Month: May 2004

The Bush administration’s contention that the sexual humiliation and physical abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison as depicted in photographs first disclosed two weeks ago were the work of just a “few bad apples” from a poorly trained military police unit is fast becoming untenable. Human rights groups and U.S. lawmakers have made … Continue reading “Evidence Grows of More Widespread Abuse”

I asked retired Gen. William E. Odom if he agreed with me that the Bush administration would be well-advised to release all the Abu Ghraib photos immediately, even the most disgusting ones. PR gurus routinely advise corporation and other organizations facing a brewing scandal to make a fetish of openness and make everything public preemptively. … Continue reading “Former NSA Director: War Weariness Growing”

The mistreatment and abuse by U.S. military and intelligence personnel of detainees in Afghanistan are systemic and routine, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) which demanded Thursday that Washington immediately open its prisons to independent monitors and release the results of any investigations into misconduct that it may have completed. “Afghans have been telling us … Continue reading “Rights Groups Demand Investigation of Prisoner Abuse in Afghanistan”

What struck me most about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s testimony last week was how he reserved his greatest indignation for those who leaked classified information exposing rampant military abuse of Iraqi prisoners. They did so “against the law,” he twice noted in a testy exchange with a senator. Rumsfeld seemed more upset with conscientious whistleblowers … Continue reading “Prisongate: The Down and Dirty”

The photographs of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers have had a major impact on public opinion in the United States, according to back-to-back national polls that also show continued erosion in support for President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. A major poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center … Continue reading “Polls: Abuse Photos Spell Trouble for War Party”

Last month the Bush administration announced plans to deepen U.S. involvement in Colombia by doubling the number of U.S. troops and private military contractors stationed there. The move came in the midst of an energetic public-relations campaign by the U.S. State Department and the Colombian government. Both administrations attempted to paint U.S. policy in Colombia … Continue reading “Bush Administration Seeks to Expand US Military Personnel in Colombia”

In 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II, whom history has underrated, told his Chief of the General Staff, von Moltke the Less, that he wanted to remain on the defensive in the West and take the offensive in the East, against Russia. Such a reversal of the Schlieffen Plan would probably have won the war for Germany. … Continue reading “Work For the Grossgeneralstab“

Yesterday at the General Hospital of Fallujah, doctors spoke of atrocities that occurred during the month-long siege of the city in April. Dr. Abdul Jabbar, an Orthopedic Surgeon, said that it was difficult to keep track of the number of people they treated, as well as the number of dead, due to the lack of … Continue reading “Accounts of Atrocities Emerge from the Rubble of Fallujah”

As revolting images of torture and degradation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib flooded the media, it was only a matter of time before someone would invoke the comparison with atrocities (allegedly) committed in the Balkans. But unlike the lurid Balkans stories peddled by activist journalists all too eager to embrace local propaganda, the Abu … Continue reading “Parallels, Contrasts and Questions”

Looking at visual images from U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, news watchers now find themselves in the midst of a jolting experience that roughly resembles a process described by Donald Rumsfeld: “It is the photographs that gives one the vivid realization of what actually took place. Words don’t do it. … You see the photographs, and … Continue reading “The Coming Backlash Against Outrage”