Quote:
Originally posted by godwulf
Far from being over, as you suggest, I think this story - the prisoner abuse scandal - has barely begun to be told. This is not a case of the media simply flogging a dead horse for the sake of sensationalism (not to suggest that they wouldn't, if necessary), but rather a situation where the full extent of the blame, not to mention the vast majority of the evidence, has yet to be scrutinized and evaluated.
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I never said it was over. Its over as far as the 'powers that be' are concerned. They may just be right. Major difference between what I posted and what a few here instead read.
Far more serious pictures are pending. Many other reports involving other aspects have yet to be provided. Taguba's report was only limited to the MP brigade - which the 'powers that be' already have spun to say blame is limited only to some in the brigade. They have effectively deflected blame and, more important, avoided any investigation of Guantanamo Bay. It is critical that we not have a clue that Guantanamo is equally as bad if not worse. Without 'pictures of hype', then we just will not understand.
Notice that anyone who might even mention how bad Guantanamo Bay is (ie Chaplain Yee) was instead all but court-martialed on invented charges.
What I am saying is the 'we' are already trivializing it. Remember the example provided. If you were not 16 or older in 1972, then you probably have little idea of what I had posted about a Watergate parallel. The youngsters among us think (due to their 'history as told by Hollywood' perspective), that Watergate was a big story every day. In fact maybe half the nation's newspapers rarely reported Watergate. The 'loyal patriots' would even verbally attack those that kept questioning Watergate. Remember that anyone shot at Kent State was openly declared an enemy of America who deserved what they got. Believe me, the 'patriots' in America where that agressive and forward. How dare we say anything bad about the president! It was that way in 1972 America. Watergate went on month after month with most people not even knowing what Watergate was. Many who did simply kept blaming the communist newspaper called Washington Post.
I used to be amazed at stories in the Post and most said it was wrong - because other papers were not reporting it and because the President would never be involve in such things.
Welcome to the Iraqi prisoner scandel. This is a major disaster. Seymor Hersh noted how serious this scandel will have for citizen safety, new business, international relations, domestic science, etc for Americans and America virtually everywhere in the world. Most Americans have such myopic news sources (ie Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the local gossip) as to not even understand what Hersh says.
What makes it even worse are the Americans who note that Iraqi terrorists do same - therefore justify the abuse. Their 'I never got educated' opinions get carries throughout the world because such opinions are so pathetic as to become news. These extremists don't understand how much they undermine, damage, and pervert America in they eyes even among our friends. They play right into the propaganda of anti-humanity extremists such as bin Laden. They act as classic enemies of America by doing anything but be outraged by this event. They equate American patriotism with an idea that Americans 'hate' all foreigners. And they have only assisted in trivializing this event. Yes, the torture and sexual abuse is being trivialized to the point that the scandel is already over from the perspective of those 'powers that be'. Even the above post from lookout123 demonstrates the real problem. He helps to tivialize the entire problem.
The scandel is already dissipating. You saw it when Taguba did not testify alone. Suddenly the UnderSecretary for Intelligence and others were seated with him to put a correct spin on his report. They did so as necessary to limit blame only to enlisted men and a female general. Already blame has been cast that will protect the real source of this scandel.
Again, I cited Watergate as a classic example of same. An event that completely disappeared within a week. It also was spun as work of a misguided seven. An event that almost never even made history - due to what was being reported month after month ... nothing.
Watergate for months - even through the election - had nothing to do with anyone in government. That's right. Months after Watergate was exposed, 49 out of 50 states voted to reelect Nixon. Why? Watergate was trivialized just like this Iraqi prison scandel is being trivialized.
I was careful to note the similarity to Watergate - expecting that many here would fail to understand what I said because many never really learn history of 30 years ago. IOW we are dooomed to repeat history just as Iraq is so similar to VietNam. And so the only question is when will a John Dean, McChord, or Judge Sirrica step forward to expose this scandel. It does not look good. The spin is being cast that well and that wide. I suspect only when we start seeing same pictures from Guantanamo will this scandel get any serious attention. IOW already it is being trivialized.
Look at what I cited. Notice what the 'powers that be' fear you might understand. Major Gen Miller arrived in August from Guantanamo to do in Iraq what is done in Cuba. By October, the sexual abuse and torture - including death of prisoners - was ongoing. Notice that this was that obvious with my first posts on this topic. Now the 'powers that be' even deny that Military Intelligence (MI) ran Abu Ghraid - causing friction between an MI Colonel and the MP General. 'Powers that be' must have you not see the relationship between Iraq and Guantanamo. Prisoner deaths were not even mentioned during Senate questioning of Taguba.
My god. It takes leaking of an ICRC report to expose something we really have suspected - that 90% of those in Iraqi prisons are not even guilty. How do we know? Just by the numbers of people given the $10 and released after 3 months.
'Powers that be' have done their job well. Until you understand that part of this story, then you really have no idea of the real story. Those pictures get attention of the emotional. Those who are more logical - seek the irrefutible fact - see those pictures as only minor corroborating details of something far more serious and maybe sinister.
Since most of us don't think so factually; since so many of us only see the problem in terms of the emotion of those pictures, then this Iraqi Prison abuse scandel will be made trivial with time. Only the little people will be prosecuted just as Watergate was only McChord, Liddy, Magruder, etc. And that will only be reported on inside pages of the newspapers.
Apparently I made a mistake. I posted only a summary. Therefore too many assumed something I was not saying. Got to remember to make my posts longer.