The administration has engaged in violations of the Anti-Torture Statute and the War Crimes Act; classified the evidence of these violations; invoked the state secrets privilege to prevent victims from suing for civil damages for their treatment; suspended the writ of habeas corpus; and used their control of the Department of Justice to ensure that these violations are not prosecuted in civilian courts. The military has prosecuted more people, but their track record isn't exactly impressive either. The higher level officials who are ultimately responsible are still in power, or they have retired with medals and generous book deals.
And now it seems that a soldier who turned over a list of prisoner's names to some civil rights lawyers, so that they couldn't be held indefinitely without trial, may go to jail for longer than a number of soldiers and CIA agents who beat prisoners to death. And it's barely even news.
I don't want to live in this kind of country. I don't.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I don't either
Read this. This is a sad world.
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2 comments:
I haven't felt comfortable living in my country since 2002. When we invaded Iraq we seriously looked into moving to Canada. I think the fog is starting to clear though...
I'm not sure I share your cautious optimism. I don't see any indication that the Democrats (or any other political faction capable of achieving any power) fundamentally oppose many of the ideas that led to the debacle that is the War on Terror. I see that they're opposed to incompetent management of those efforts, but I don't see them being opposed to the idea of the entire thing. I see no indication that they understand that our imperial agenda, our hundreds of military bases around the world, our constant meddling in the internal affairs of other nations, our cultural superiority complex and blatant racism, are all root causes of the problems we're faced with. Until we accept all those things, I see little reason to think much is likely to improve.
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