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Wednesday, May. 26, 2004Abu Ghraib & the Rockies
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
In his speech before the U.S. Army War College this week, President Bush again tried to absolve himself and his Administration from any responsibility for the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison. He said the abuse was "disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values" [1]. But new reports show that the Administration - and President Bush himself - approved key documents that originally opened the door to the abuse.
Since the scandal broke, the Administration has said that, in Iraq, it always insisted on following the Geneva Conventions on humane treatment for prisoners. However, in a letter to the Red Cross dated December 24, 2003, the Bush Administration asserted that detainees in Iraq "were not entitled to the full protections of the Geneva Convention" [2] This disregard for internationally-recognized human rights regulations was consistent with a January 2002 directive by the White House labeling the Geneva Conventions "quaint" and "obsolete" [3]. It is also consistent with a Newsweek report showing that "President Bush, along with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door to such methods" of abuse and torture as documented at Abu Ghraib [4]. Those secret orders were designed "to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions."
Instead of acknowledging these documents and upholding his pledge to "usher in an era of personal responsibility," [5] the Bush Administration is now assaulting those who brought the story to light. Sgt. Samuel Provance told the Associated Press he has "been disciplined by the military and stripped of his security clearance" after he publicly refuted the President's claims that the abuse was only the work of a few soldiers [6]. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld banned "digital cameras, camcorders and cellphones with cameras" from all military installations in Iraq [7]. And, as MSNBC reports, the whole Administration is "lashing out at American journalists, adding their official voices to the chorus of talk radio, conservative Web site and newspaper columnists" who claim the media's coverage of the scandal and Iraq in general "is undermining support for the war" [8].
Sources:
1. President Outlines Steps to Help Iraq Achieve Democracy and Freedom, 05/24/2004
2. "Commander in Iraq to Be Replaced", Los Angeles Times, 05/25/2004
3. "White House memo criticized", USA Today, 05/26/2004
4. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, May 24, 2004
5. President Bush Discusses Progress in Education in St. Louis, 01/05/2004
6. "Soldier Who Spoke Out About Prisoner Abuse Disciplined", WXII12.com, 05/26/2004
7. "Rumsfeld Bans Camera Phones in Iraq: Report", Agence France Passe, 05/23/2004
8. "Media takes heat from administration over Iraq", MSNBC, 05/25/2004
Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion
~~~
Do You Want the Lawyer Who Signed Off on Bush Detention and Combatant Policies to be a Sitting Judge?
Unbelievable but true: President Bush is pushing a lifetime judgeship for Defense Department lawyer William Haynes, who helped create radical detention policies and standards for treatment of prisoners at the Iraqi prison. Bush says he'll raze Abu Ghraib as a symbolic gesture, but he wants to saddle us with Haynes for life.
Click here to demand that President Bush withdraw Haynes' nomination.
As General Counsel to the Department of Defense, Haynes:
� Was responsible for ensuring U.S. military compliance with the laws of war, the Geneva Convention, and federal law.
� Dismissed and scolded human rights groups raising allegations of prisoner abuse in February 2003.
� Helped make it harder for the officers with the military's own Judge Advocate General Corps to observe interrogations. Haynes' actions were so alarming that some JAG officers warned of "a disaster waiting to happen" and sought outside intervention.
� Haynes misled a U.S. Senator who had specifically asked about policies for detention and treatment of prisoners. (William J. Haynes, General Counsel, Department of Defense, Letter to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, June 25, 2003.)
� He has signed off on the legality of withholding Geneva Conventions protections from hundreds of persons detained at Guantanamo, defined as prisoners of war.
� He helped develop the Defense Department's military tribunal plan, which has been condemned by human rights organizations and our nation's closest allies.
� He supports the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens by the Executive Branch without legal counsel or meaningful judicial review.
� Mr. Haynes has been nominated to one of the most influential appellate courts in the country, but he has almost no in-court trial experience, and no direct appellate experience at all.
Sign the statement against the nomination now.
Then, forward this link to friends:
http://www.pfaw.org/go/haynes/
Haynes' legacy at the Department of Defense is one of derelict oversight and unjust, inhumane detention policies that not only undermine our country's commitment to human rights but also endanger the lives of Americans who might be captured by enemy forces. It is impossible to reconcile his record with the standards that should be met by someone appointed to a powerful lifetime seat on the federal appeals courts. The nomination of William Haynes must be withdrawn - DEMAND IT.
PFAW � 2004
~~~
Bush Plan to Drill Rocky Mountain Front Would Yield Less Than One Week's Gas Supply
An area in the Rocky Mountains identified by the Bush Administration as an important source of natural gas would actually supply the nation with less than one week's worth of this fuel and only 20 minutes of oil, according to a study released this month using federal government data. [1]
Now under study by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for possible new drilling, the Rocky Mountain Front could nonetheless prove profitable for those who hold the leases to extract oil and gas from these federally owned lands, Peter Aengst, a regional associate for The Wilderness Society, told BushGreenwatch. But the destruction it would cause to the area would be devastating.
The Wilderness Society used data from the U.S. Geological Survey to analyze the amount of economically recoverable natural gas and oil in this pristine area of Montana -- a more-than-100-mile stretch from Glacier National Park to the area near Helena. The Front is home to one of the largest populations of grizzly bears south of Canada, as well as bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer and trout.
A small portion of this region, known as the Blackleaf area, lies at the center of the dispute because it is the subject of a new round of natural gas drilling proposals. The Wilderness Society study found drilling in this area would provide the nation with less than one day�s worth of natural gas and 14 minutes' worth of oil. [2]
"Many Montanans, particularly those who live near the proposed drill sites, do not want any drilling or other development in the Front," wrote Montana Sen. Max Baucus, in a May 17 letter to BLM State Director Martin Ott. "In their opinion, and in mine, the amount of recoverable gas and oil in the Front is not nearly enough to justify damaging the higher recreational, wildlife and scenic values" associated with this area. [3]
Sen. Baucus proposed instead that the BLM consider "analyzing the possibility of offering current leaseholders in the Blackleaf the option of trading out or selling their leases, for fair compensation."
Ott told the Associated Press in Montana that the senator�s request was "probably an idea we would want to explore" but that it would ultimately be up to the leaseholder, Star Tech Energy Corp. of Calgary, Alberta. Although a moratorium on federal oil and gas leases was issued for the Front in 1997, StarTech has proposed drilling under leases it holds that predate the moratorium. [4]
TAKE ACTION
Public comment on the Environmental Impact Statement for drilling in the Blackleaf area remains open until June 1. To comment: [email protected].
SOURCES:
[1] "A GIS Analysis of Economically Recoverable Gas and Oil in the Rocky Mountain Front of Montana," The Wilderness Society.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Letter from Sen. Max Baucus to Martin Ott, May 17, 2004.
[4] "Baucus proposes lease swap as alternative to Front drilling," Associated Press, May 17, 2004.
~~~
Word of the Day for Wednesday May 26, 2004
cap-a-pie cap-uh-PEE, adverb: From head to foot; at all points.
last / next
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