I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this -- allowing them to smoke cigarettes, for example, even though it has been proven that smoking kills. And as for compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world -- have the Iranians no concept of civilized behaviour?
For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture: we put bags over their heads, so it's hard to breathe. Then it's perfectly acceptable to take photographs of them and circulate them to the press because the captives can't be recognized and humiliated in the way these unfortunate British service people are.
"This isn't a challenge to some decision that a court makes. This is a challenge to the court itself." --
Prof. Neal Katyal, in front of the US Supreme Court.
bin Laden's driver defeated the US Secretary of Defence in the US Supreme Court. Some sense has prevailed in the US, and the doublespeak of the Bush administration has come to a reckoning. And finally, we see a glimpse of what made Western civilization great: the rule of law.
So-called freedom for Iraqis has been death, poverty and insecurity. The following accounts are not a result of 'insurgent' activity, but rather the work of US/UK allies:
Terri Judd in the Independent UK takes a deeper look at their plight in the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom:
The women of Basra have disappeared. Three years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, women's secular freedoms - once the envy of women across the Middle East - have been snatched away because militant Islam is rising across the country.
Faheem Hussain is an Italian based Pakistani theoretical physicist who has written for Counterpunch magazine.
In this piece for the Pakistani newspaper POST, Hussain appeals to the American people
saying, Americans "are responsible for their elected leaders and, if they want to save civilisation in the United States, they have to get rid of this terrorist cabal which has taken over the reins of power in the White House before they do any more damage to the world. The criminal gang in the White House should be impeached and tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Only in this way can there be any hope of resurrecting the image of the United States in the world." Hussain suggests the US is rapidly descending into a "barbarity" that shows something "deeply pathological" about the country.
George W. Bush today defended the United States military activity in Iraq and attacked his domestic critics. While his speech was almost the same that we have already analyzed on this site, some things surprised us:
1. In order to make a point, how weak does Bush have to be to quote bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri, Al-Zarqawi and his election opponent, Kerry.
2. While he quoted the Qur'an showing that Islam does not allow the killing of civilians, how is the US military justified in killing civilians to achieve its political objectives?
3. While he claimed that everyone was fooled by the intelligence on non-existent Iraqi WMDs, he failed to address the obvious question: who planted the fake intelligence, and who used sleight of hand to use that evidence. So his argument is: we faked it, we convinced everyone of the forgery, and since eveyone agreed, we are not at fault. Brilliant!
courtesy Tribune Media Services International THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005
Sixty years ago, Arnold Toynbee concluded, in his monumental "A Study of History," that the ultimate cause of imperial collapse was "suicidal statecraft." Sadly for President George W. Bush's place in history but - much more important - ominously for America's future, it has lately seemed as if that adroit phrase might be applicable to the policies pursued by the United States since the cataclysm of 9/11.
Though there have been some hints lately that the administration may be beginning to reassess the goals, so far defined largely by slogans, of its unsuccessful military intervention in Iraq, Bush's speech of Oct. 6 was a throwback to the more demagogic formulations that he employed during the presidential campaign of 2004 to justify the war that he himself started.
I'm honored once again to be with the supporters of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Since the day President Ronald Reagan set out the vision for this endowment, the world has seen the swiftest advance of democratic institutions in history. And Americans are proud to have played our role in this great story. Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia - our best friends are all democratic now!
Our nation stood guard on tense borders. We spoke for the rights of dissidents and the hopes of exiles. We aided the rise of new democracies on the ruins of tyranny.
George Galloway is a member of the UK parliament, known for his candour and truth in the face of adversity. He was expelled from the Tony Blair Labour party, yet he won a seat in Parliament as the sole representative of his Respect Party, defeating a Labour candidate. Here is his statement:
"Senator, I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader. and neither has anyone on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one - and neither has anyone on my behalf.
"Now I know that standards have slipped in the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice. I am here today but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question, without ever having contacted me, without ever written to me or telephoned me, without any attempt to contact me whatsoever. And you call that justice.
A couple of years ago, we saw Saddam's teeth being examined - the US military determined that it was necessary to show him to his "followers" in that way. Today, a British tabloid published him in his underwear, quoting its US military source of exactly the same logic. Surprisingly, the official US military spokesperson is offended and is 'investigating'.
The BBC reports: "But President George W Bush said he did not think the photos would encourage insurgents in Iraq --
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