A Weak Defense

December 6th, 2005 at 18:20 Björn Hallberg

Or as Sploid so articulately put it, “Rice confesses CIA did nothing wrong.” The basic argument sounded a lot like every oppressor and dictator in history, making up a flimsy justification, be it for annexing neighbouring lands, rounding up seditious elements or acting preventively (when preemptiveness gets old). “I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured” as a famous historical figure once put it. The obsession with security is sure sign of a militaristic, even fascist regime.
Rice made a point of not refuting any claims directly or going into detail, because obviously you cannot refute the truth. The fairytale she told may have convinced Straw, the jingoists at home and the crowds of apologists abroad, but the rest of us are not amused and frankly weary of the lies.

WAPO - IN AN ATTEMPT to quell a growing storm in Europe over the CIA’s secret prisons, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday issued a defense based on the same legalistic jujitsu and morally obtuse double talk that led the Bush administration into a swamp of human rights abuses in the first place. Ms. Rice insisted that the U.S. government “does not authorize or condone torture” of detainees. What she didn’t say is that President Bush’s political appointees have redefined the term “torture” so that it does not cover practices, such as simulated drowning, mock execution and “cold cells,” that have long been considered abusive by authorities such as her State Department.

Meanwhile, Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen, files a law suit against the US government, saying “his due process rights were violated and that he was subjected to ‘prolonged, arbitrary detention’” and “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” Like in so many other cases, his fate was sealed by foul play of a 3rd party, in his case namely the Macedonian authorities. Compliance with empire remains the main source of US power. And that is where we must cut them off.

See also:
- Two secret CIA prisons ‘closed ahead of Rice visit’
- Sources Tell ABC News Top Al Qaeda Figures Held in Secret CIA Prisons
- U.S. to take over bases in Romania

Entry 358 filed under: North America. This entry was posted 3 years, 1 month ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.