I got up and put on the Senate hearings and heard
your Senator Inhofe say he's "most outraged by the outrage," that Saddam
treated Iraqis much worse than anything we're
doing to them - in other words, as others have put it, "USA! Not as bad
as the
worst people in the world!" Kudos to Senator
John McCain, who walked out on Inhofe's moronic rant.
Can't let this go without mentioning Lieberman's
ridiculous comments on Friday - that "no one has apologized for September
11," etc.
- as if our soldiers, and the SOBs who hijacked
planes on that day, are somehow comparable. As if Americans should not
be held to
a higher standard; as if somehow what happened
in Abu Ghraib wasn't so bad because, after all, our people didn't dip the
prisoners
in acid or drill through their hands or ram an
aircraft filled with innocent people into the Twin Towers. Geez, thanks
for pointing out
that rape and humiliation and dog attacks are
not as bad as murder (this of course overlooks the fact that apparently
several prisoners
at Abu Ghraib were, in fact, murdered). How low
do you want to place that bar?
Tonight when I got home I found and downloaded
and watched the video of the murder of Nick Berg. Have you seen this?
(It's on the web,
but you won't get the link from bartcop.com ))
It's incredibly upsetting, to say the least - vicious, cruel, inhuman.
Here's my point: you and I both know that, starting
tomorrow, FAUX NEWS and Rush and the rest of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" will
begin to spin the current situation precisely
this way (trust me, the RNC BlastFax message has already been sent): "You
think what
Americans did to Iraqi (read: terrorist) prisoners
in Abu Ghraib was bad? Look at this video - THAT'S evil. This is who we
are
fighting, this is why prisoners were 'softened
up' in Abu Ghraib - to stop just this sort of thing. Sure, it's ugly -
but there's a reason
for it. Keeping America free and safe isn't always
pretty."
This argument, of course, fall short in terms
of logic (and sense) - there's no connection between the thousands of Iraqi
prisoners
(most of whom, according to the Red Cross, are
innocent of any crimes) and the terrorist SOBs who slaughtered Nick Berg.
But, since most Americans believe Iraq was in
some way responsible for September 11, 2001, this (latest) right wing lie
will likely be effective.
I don't buy the idea that Berg's murder was perpetrated
in response to the torture of prisoners in Iraq - thugs like these don't
need
an excuse for murder (see: IRA, PLF, IDF, etal).
But the torture images provided these Islamic fundamentalist fanatic m.f.'s
a perfect
PR opportunity, and they've taken full advantage.
You and I know that what should have happened
in response to September 11, 2001: a world-wide prosecution of terrorist
groups
and individuals, in cooperation with our allies
and in conjunction with international police. Terrorists and their supporters
should have
been dug up whereever they were - Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, etc. - and brought to justice. The invasion of Afghanistan was
correct,
but it would have been much, much better had
we caught bin Laden there and then, instead of relying upon local militia
to find and
capture him (also, if we'd left sufficient troops
to keep the peace there - by all accounts, the Taliban has made a comeback,
and
warlords run the country).
The invasion of Iraq had absolutely nothing to
do with the "war on terror;" I believe Smirk determined, the day he decided
to run for
President, that no matter what he'd find an excuse
to invade Iraq. Polish Poppy's image, lots of money to be made, etc.
As a result, terrorists around the world have found a new rallying point - if people in the Arab world didn't hate us before, they certainly do now.
According to MSNBC and other sources, Smirk had
three chances to capture Abu Musab Zarqawi, the asshole who apparently
was
responsible for Berg's murder. But he let these
opportunities pass, because they would have jeopardized the Iraq invasion.
OK, right-wing loonies: tell me how CBS and Hitlery
Clinton and Ted Kennedy were responsible for what happened to Nick Berg.
Tell me how Bill Clinton's "crimes" were worse
than what your "steely-eyed, determined, courageous wartime President"
has done.
I point my finger directly at YOU, as you and
your support for the out-of-control megalomaniac who lives in the Peoples'
House are
solely responsible to this man and his family,
as well as all the families of those killed as a result of this elective,
unnecessary, foolish war.
I call each and every one of you: traitor.
Sean O