This is a very sad time in America. One of the saddest, actually.
Here are some facts of life: one day, we all die.
Terrorists may speed up that eventual date with destiny, but that is all they can do. Our demise is inevitable. So, one can come to the conclusion that this is all there is, and issues like moral choices and behaviors could be considered trivial. But, if one comes to the conclusion that we are spiritual beings on a spiritual journey, then what moral choices and behaviors we follow (and allow) do take on a huge significance. And that would include choices made in our name, by our elected officials, using our tax dollars.
The nomination and appointment of Mr. Gonzales to Attorney General is appalling in light of the question of making moral choices. He chose to write up legal briefs and memos justifying torture in the US run prisons around the world. Mr. Bush supported him in this endeavor and clearly still supports him today. As a matter of fact, Mr. Bush claimed the US forces "shall continue to treat detainees humanely, and, to the extent appropriate *and consistent* with military necessity, *in a manner consistent with* the principles of Geneva." Yes, that's right. He didn't say follow the Geneva Conventions, he said "in a manner *consistent* with the principles of Geneva, as long as it is*consistent* with military necessity. He gave himself and his underlings lots of wiggle room there - and then went on to call some prisoners"unlawful combatants" rather then prisoners of war. More wiggle room.
As any thinking person knows, you can justify any damn thing in the end.
Mr. Gonzales told Mr. Bush that his war making powers gave him the authority to ignore any damn laws he wants to ignore. And Mr. Bybee (Asst. Attorney General) went on to say that for an act to be torture, it must be done for the sadistic enjoyment and not just for information (I guess that's why Mr. Graner and Ms. England got into trouble: they were getting off on it, and it showed.) More wiggle room.
Let me list the names of the officials who SHOULD have been responsible for what happened in Iraq at Abu Ghraib and other places, but were recently cleared of all responsibility:
Lt. Gen Sanchez
Maj. Gen. Wojdakowski
Maj. Gen Fast
Col. Warren
As per an article written by Mr. Sullivan in the New York Times earlier this year, and per uncovered memos provided by the ACLU, the FBI was aware of abuses and torture and did very little to halt this. These memos reflect a common thread through the various types of abuses and torture and show a wide geographical reach. They show these acts were committed by Marines, Army, Navy, reserves, and a host of others. They happened in Guantanemo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and who-knows-where else.
The fact that a few soldiers committed these crimes - and the fact that the higher ups in the chain of command are let off scott-free - means the ordinary soldiers who did show moral behavior have had their reputation smeared around the world. It is like Lt. Gen. Sanchez and Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Bush have smeared blood and feces on the front of the uniforms of all our armed services. And made the rest of America look bad also.
We also have evidence, as per the case with Mr. Arar of Canada, of US authorities sending people to countries where they will be "tortured by proxy". Mr. Arar was shipped to Syria by US authorities, where he was imprisoned and tortured for 10 months before he was allowed to return to Canada. He was never charged with any crime. Yes, our government did that: sent someone to be tortured by a country that we have declared a "terrorist" state, and that someone was never even charged with a crime. And this is not the only case.
I will not go into the various forms of torture that are documented in the memos obtained by the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, nor will I recount what exactly happened to Mr. Arar. But I will assure you: it is not a pretty picture. It includes some of the most despicable acts known to man.
In Mr. Sullivan's article, he goes on to claim that the Red Cross reports that few of these acts occurred in "regular internment facilities" and most took place in places like Abu Ghraib, which were used to collect"intelligence". Mr. Sullivan concludes that "the vast majority of soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere had nothing to do with these incidents". Well, thank God for that. And for those who believe that morality is relative, and claim that "we're better than the terrorists" because we don't behead people, let me share this fact with you: the US government has uncovered 5 prisoners who have been beaten to death in Iraqi prisons, and is currently investigating over 100 more. If this is the moral high ground, then we are millimeters higher than the terrorists.
In various places in the US press, they refer to the Abu Ghraib scandal as"abuse" instead of "torture". They are flat-out lying. I will not rewrite here all the examples of what has happened: it is too sickening. But clearly killing people is not "abuse".
But you can justify any damn thing in the end.
One Iraqi inmate reported to the Red Cross that an US soldier said to him: "But I believe in torture and I will torture you". That soldier knew it was torture, and I can not imagine he would engage in torture if it was not tolerated (at the minimum) by his commanding officers.
What has happened since all this came to light with the Abu Ghraib photos? Well, the underlings in the photos are being punished. And the higher-ups who condoned and wiggled around the moral issues have been promoted. And nothing has been cleared up, nor has any redirections been issued. The scope and depth of the problem has not been acknowledged, much less addressed.
And seemingly, the majority of the American people do not care. They think torture of "terrorists" is acceptable because they think it might save American lives (stopping a terrorist attack may lengthen our lives by preventing an early untimely death - but it will not stop us from dying one day). The American public seemingly does not recognize the fact that when they decide that a group of people are unworthy of being treated humanely, then their own moral standing goes down. This is especially true when the group picked for torture is indistinguishable from ordinary civilians.
The American people also seemingly fail to realize how little useful information was gained by the use of torture by US forces. Nearly all of it was totally useless. They fail to realize that the Geneva conventions are to protect our troops also. They fail to realize that this extensive torture scandal also threatens ordinary Americans who travel overseas. And most importantly of all, the lack of outrage in Americans reflects their ignorance concerning what will happen to those torture victims who are actually innocent of any crimes: they will turn to violence themselves as a response. And many of their family members and friends will join them.
You see, it cuts both ways: you can justify any damn thing in the end.
And resorting to indiscriminate murder (after the experience of torture - to yourself or someone you love) is an easy justification to make.
Evil has a very ordinary face. Torturers-R-US.
Join me in writing to the House Armed Services Committee and asking for a special prosecuter and independent probe into this torture scandal. This is the address:
House Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
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