Thursday, September 07, 2006
Kabuki Theater
Bush and Rumsfeld have lately been ratcheting up the campaign rhetoric, asserting that our perpetual war against invisible terrorists is now the exact historical equivalent of WWII, an argument I have addressed before and will not again. Rumsfeld has even compared critics to appeasers before WWII. Somehow, Islamic terror groups have morphed into one enemy with one goal, a phenomenon Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, as have I and many others.
How much longer can this insulting, incompetent Secretary of Defense continue to open his mouth? How can this guy, who regularly lies to Congress, slander critics?
Bush yesterday admitted was has been being reported in newspapers for months: the US has secret CIA prisons, where the detainees are interrogated using “an alternative set of procedures” of interrogation. This is as gentle a description of torture as you will hear. Based on this admission he expects Congress to approve a new law that will allow detainees to be tried in a military tribunal system, the kind of system the Supreme Court ruled was illegal recently. That’s no problem for Drinky, though. He will, as he said, simply do what he wants, and Congress can legalize it after the fact. That’s what senators like Arlen Specter are for.
Is there any government left in Washington outside of the White House?
Nancy Pelosi seemed amazingly uncritical of the president’s admission, instead criticizing the timing of the admission as “long overdue.” But I’m sure Orifice will still be hyperventilating tomorrow about how terrible it would be if she became the Speaker of the House.
Human Rights Watch had a more in-depth analysis of the bill the White House submitted to Congress, noting that, in its current form, it would allow the admission of evidence the defendant couldn’t see or refute and hearsay testimony. The bill would amend the War Crimes Act to reduce the number of prosecutable crimes to “an extremely narrowly drawn list.”
This redefinition of what constitutes torture and inhuman treatment is sickening, and it appears to be a crude ploy to retroactively legalize what has already been done. Why are we living under a demented reincarnation of August Pinochet?
We know the answer. Buried in an article about how Drinky has lost support among southern women is this sterling quote from a Bush supporter: “There are some people, and I’m one of them, that believe George Bush was placed where he is by the Lord. I don’t care how he governs, I will support him. I’m a Republican through and through.”
Sweet baby Jesus, would you please get out of my country. “Some people,” as is clear, so firmly anchor their support in utterly irrational religious conviction that Dear Leader can literally do no wrong, because he is anointed by God. These slope-browed, knuckle-dragging, primitively-religious quislings comprise about 36% of the population, last time I checked.
I can’t get it out of my head. “I don’t care how he governs, I will support him.” It’s amazing. It’s completely unpretentious, unselfconscious insanity.
I have listened to many ignorant people talk about politics in my years, and most of them irritate me. But this amazing specimen is truly extraordinary, and she is not rare. This is what happens when you mix religion and politics in the conservative world: people that, for lack of a better word, are abortions of normal people. Abominations.
Of course, what the president has done is already illegal under multiple treaties and laws we have signed, including the Convention Against Torture and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Kabuki Theater is ridiculous.
In other news, CBS’s docu-drama about 9/11 reportedly falsifies some of the facts in order to blame Bill Clinton. Lefties have complained and CBS has responded tersely, saying that the editing process isn’t complete and any criticisms are premature and “irresponsible.’’ Of course, as Eric Weiner points out, when republicans were crying about a documentary CBS was going to run on Reagan in 2003 CBS quickly shunted the production over to Showtime. I doubt they will do the same this time.
David Sirota eviscerates the Leiberman—I mean, Democratic Caucus in Washington.
Larry C Johnson describes a sad but interesting situation. Khaleid Sheikh Mohammed, a terrorist involved in 9/11, was captured and tortured by US forces. Bush personally authorized threatening his family in order to get KSM to talk (a move Andrew Sullivan characterized as the President lowering himself to the level of a mafia boss). When confronted with the threat of the rape and murder of his family KSM said, “Do what you will. My family will be with God.”
I’m no big fan of KSM, but does it seem a little disturbing that our intelligence and security forces resemble the KGB when questioning some subjects? Torture? Threatening to rape and murder his family?
This is part of the descent into fascism of the United States, amusingly chronicled by David Wallenchinsky. It is amazing that these kinds of abuses were excoriated in the 2000 Republican Party Platform, as Glenn Greenwald accurately points out. Those are truly amazing. “Sending our military on vague, endless, and aimless missions rapidly saps morale…Nor should the intelligence community be made the scapegoat for political misjudgments.” It goes on. Wow. What a bunch of hypocritical bastards.
Tony Snow has recently been echoing the president’s lie (not spin. Lie.) about the illegal warrantless wiretapping program. “Some democrats don’t want the president to be able to listen in when al Qaeda calls,” both the president and Tony Snow have lied. Greenwald and I are both exasperated by this ridiculous mischaracterization, and he fulminates about it here.
By the way, Iraq is officially a blood-soaked, civil war torn international disaster. Civilian deaths from the Baghdad morgue: 1595 in June, 1855 in July, and 1535 in August. Sweet baby Jesus, that’s 15,940 dead people a year at the current rate, and that’s just in Baghdad. Lights out, ladies and gentleman. Iraq is officially out of control. You can call Iraq in a civil war or a May Day celebration, but it doesn’t really matter what General Abizaid and Don Rumsfeld call it anymore.
# posted by BitterHarvest @ 5:45 PM 
