It may be the way that they do things in Chicago. But that's not the way we do things here in America."
So Herr Karl, if I drive a few miles south am I going to need Mein Paperien or am I already outside of your Amerika? I guess I should take comfort in the knowledge that you and your foxvolken ilk are no countymen of mine.
Perhaps you're right that it really does come down to policy differences. On the left hand we have the founding principle of the American Republic, a nation of laws not men, a rejection of the dictatorship of aristocracy and the divine right of kings. Whereas on the extreme right hand we have the GOPolicy of criminals like you, that laws are made for the little people, not the bluebloods of the GOPster elite.
Maybe I'm only dreaming that equal justice will be served, but I hope the Barbara Bush lives long enough to have her "beautiful mind" troubled by her Georgieboy's having to answer and pay for his crimes from Abu Grahb to Bahgram to Gitmo and beyond along with his co-conspirators, Roverboy and the rest.
"What the Obama administration has done in the last several days is very dangerous. What they've essentially said is, If we have policy disagreements with our predecessors, what we're going to do is we're going to turn ourselves into the moral equivalent of a Latin American country run colonels in mirrored sunglasses. And what we're going to do is prosecute, systematically, the previous administration, or threaten prosecutions against the previous administration, based on policy differences."
I guess Karl feels that following and upholding the law is a policy choice that need not burden GOPolicy makers. Then, in what would be an astonishing example of bald faced (not to mention headed) hyprocrisy if it came from anyone but a bu$hite he continued his spewings as follows:
"Is that what we've come to in this country? That if we have a change in administration from one party to another, that we then use the tools of the government to go systematically after the policy disagreements that we have with the previous administration?"
Gee Rover, perhaps you've heard of a little thing called the U.S. Attorney scandal under which at your direction, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez attempted to misuse the power of the executive branch government to take action against political opponents, timed to influence elections. Remember how your macheiavllian maneuverings resulted in jail time for innocent people (pawns to you) like Georgia Thompson in the Democratic Doyle Administration here in Wisconsin and Democratic Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman you disgusting little man? Doesn't that sort of backstabbing political hackery remind you of say Castros Cuba or our guy in Argentina, Augusto Pinnochette?
Apparently Karl's memory has much stricter bounds than his dumbfounding hypocrisy as he once again tries to pathetically play his old faux patriotism card of "real Americans vs those people from true blue states like say Illinois as follows:
"Now that may be fine in some little Latin American country that's run by, you know, the latest junta. It may be the way that they do things in Chicago. But that's not the way we do things here in America."
So Herr Karl, if I drive a few miles south am I going to need Mein Paperien or am I already outside of your Amerika? I guess I should take comfort in the knowledge that you and your foxvolken ilk are no countymen of mine.
Perhaps you're right that it really does come down to policy differences. On the left hand we have the founding principle of the American Republic, a nation of laws not men, a rejection of the dictatorship of aristocracy and the divine right of kings. Whereas on the extreme right hand we have the GOPolicy of criminals like you, that laws are made for the little people, not the bluebloods of the GOPster elite.
Maybe I'm only dreaming that equal justice will be served, but I hope the Barbara Bush lives long enough to have her "beautiful mind" troubled by her Georgieboy's having to answer and pay for his crimes from Abu Grahb to Bahgram to Gitmo and beyond along with his co-conspirators, Roverboy and the rest.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bush Torturer-In-Chief
Well Bush has finally admitted that he is a war criminal. In discussing the use of torture by the U.S. government with ABC news recently http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/Story?id=4635175&page=1 Bush stated "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." He was referring to Dick Cheney, Condolezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeldt, George Tenet, John Ashcroft and Colin Powel who met and authorized specific techniques for use on suspected terrorists, including water boarding.
Water boarding AKA the drowning torture, conceived by the Spanish Inquisition is used to repeatedly induce the sensation and terror of drowning. Since the U.S. prosecuted Japanese troops after WWII for war crimes for using this technique on our troops it is clearly a war crime and a form of torture as recognized the world over.Our founders held that certain truths were self evident, that all men, not all Americans, but ALL men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including due process and not to be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. George Bush has betrayed the very foundation of what America stands for in the world.
Furthermore, George Bush has asserted that as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces during wartime he is above justice and the rule of law. This is a further betrayal of the Constitution and our founding. Do we want to confer these powers on Obama, Clinton, McCain or any other future executive? NO! If this principle is allowed to carry forward we are unlikely to ever see the end of wartime, as we will elect a series of dictators to four-year terms.
It’s time for our representative Paul Ryan and the rest of the House, to stop collaborating with the Torturer-In-Chief and clean up the moral cesspool that is the Bush Administration once and for all by bringing to bear impeachment and criminal proceedings against these perpetrators.
From Abu Grabh to Gitmo to the secret blacksites around the globe this President has betrayed American values and diminished our standing as a nation. This is self-evident, torture is evil! By any name, for any purpose, by anyone, to anyone, no ifs, ands or moral relativisms.
If the Executive can detain you secretly, indefinitely, without charge, recourse or due process, if he/she can torture you, extract testimony and use it against you in a tribunal, you are not free. You are merely at large at the executive’s discretion. The Bushites have done all of these things. It’s time to stand up for freedom and put the criminal George Bush behind bars where he belongs.
Water boarding AKA the drowning torture, conceived by the Spanish Inquisition is used to repeatedly induce the sensation and terror of drowning. Since the U.S. prosecuted Japanese troops after WWII for war crimes for using this technique on our troops it is clearly a war crime and a form of torture as recognized the world over.Our founders held that certain truths were self evident, that all men, not all Americans, but ALL men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including due process and not to be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. George Bush has betrayed the very foundation of what America stands for in the world.
Furthermore, George Bush has asserted that as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces during wartime he is above justice and the rule of law. This is a further betrayal of the Constitution and our founding. Do we want to confer these powers on Obama, Clinton, McCain or any other future executive? NO! If this principle is allowed to carry forward we are unlikely to ever see the end of wartime, as we will elect a series of dictators to four-year terms.
It’s time for our representative Paul Ryan and the rest of the House, to stop collaborating with the Torturer-In-Chief and clean up the moral cesspool that is the Bush Administration once and for all by bringing to bear impeachment and criminal proceedings against these perpetrators.
From Abu Grabh to Gitmo to the secret blacksites around the globe this President has betrayed American values and diminished our standing as a nation. This is self-evident, torture is evil! By any name, for any purpose, by anyone, to anyone, no ifs, ands or moral relativisms.
If the Executive can detain you secretly, indefinitely, without charge, recourse or due process, if he/she can torture you, extract testimony and use it against you in a tribunal, you are not free. You are merely at large at the executive’s discretion. The Bushites have done all of these things. It’s time to stand up for freedom and put the criminal George Bush behind bars where he belongs.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Faith groups mount campaign against torture
They're protesting Bush administration policies. But polls show Americans are split on the issue.
By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 8, 2008 edition
As Congress and the Bush administration skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees.
More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.
"Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
The campaign has its work cut out for it. Polls since 2001 show great divergence and ambivalence in public attitudes toward the interrogation and treatment of alleged terrorists. And Congress so far has not convinced the administration to change course.
NRCAT worked for congressional passage of the 2008 intelligence bill, which required the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies to conform to the Army Field Manual in their interrogations. The manual, revised in 2006 after the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, prohibits the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning), military dogs, beatings, and electric shocks, among other techniques.
Rest of story here
By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 8, 2008 edition
As Congress and the Bush administration skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees.
More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.
"Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
The campaign has its work cut out for it. Polls since 2001 show great divergence and ambivalence in public attitudes toward the interrogation and treatment of alleged terrorists. And Congress so far has not convinced the administration to change course.
NRCAT worked for congressional passage of the 2008 intelligence bill, which required the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies to conform to the Army Field Manual in their interrogations. The manual, revised in 2006 after the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, prohibits the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning), military dogs, beatings, and electric shocks, among other techniques.
Rest of story here
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