12:29 a.m. 2004-06-23
The Bitch says: Our ship is sinking fast
Watching what is going on in the world today can cause one of two reactions�total shock or side splitting hilarity�or maybe both. Sometimes the information is so shocking that all you can do is laugh because your mind can only absorb just so much shit before it begins to break down. Our illustrious leader has said: �I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture. The values of this country are such that torture is not a part of our soul and our being.� Well, the first thing is I am quite sure that what is part of my soul and being is entirely different from what is part of his soul and being. The definition of torture is much like Clinton�s definition of sex.....it all depends on what you think it is. The dictionary defines torture as the inflection of intolerable physical or psychological pain. If you strip a Muslim man in front of women you cause psychological pain.....is it intolerable? Probably. It�s the nature of the religion. The Justice Department issued a memo for the CIA in 2001 that allowed the use of sleep deprivation, phobias, and stress factors....among other things.....so those things wouldn�t be considered torture by our government. Using that broad a definition and combining it with the status of Guantanamo Bay as a �legal equivalent of outer space�.... just about anything can happen...and did. In Feb., 2002, our government said they would apply the Geneva Conventions but not to the Taliban and al Qaeda. Who were they going to apply them to? Civilians? According to them, all detainees were either Taliban, al Qaeda, or terrorist of some kind. Then, they found a way to use �new� interrogation techniques on their prisoners. Former CIA Director, George Tenet, suggested that sometimes suspects should remain in foreign hands because they could use more aggressive questioning. That said, Bush signed a secret order granting new powers to the CIA. At the same time he set up �status of forces agreements� with several foreign governments so that not only the US government would have immunity from prosecution for war crimes but also �private contractors.� The US has been running a covert airline moving these CIA prisoners from one unknown location to another�covert because to use the Air Force would be too traceable. Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee said the government was justified to use torture and they should have immunity because the president has the power of commander in chief. We went into Muslim countries and detained hundreds if not thousands of �suspects.� We stripped them and took away any sense of dignity or comfort...even in the form of the Koran. We made them run through a public park naked. We threatened them with dogs and, in many cases, allowed the dogs to attack. We took 25 pages from an anthropology book and used it as a training manual on the proper way to dehumanize a Muslim male. The sexual aspect, the nakedness in front of women, the rape of a teenage boy, the rapes of the women detainees, the release of the information and pictures.......all for one reason. They were used for their shock value......initially we all were shocked and extremely angry. But, after you see enough and read enough reports the shock wears off. It no longer is front page news. The apathy returns. Think about this very carefully.....when was the last time you gave a thought to the Goddess knows how many people still detained at Guantanamo. Then, you hit it with pictures of dead US soldiers.....all Iraqis want to kill us.....that brings out the �kill them before they kill us� attitude. The mob rules. It could be that the combination of apathy and kill them attitude will destroy our country. Home of the brave. Land of the free. I think not.
