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Entry for October 14, 2007 The Tradition of Torture in the United States

Torture is a US tradition.

Nations have a habit of rewriting history in their favour or ignoring their failures and cruelties.

It would appear that Abu Ghraib is unexceptional and the torture at Abu Ghraib is part of a long standing tradition. In Europe after the war in Korea, in Vietnam, I recall reading even cannibalism may have been practiced, now in Iraq. Such issues when they are not dealt with remerge. Redefining torture does not hide the cruel reality, nor does passing immunity legislation. The Jewish Holocaust was also concealed by euphemisms and protective legislation. This made no difference to the actual crimes.

See Cruel Allied Occupiers By Patricia Meehan After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation by Giles MacDonogh

It is also the case that old patterns and mistakes are being repeated.

New York Review of Books Volume 54, Number 16 · October 25, 2007

And in the same edition http://www.nybooks.com review of

Less Safe Less Free and Review Good War Gone Bad By Richard J. Bernstein

The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War

by David Halberstam Hyperion, 719 pp.,

It may also be the case that torture is a defining phase of a declining colonial empire. Here Blood and Soil by Ben Kiernan and Torture and the Twilight of Empire Marnia Lazreg Princeton University Press are relevant. Chalmers Johnson has recently written about the decline of American Imoperialism.

These failings are common in other nations too but if we are to advance and survive

there ashoulod be universal definitions of torture and justice and all nations should be subject to the rulings of the International Criminal Court.

And if we are to survive WMD must be eliminated. The recent US practices show how far the country has departed from its fundamental principles as well as the principles of Christianity.

I am afrais it is not God that is talking to George in the morning but the Devil.

2007-10-15 00:37:56 GMT

Comments (2 total)

Author:Anonymous

We cloak ourselves in cold indifference to the unnecessary suffering of others--even when we cause it: - James Carroll

=
"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason": Thomas Paine - Common Sense -[January 10, 1776]
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11567.htm

=
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.": Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), US civil rights leader

=
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.": Rudyard Kipling - (1865-1936)

===

Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy

===
Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,085,134
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html

===

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,826
http://icasualties.org/oif/

The War in Iraq Costs
$459,920,699,415

See the cost in your community
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

===

The 'Good Germans' Among Us

By FRANK RICH

"BUSH lies" doesn't cut it anymore. It's time to confront the darker reality that we are lying to ourselves.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18554.htm

===

Takeover

The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy

Audio and Transcript

Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage joins us to talk about his new book, "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy." Savage charts the ways the Bush administration has circumvented laws and expanded presidential authority.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18553.htm

--Barrie Machin

2007-10-15 00:39:27 GMT

Author:Anonymous

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1664174,00.html
The US has used torture for decades. All that's new is the openness about it

By ignoring past abuses, opponents of torture are in danger of pushing it back into the shadows instead of abolishing it

Naomi Klein
Saturday December 10, 2005
The Guardian
--Barrie Machin
<http://peacesource.net>

2007-10-15 05:26:56 GMT

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			Entry for October 14, 2007 The Tradition of Torture in the United States Torture is a US tradition. Nations have a habit of rewriting history in their favour or ignoring their failures and cruelties. It would appear that Abu Ghraib is unexceptional and the torture at Abu Ghraib is part of a long standing tradition. In Europe after the war in Korea, in Vietnam, I recall reading even cannibalism may have been practiced, now in Iraq. Such issues when they are not dealt with remerge. Redefining torture does not hide the cruel reality, nor does passing immunity legislation. The Jewish Holocaust was also concealed by euphemisms and protective legislation. This made no difference to the actual crimes. See Cruel Allied Occupiers By Patricia Meehan After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation by Giles MacDonogh It is also the case that old patterns and mistakes are being repeated. New York Review of Books Volume 54, Number 16 · October 25, 2007 And in the same edition http://www.nybooks.com review of Less Safe Less Free and Review Good War Gone Bad By Richard J. Bernstein The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam Hyperion, 719 pp., It may also be the case that torture is a defining phase of a declining colonial empire. Here Blood and Soil by Ben Kiernan and Torture and the Twilight of Empire Marnia Lazreg Princeton University Press are relevant. Chalmers Johnson has recently written about the decline of American Imoperialism. These failings are common in other nations too but if we are to advance and survive there ashoulod be universal definitions of torture and justice and all nations should be subject to the rulings of the International Criminal Court. And if we are to survive WMD must be eliminated. The recent US practices show how far the country has departed from its fundamental principles as well as the principles of Christianity. I am afrais it is not God that is talking to George in the morning but the Devil. 2007-10-15 00:37:56 GMT Comments (2 total) Author:Anonymous We cloak ourselves in cold indifference to the unnecessary suffering of others--even when we cause it: - James Carroll = "A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason": Thomas Paine - Common Sense -[January 10, 1776] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11567.htm = "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.": Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), US civil rights leader = "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.": Rudyard Kipling - (1865-1936) === Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy === Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,085,134 http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html === Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,826 http://icasualties.org/oif/ The War in Iraq Costs $459,920,699,415 See the cost in your community http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182 === The 'Good Germans' Among Us By FRANK RICH "BUSH lies" doesn't cut it anymore. It's time to confront the darker reality that we are lying to ourselves. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18554.htm === Takeover The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy Audio and Transcript Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage joins us to talk about his new book, "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy." Savage charts the ways the Bush administration has circumvented laws and expanded presidential authority. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18553.htm --Barrie Machin 2007-10-15 00:39:27 GMT Author:Anonymous http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1664174,00.html The US has used torture for decades. All that's new is the openness about it By ignoring past abuses, opponents of torture are in danger of pushing it back into the shadows instead of abolishing it Naomi Klein Saturday December 10, 2005 The Guardian --Barrie Machin <http://peacesource.net> 2007-10-15 05:26:56 GMT Site Home