Geneva Concoction

The latest from the subterranean vaults of Kyle's Strange But True:

Should the US government release all of the prisoner abuse photos, videos and records and just get it over with. Some think so; best to clean out the worst from the back of the fridge and be done. The American people, they theorize, will sublimate it all by summer and Bush's doublethink team can get on with heading up the herd for the election.

But some Administration lawyers think they can't do that, because releasing the images would be a violation of the Geneva Convention's proscriptions, prohibiting holding up a prisoner to humiliation.

That's right folks. If they aren't released, the abused prisoners get no justice; their suffering gets buried with the truth. If they are released, that's humiliating, therefore wrong. Pretty good catch, that catch-22.

So much to post, so little time

Hard to keep up lately. Not on account of lack of blogging time, but on account of a myriad of subjects, too many to follow. Pardon my lack of links in the following recitation, but the mainstream media will soon (I trust) trumpet the following:

1. Chalabi's dead meat. The Pentagon's pretty boy, seated beside Laura Bush at a recent White House event, turns out to be a schemer, plotting with Iranians to make Iraq his turf, with an Islamic-based legal system, with Chalabi as the boss. How is Rummie going to explain this, since Chalabi was the source of much of the prewar intelligence, earning $300,000 per month? What else can Rummie do wrong?

2. We sprayed a wedding party with copter-bullets--again. Recall, we also did this in Afghanistan, and then, as now, claimed it was a legitimate defensive and/or interdictive measure. Ya know, it doesn't matter what we say to the arabs anymore. It matters only what they believe, and given our recent activities, they invariably believe the worst. As do I, I might add.

3. Two new prison-abuse photos have surfaced, these depicting a dog-attack on a prisoner and a box-standing torture. At the rate of these disclosures, we could end up with a trickle of photos that ends only on election day. Goody.

4. Republican members of Congress are balking at various of Bush's actions. They say he's sold out to the leftist Democrats on some issues and so may stay at home on election day. I love this, of course, but can the Republicans be serious--Bush isn't conservative enough!!! Goes to show you what we'd be in for if he's elected for another four years without the need to stay in the "center" in order to retain electability. If left alone, on reelection, Bush would indeed become der Fuhrer, I kid you not.

Old habits die hard

Amazing how stupid politicians are. Sure, I can understand why Bush (or Nixon or Clinton or all the others) might think that they can wait out various scandals. We Americans do indeed have short memories; and so it might make sense for Bush to bury the report of the "prewar WMD intelligence" committee until after the election. And of course the Valerie Plame thing may go away too, if delayed long enough.

But the prisoner abuse scandal--that's something else. With new photos leaking out slowly and new prisoner deaths being reported, this item isn't going to leave the radar all summer. Certainly not in the minds of Muslims; not even in the minds of Americans. But the Bushies can't break the habit of stonewalling, and so I guess we'll just have to wait for the revelations to dribble out.

Gosh all roonie.

US fire 'kills 40 Iraqi wedding guests'

It seems our forces have blasted the bejesus out of another wedding. I have the same remarks to share as I made when this happened in Afghanistan a couple of years ago:

1. How incredibly, profoundly tragic. May God have mercy on the souls of the dead, grant comfort to those grieving, and forgive the sins of those who caused this. Apropos of which ...
2. How abjectly stupid do people have to be to fire their weapons into the air, to celebrate a wedding, in a war zone?

Guardian Unlimited | US fire 'kills 40 Iraqi wedding guests'

Growing Fears of Failure

I understand the fear of failure. Not everything in my life has gone according to plan. And maybe it's my fault for never dreaming big enough. Perhaps if I'd occupied another country and converted it's assets, my career would be farther along. Anyway, it seems it's beginning to dawn on a few dunderheads that things aren't going so well in Iraq. The whole thing just might be a monumental failure. Hmm. You think?

"We had a plan that anticipated, I think, that we could proceed with an occupation regime for much longer than it turned out the Iraqis would have patience for. We had a plan that assumed we'd have basically more stable security conditions than we've encountered." -- Paul Wolfowitz, testifying before the Senate.

U.S. Faces Growing Fears of Failure (washingtonpost.com).

Who's on second?

Now we have the Secretary of State and the President at odds over the propriety of Israel's massive attacks in the Gaza Strip. This administration is not only evil, it's inept. Is there a word for that?

Look out below

Foreigners' purchases of US stocks is way down, and their purchases of US government securities is headed that way. Since they're the major purchasers of our securities, who'll take up the slack to support the US economy and its currency?

There's bad news and then...

Outsourcing of jobs is increasing dramatically. Interest rates are rising at a time of all-time high borrowing by Americans. The percentage of home ownership, while increasing for the wealthy, is declining for working class families with children.

Had enough?

Do as I say...

The US State Department has released a delayed annual update on human rights violations around the globe. As the CNN reporter points out, many of the abuses we cite, we practice.

"For example, the report summarized Saudi Arabia's 'poor' human rights record with these words: 'Security forces continued to torture and abuse detainees and prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons and detain them incommunicado.'

"Many countries and human rights groups likewise have criticized the United States for holding detainees at the naval station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without access to counsel.

"The report also criticizes many countries for restricting freedom of the press at a time the Coalition Provisional Authority has taken to task such Arabic-language media outlets as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya for what it said were inflammatory, misleading reports against the U.S. military."

So--we have found the enemy and they is us.

Chink in the armor

Aha, the first schizm. Tony Blair's human rights envoy to Iraq tells of the deaf ears that were turned to her by Condi Rice and others when she repeatedly complained to them of defalcations at the Baghdad prison. Condi's delay and indifference (We'll get back to you on that") is consistent with her handling of other acute problems, most significantly, the threat of terrorist attack on the United States during the summer before 9/11.
So--Now she's in the gunsights as well as Rummie. That leaves Bush with only Cheney to take the flak for him. Could it be that Bush, at some point, may be held responsible for at least one of the nightmares that he's caused to America? Maybe soon, but surely on November 2.

Who's on first?

Bremer said a week ago that "If the Iraqis ask us (our military) to leave, we'll leave." Powell said the same thing a few days later. Then Bush said no, that we'll stay after July 1 for sure. And then today Powell split the difference. He says he expects the Iraqis to place our military under a multinational authority, with an American at its head.

Could it be that we don't have clarity even now, even on this critical issue?

Rummie's in deep poopie

A new article by Seymour Hersh spells doom for our Secretary of Defense, who, according to Hersh, informed the president. We'll hear the standard nondenials from DOD, but over time the truth will dribble out. Like maple or chocolate syrup, or honey. Delicious.

A Tangled Web

All this talk about "If the Iraqis ask us to leave, we'll leave": Pure BS. According to this Wall Street Journal article (a newspaper I rarely cite, I trust you've noticed), Tribune Bremer, over the last few months, has entered a series of decrees that completely eliminate the power of the interim governmental body to do anything, to decide anything, to appoint or fire anybody, or to pass any laws. For example, Bremer just entered an edict appointing a set of administrators (controlling the media and commmerce and the military) to five year terms, that may not be altered.
So much for democracy in the Middle East.

Fascinating possibilities

Okay, now that Tribune Bremer and Softie Colin Powell have both said that if Iraq's interim government asks our troops to leave, we'll leave, the following possibility emerges:

Bush, losing in the polls prior to the election, directs his minions manipulate an Iraqi "request" to leave so that the boys can come home in October, thus delivering Bush a "victory" and leaving Kerry with nothing to campaign on. I don't put it past Bush to declare such a victory, thus to gain re-election, only to declare a follow-up emergency and re-insert our troops within weeks after the election.

how many posts will it take 'til we know...

Just a quick note to note that All That Arises consists of 773 posts by Erik and myself. I just noticed that. In about a year, we've published into the void almost 800 times. Wow. Most of that's Erik's work; he's kickin' ass and takin' names. Cool.

Rummie's photo op

Today Rumsfeld flew off to Iraq (more pleasant there for him nowadays than here) to "host a town hall" with the troops. I'm watching it live on CNN right now. My observations:
1. He thanked the troops for their efforts rebuilding schools, playgrounds, roads, bridges. My question: Why are our soldiers doing those tasks? Isn't that what we're paying Halliburton for?
2. Rummie quipped that he's stopped reading the papers back home. I understand why--but it's a dangerous notion.
3. Rummie appeared almost catatonic.
4. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Meyers accompanied him. A complete stooge. Both he and Rummie kept using the phrase "the few" to describe the soldiers who are involved in the prisoner-abuse incidents. He had the gall to state the these soldiers were equal to "the greatest generation" of World War Two. Maybe the troops are. But the leadership? Not hardly.
5. A female soldier, I believe a "regular army" member, asked the first question: It was near-inaudible, but it wasn't a pleasant one for Rummie. Essentially, "when do we go home?" Rummie was obviously displeased and tap-danced around it. She also asked whether, since the prison-abusers were largely reservists, would fewer of them be deployed hereafter? Rummie said no.
6. Questions about equipment and armament arose. Meyers said they had the money, just couldn't produce the equipment fast enough. One soldier asked what the Pentagon policy was about arming US civilians who were placed "in harm's way" (such as that truck-driver who recently "escaped from captivity"). Remarkably, no one--Rummie, Meyers, even Sanchez, the Army commander--knew the answer. How could that be?
All in all, it was a nonevent although I imagine Faux news will make it a lead story.

Conspiracy theory

to the max.
I apologize in advance to my coblogger, Kyle. I'm sure he doesn't subscribe to the following, which I concede is the product of my personal dementia. My only defense is that Rove and his henchmen have shown themselves to be capable of anything and so I wonder...
Consider:
1. Berg was held for thirteen days by Iraqi police, who were under the dominion of US forces, during which time the FBI visited Berg's parents twice, asking about Berg's activities. He was an American citizen, known by us to be so, so that the FBI's claim that the US didn't have custody of him is plainly, and legally, false.
2. He was released the day after the parents sued the Department of Defense, but then he "disappeared." His body was "found," decapitated, a few days later. The video of the beheading was shown on an Arabic-language website a day or two later.
3. He emailed his friends and parents after his release and was seen by friends in Iraq before he disappeared. In these emails he apparently told them he wanted to leave Iraq as soon as possible. The FBI, however, is claiming that they offered Berg "free passage" out of Iraq, but that he refused.
4. The website, in Arabic, stated that al-Zarqawi, an al Qaida leader, executed Berg. But al-Zarqawi is a Jordanian and is missing one of his legs; whereas the speaker on the video and the knife-wielder spoke Arabic with an Iraqi accent and was not apparently handicapped.
5. The Berg family was Jewish, the father was on a conservative watch-list because of his antiwar activities and was listed as an officer of his son's company.
6. Other questionsare raised about the authenticity of the video, not all of which I subscribe to, but I nevertheless ask, who benefits from the display of Berg's "execution" in such a heinous way, just as Bush's poll numbers were declining due to the photos of US prisoner abuse?
I warned you I was becoming demented, but still...

The next shoe to drop?

This lengthy piece by Justin Raimondo penetrates the testimony given by General Taguba, setting out the possibility that immersed in the photographed torture/abuse activities were civilians from an unidentified foreign nation, which Justin takes to be Israel. Recall, stories were circulating some months ago that the CIA had asked Israel's intelligence service to advise them on interrogation of prisoners.
What a bombshell that would be--and on a CNN report this morning, it's being said that the woman Pfc. named London is claiming that she was instructed by outsiders specifically how to gesture and point at the prisoners as shown in the photos.
The Republicans'contention that these abusive practices, occurring at two different prisons in Iraq, at least, are the product of only a few low-ranking "bad apples" isn't going to survive the week.

Pat Buchanan for President?

Okay, I'm kidding. But his ideas for future US actions in Iraq, the Middle East and througout the world are more aligned with mine than Kerry's.

Ugly, ugly

So now what? We torture them, they behead us. This is madness. Worse than anything we've undergone before during wartime because we're witness to its abiding ugliness. One thing: They're more brutal than we are. Another thing: If this becomes a battle of brutality, we lose.