| Bush will find the weapons of mass destruction ... |
| OooOo |
... soon. Elections are coming, he needs to do something for his country.
Truth dies, just as people die, every day in Iraq. Sometimes the people are killed by Americans paid with our tax dollars. But we rarely hear about it, thanks to other Americans, the ones who kill truth: the journalists. There are different ways to send truth to its grave, as two current examples prove. On March 13 the Iranian news agency Mehr reported a story that, if true, is surely the biggest news of this election year: "U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq. A reliable source from the Iraqi Governing Council, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that U.S. forces, with the help of British forces stationed in southern Iraq, had made extensive efforts to conceal their actions."
According to Mehr's source, the parts are old ones, just the kind the U.S. gave to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. Once they are "discovered," they would be the smoking gun that George W. needs to get re-elected. Five days after Mehr broke this story, a Google and Lexis/Nexis search failed to find it reported in any U.S. news source. Not even a story to say "We checked and found nothing to support the allegations." Why? Two possibilities come to mind. Perhaps American journalists in Iraq, and their editors at home, saw it and said "Oh, that's silly. With all the serious stuff we have to investigate, why waste a good reporter's precious time on such nonsense?" They are not warmongers or conspirators, just serious professionals doing their job in the approved manner. They got their jobs by sticking to mainstream "common sense" thinking. Why change now? Oh yes, they did use the same kind of mainstream "common sense" last year, when they assumed that the Bush administration must have secret evidence of Saddam's WMDs. But you don't abandon "common sense" just because of an occasional mistake, do you?
The other possibility is that some American journalists believe the U.S. might indeed be planting WMD parts in Iraq for pre-election "discovery." But the story is just too hot, too dangerous to touch. A reporter for a mainstream U.S. news source knows that his or her editor might very well not run it in any event. So why waste time on it, when so many other good stories are out there that could see the light of day.
In either event, if there is a startling pre-election "discovery," hang on to your Mehr News Agency report and remember: You saw it here first.
Of course, you don't have to bury the news to kill the truth. You can kill it by reporting it in a lethal way. That's what Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times did on March 17.
He revealed that, twice a week, Captain Jonathan Tracy hands out "sympathy payments" to the relatives of Iraqi civilians killed or injured by the U.S. military. No admission of U.S. guilt, but you get $1,000 for an injury and $2,500 for a death. Now you know what Iraqi life is worth, in official U.S. eyes. Captain Tracy, who is only 27, says he is "getting pretty burned out." That is understandable. It's a hellish job. To make it worse, Tracy has to worry about cheaters. How does he know that the Iraqis who come asking for payments really deserve them? He "checks each claim a civilian files against a database of military incident reports," Gettlemen reported. "We do keep records of innocent civilians who are killed accidentally by coalition force soldiers," said Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, assistant commander for the First Armored Division, which patrols Baghdad. "And, in fact, in every one of those innocent death situations, we conduct internal investigations to determine what happened." But earlier in the very same news story, Gettlemen wrote: "Military officials say they do not have precise figures or even estimates of the number of noncombatant Iraqis killed and wounded by American-led forces in Iraq. 'We don't keep a list,' said a Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell. 'It's just not policy.'"
We used to assume that what Commander Campbell said was true. We rely on websites like www.iraqbodycount.net because we thought that our government was killing and not bothering to count the victims. Now we just ain't sure, because our nation's newspaper of record says, in the very same story, that our government does and does not keep a list.
When you say it's both night and day at the same time, truth is dead. When someone says the U.S. is planting evidence to "prove" the biggest lie yet, and you don't even bother to check it out, truth is dead. Truth is the first casualty of war. We always knew that. Now we know that there's more than one way to kill the truth. Ira Chernus is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and can be contacted at chernus colorado.edu (courtesy of CommonDreams.org)
prevzemeno od: http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/5/2004&Cat=15&Num=001 |
| graf |
He will find the WMD under saddam bed hahaha |
| OooOo |
Емитувани снимки на Американци како мачат Ирачани
[img]http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/specials/iraq-us.jpg[/img]
One of the images broadcast on "60 Minutes II" shows a hooded prisoner standing on a box with wires attached to his hands.
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In another of the images broadcast by CBS, a female soldier makes a gesture at a hooded, naked prisoner.
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[img]http://www.foxnews.com/images/124092/1_23_cbs3.jpg[/img]
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Американската телевизиска мрежа Си-Би-Ес во ударен термин емитуваше фотографии на кои е прикажано како американски воени полицајци мачат зарабоени Ирачани во багдадскиот затвор Ал Граиб.
На сликите се гледа како насмеани мажи и жени во американски воени униформи стојат до голи ирачки заробеници на кои им е наредено да легнат и да направат пирамида, потоа сликите покажуваат навреди испишани на телата на Ирачаните, заробеник како стои на дрвена кутија врзан со жица со вреќа на глава и мажи кои од војниците се принудени да се силуваат меѓу себе.
Командата на американските сили во Ирак нареди истрага за инцидентот, а изречена е и суспензија на генералот Џенис карпински и целиот негов штаб кои имаа команда над трите багдадски затвори и над воената полиција. Во затворите имаше неколку илјади Ирачани.
Неколкумина војници се уапсени, а шестмина треба да се појават пред суд поради мачење на 20 заробеници.
Американскиот наредник Чип Фредерик, кој е уапсен под обвинение за мачење во затворите, за Си-Би-ЕС изјави дека ќе се изјасни оти не е виновен.
„Им помагавме на разузнавачите и на агентите на ЦИА и на ФБИ да ги натераат заробениците да прозборат. Имавме голем успех поради начинот на работа и обично го кршевме нивниот отпор по само неколку часа. Војниците постапуваа според правилата на служба и користеа сила против затворениците само кога беше потребно“, истакнува Фредерик.
Тој потенцира дека првпат видел примерок на Женевската конвенција дури откако бил уапсен и обвинет за мачење.
Пентагон истакнува дека аферата би можела да предизвика одмазда против сите американски војници во Ирак. Претставници на Пентагон дури упатиле и барање до телевизиската мрежа да го одложи емитувањето на емисијата.
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| OooOo |
Bush Blasts Abuse Of Iraqi POWs
President George W. Bush on Friday condemned the mistreatment of some Iraqi prisoners in U.S custody, saying, "Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people. That's not the way we do things in America. I didn't like it one bit."
A series of photographs, showing U.S. soldiers smiling while naked Iraqi prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or positioned committing simulated sex acts, are being broadcast around the world. The images, which document alleged abuses that have led to charges against six American soldiers, were first broadcast Wednesday night on CBS News' 60 Minutes II.
Asked about the photos, Mr. Bush said, "I share a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated the way they were treated," Mr. Bush said.
The six U.S. soldiers facing courts-martial in connection with the mistreatment of the detainees at an Iraqi prison did not receive in-depth training on the Geneva Conventions, which govern the handling of prisoners, a U.S. military spokeswoman said Friday.
Those soldiers have been reassigned to other duties in Iraq, Col. Jill Morgenthaler said in an e-mail from Iraq. No court-martial proceedings against them have taken place, she said.
Their boss, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, and at least seven others have been "suspended" from their duties at Abu Ghraib prison, Morgenthaler said.
It was unclear what a suspension entails, or if it is the same as being formally relieved. Morgenthaler said she believed Karpinski had returned to the United States.
Arab television stations were leading their newscasts on Friday with the photos, showing scenes of humiliation including a naked prisoner with a slur written in English on his skin.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit "outrages upon the personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment" against any detainee. Mistreatment that amounts to "torture or inhuman treatment" is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, which is a war crime.
Karpinski has been replaced as head of the prison by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, deputy commander for detainment operations. Miller formerly commanded the U.S. prison for alleged terrorists at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In the past, Karpinski has defended the prison against claims from freed prisoners and human-rights groups that prisoners were abused, saying Iraqis were treated "humanely and fairly."
Last September, during a visit by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, she displayed torture devices used there by Saddam's interrogators. The prison was one of the most notorious in Iraq under Saddam's regime.
The acknowledgment that the soldiers did not receive in-depth training on international covenants regarding the handling of prisoners echoes complaints from Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick, one of the six facing court-martial, and his civilian lawyer in Washington, Gary Myers.
Charges include dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another person.
Some military officials privately said U.S. soldiers should have known better whether they had specific training or not.
Defense counsel for one of the accused soldiers claims that the soldiers had been ordered to "soften up" the detainees for interrogation. Moreover, private contractors allegedly were among those overseeing the interrogation process.
In some photos from the prison, two U.S. soldiers standing near the prisoners hammed it up for the camera. One of the photos showed a hooded prisoner standing on a box with wires attached to his hands. CBS reported the prisoner was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted, although in reality the wires were not connected to a power supply.
Human Rights Watch said Friday that the United States should also investigate the superiors of the six soldiers, to see whether they ordered or knowingly tolerated these abuses.
"The brazenness with which these soldiers conducted themselves, snapping photographs and flashing the 'thumbs-up' sign as they abused prisoners, suggests they felt they had nothing to hide from their superiors," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Their superiors should be closely scrutinized to see whether they created an atmosphere of impunity that fostered this abuse."
The U.S. has stressed that the pictures violate military policy.
"Frankly, I think all of us are disappointed by the actions of the few," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of coalition operations in Iraq, told 60 Minutes II.
"This is wrong. This is reprehensible. But this is not representative of the 150,000 soldiers that are over here," adds Kimmitt.
In Iraq, a U.S. army lieutenant colonel who admitted that in August he threatened to kill an Iraqi detainee, firing a shot next to the man's head during a violent interrogation, received a fine as a disciplinary measure, but was not subjected to a court martial. The U.S. army in January discharged three reservists for abusing detainees at a detention camp near Basra in southern Iraq.
"It's clear that the United States has not taken the issue of prisoner abuse seriously enough," said Roth. "These sordid photos from Iraq show that systematic changes in the treatment of prisoners are needed immediately."
On Friday, British military officials confirmed that they are investigating new allegations that their soldiers abused a prisoner in Iraq.
The report followed confirmation from the Ministry of Defense in a separate case that military authorities are considering whether to prosecute eight soldiers for allegedly abusing prisoners.
The new charges came as the Daily Mirror newspaper published photos of a hooded prisoner who reportedly was beaten and had teeth broken at the hands of British troops.
"All allegations are already under investigation," Gen. Michael Jackson, chief of the General Staff, told a late night news conference.
"If proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear the queen's uniform. They have besmirched the good name of the army and its honor."
The Mirror said it was given the pictures by serving soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, who were concerned that "rogue elements" in the army were undermining attempts to win support from the Iraqi people.
The newspaper quoted the unidentified soldiers as saying the unarmed captive had been threatened with execution during eight hours of abuse, and was left bleeding and vomiting. They said the captive was then driven away and dumped from the back of a moving vehicle, and it was not known whether he survived.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said he supported Jackson's statement. |
| Thunder from down under |
[img]http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/98692C2F-8950-4298-A2D0-[/img] ovaja domajkinkava kako k*r da nemat videno , |
| Thunder from down under |
[img]http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/98692C2F-8950-4298-A2D0-354B11BBC470/36009/3B8BE47B94F04187BB06D664D186F418.jpg[/img]
OVAJA |