Obama's Legacy :Blackwater/XE Still Employed; Drone Wars Continue; Refuses To Charge Those Involved With Abuse & Torture of POWs

Just a reminder that America is a nation which makes excuses for the abuse, torture and murder of POWs /detainees.The idea that the US is trying to spread freedom, democracy and human rights for anyone besides Americans or even as Palin & Republicans would say for "Real Americans". As for President Obama he appears to see these abuses and the torture of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans as a trivial matter and is not interested in investigating and then charging those involved from President Bush, VP Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Condoleeza Rice and a number top brass in the military and the those in charge of the CIA at that time. But also those private contractors, mercenaries and thugs at Blackwater et al should also be charged and imprisoned for as long as possible. All of those involved from the interrogators to doctors , psychologists etc. broke International Laws and American domestic laws and further because they acted against the spirit and the letter of the American Constitution and Bill of Rights etc. their actions should also be characterized as acts of Treason. As for Obama one could argue that he and his administration are now since last spring of 2008 taking part in a cover-up and as the Commander in Chief etc. is derelect in his duties as President.

One must recall that the FBI had the guts to stand up to the Bush /Cheney Regime and refused to have anything to do with torture. If the FBI could do this then we can assume that all other personnel in the CIA or Special Forces or private contractors etc. all could have cited the law and refused to take part in illegal and immoral activities. Of course Americans are for the most part morally bankrupt when it comes to such issues. its all fine and dandy to read the Bible and sit in Church listening to a sermon on God's Love and forgiveness and turning the other cheek but as we now know Americans have in fact Americanized Jesus so that He is a gun totting toturer who hates all non-Christians or even all Non-Americans.

Rachel Maddow - questioning during KSM's torture 1/2

Rachel reveals that the questioning of KSM was "focused on trying to establish a link between al Qaeda and Iraq and we were not being successful in establishing a link between al Qaeda and Iraq. The more frustrated people got in not being able to establish this link... there was more and more pressure to resort to measures that might produce more immediate results."

In other words, the Bush administration's torturing of KSM had much more to do with justifying their war with Iraq than stopping a terrorist attack.



Besides the fact that abuse and torture of POWs/detainees is illegal and contravenes International Law and that this form of cruelty is immoral there is also the more pragmatic arguments that it does not produce actionable intel and further incites hatred of those who do the torture.

From Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin remarks at the Foreign Policy Association 2009 Annual Dinner:

"The abuse of detainees in our custody has alienated our allies. It has fueled al Qaedas propaganda. And it has served as a recruitment tool for terrorists. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last year, former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora testified that there are serving U.S. flag-rank officers who maintain that the first and second identifiable causes of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq as judged by their effectiveness in recruiting insurgent fighters into combat are, respectively the symbols of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo."




Mora: Abu Ghraib & Gitmo Get US Troops Killed

Alberto J. Mora: Torture v. American Values

"Our country, our constitution, our set of beliefs is based on the premise of the overwhelming importance of human dignity," says Mora. Dan Rather interviews Alberto J. Mora, Former General Counsel of the U.S. Navy, on how the application of torture has made our nation weaker.

This Carnegie Council interview took place on November 2, 2006

Bill O'Reilly Upset that Bob Barr does not support Dick Cheney and he does not approve of abuse and torture of POWs/Detainees

Do I Think A Ban On Torture Is Bad...? NO! Bob Barr

And Americans still wonder why the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. hate or at least mistrust Americans and their troops.

One can only wonder given Balckwater's dubious reputation why is Obama still employing Blackwater/XE and other questionable private contractors. Is Obama just naive or is not concerned over so called collateral damage that is newspeak for murdered innocents.




The Inescapable Logic of Drone Attacks in Pakistan. When Obama won the election 2008 the people of Pakistan celebrated believing that Obama would not continue the Bush Regime's disastrous foreign policy on the War On Terror. Now Obama is no longer trusted by the people of Pakistan .

As far as the peoples in the tribal areas are concerned the Americans and NATO are an occupying force which treats these peoples as if they were all enemies of America and so show little concern over the deaths of innocent civilians.In fact the Drone attacks are just creating more resistance, more insurgents and more terrorists. We know this is what the War Merchants want because it means selling more weapons, armored vehicles,more fighter planes, more Drones etc. which is good for their profits and this pleases the CEOs and the share holders.

Obama is either more hawkish than we thought or is leaving the decision making to the Hawks and others such as Joe Biden & Hillary Clinton who can not be trusted because of their ideology, their desire for revenge or their greed. The more we look the more it appears that Americans in general want more killing , more air strikes, more abuse and torture of POWs/detainees to prove that America is tough and is no. 1 and has little regard for the lives of the peoples in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq or any other country they may decide to attack .

CIA Director Leon Panetta discusses the recent controversy over the use of military drones in Pakistan. Challenging accusations of a high death toll, Panetta says "The reality is...we have targeted those who are enemies of the United States."

CIA Director Leon E. Panetta talks with the Commonwealth Club about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and other issues threatening America's national security. He describes how the CIA is responding to these threats, and discusses his plans for the Agency's future. - Commonwealth Club of California

and so it goes,
GORD.