26, January 2012 Haditha Massacre
Times magazine editor, Tim McGirk, first broke the story of the Haditha massacre in 2006. McGirk reported that a group of marines went on a rampage seeking revenge after the killing of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas and slaughtered 24 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a 76 year old man women and children.
A large trove of documents, many marked “secret” were found among scores of other classified material at a junk yard Baghdad. The documents reveal extremely disturbing testimony that the Haditha killings were not an isolated incident. McGirk stated that "In some ways, this is one of the most grotesque episodes of the entire war in Iraq. And I’m afraid to say, this is part of our legacy”.
The tacit impunity that was granted US soldiers was in sharp contrast to the much stricter rules of engagement in Vietnam where scores of US soldiers received heavy sentences for war crimes. The long shadows cast by the Haditha massacre, the appalling sadistic abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the frequent killings by Blackwater contractor operatives has cast an unflattering image of the US occupation and precipitated in the early expulsion of US forces from Iraq.
But what is a much greater travesty is the crimes committed by policy makers in Washington who were responsible for sending soldiers in war zones with bogus claims of WMD’s ,‘keeping America safe’, or condoning terror tactics to justify the nebulous ‘war on terror.’
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Guantánamo 1-11-12
11, January 2012 Guantánamo
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of America’s notorious detention camp at Guantánamo Bay.
Many senior military officials now admit that Guantánamo and Bagram Air force Base prison, which has largely escapes media scrutiny, continues to intensify the anger towards the US and increases terrorism. These prisons were opened following intense pressure from the Bush/Cheney White House who had little regard for the rule of law, international jurisprudence and Habeas Corpus. Many innocent victims were caught in the wide dragnet following the raw emotions of 9/11. According to data released from the Freedom of Information Act, in 2001 planeloads of leaflets were rained down in Afghanistan offering huge bounties for turning in suspected terrorists. Many villagers collected these bounties to settle family and tribal disputes and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams. Incredibly 171 prisoners are still languishing in these prisons.
It is time President Obama and the moribund members of Congress restore “core constitutional values” (Obama’s words) by closing the prisons at Guantanamo and Bagram Air force Base and oppose the Defense 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that Obama signed on New Year's Eve containing a sweeping provision that makes indefinite military detention, a permanent part of American law for the first time in this country's history. This is not just unconstitutional - it's just plain wrong.
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of America’s notorious detention camp at Guantánamo Bay.
Many senior military officials now admit that Guantánamo and Bagram Air force Base prison, which has largely escapes media scrutiny, continues to intensify the anger towards the US and increases terrorism. These prisons were opened following intense pressure from the Bush/Cheney White House who had little regard for the rule of law, international jurisprudence and Habeas Corpus. Many innocent victims were caught in the wide dragnet following the raw emotions of 9/11. According to data released from the Freedom of Information Act, in 2001 planeloads of leaflets were rained down in Afghanistan offering huge bounties for turning in suspected terrorists. Many villagers collected these bounties to settle family and tribal disputes and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams. Incredibly 171 prisoners are still languishing in these prisons.
It is time President Obama and the moribund members of Congress restore “core constitutional values” (Obama’s words) by closing the prisons at Guantanamo and Bagram Air force Base and oppose the Defense 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that Obama signed on New Year's Eve containing a sweeping provision that makes indefinite military detention, a permanent part of American law for the first time in this country's history. This is not just unconstitutional - it's just plain wrong.
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