Lost in the news from Boston and West was the release of a 577 page document produced by a nonpartisan task force, addressing the matter of torture used by our government in the aftermath of 9/11. Its conclusions are clear: despite the bald-faced lying of such luminaries as de-facto president Dick Cheney, and his tools Bush and Rice, the US engaged in widespread and pervasive... TORTURE. And it did us only harm.
...“As long as the debate continues, so too does the possibility that the United States could again engage in torture,” the report says. The use of torture, the report concludes, has “no justification” and “damaged the standing of our nation, reduced our capacity to convey moral censure when necessary and potentially increased the danger to U.S. military personnel taken captive.”
The task force found “no firm or persuasive evidence” that these interrogation methods produced valuable information that could not have been obtained by other means. While “a person subjected to torture might well divulge useful information,” much of the information obtained by force was not reliable, the report says.Lest you think this is some lefty project, one of the two leaders of the investigation was Asa Hutchinson, whom I remember as one of the House prosecutors of the Clinton impeachment.
Once again, Cheney et al., skate free, as the country barely takes notice. Kinda makes you wonder, right? ...
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And what is there to wonder about? Except perhaps to ponder why some cling to the childish notion that this country bears any resemblance to the childish notions with which we were bombarded as a part of our political socialization.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what seems to perplex us as to what has happened to what we THOUGHT was a benevolent system of governance is so simply explained when you step back from the bark to take a more distant and self-invested look at the greater forest to appreciate the degree of fascist propaganda that maintains the sophistry of what is taken to be "the American Way" and finds most of us happily drinking the kool-aid and basking in the glow of suburban Stepford.
It's pretty easy to throw out the epithet of "conspiracy theorist" and if you are willing to consider the depth to which the plutocracy is willing to go to avoid relinquishing any of the resources it controls and the underlying direction of most corporate boards and right wing think tanks, then the label is apt. There IS a widely operant and actually celebrated conspiracy that goes by the name of corporate capitalism and so many are made to believe that it happens elsewhere and not right here. If you still disagree, look at your own portfolio to see who you, personally are supporting and who is paying you to maintain that mindset.
And don't fool yourself; It's tempting, but all these seemingly disparate pieces nicely fit together as a part of the greater whole.
Say it ain't so, Joe!
Rick