FUBAR: Rape & Torture in Abu Ghraib
by Kelly
My head hurts. Let me get this straight again…
1. United States is a democracy
2. Therefore, we have the moral authority over all non-democratic countries
3. Iraq is not a democracy
4. We start war in Iraq to make Iraq a democracy, because democracy = good morals
5. We take Iraqi prisoners and put them in Abu Ghraib
6. United States soldiers torture and rape some of those prisoners
7. Justice served?
Fuck this bullshit. If we are going to be so high and mighty as to spread democracy like it’s our “God-given duty,” why the hell are we not living up to our own goddamn “morals”?? For those who call the U.S. a Christian nation…ever heard of love thy neighbor? Okay, so maybe some of these prisoners are “potential terrorists”. They are in prison. That’s good enough right? Oh no, we need to drill them for information (or misinformation, under the duress of torture) in order to put MORE of them in our prison. What’s the best way to get information? Rape & torture, obviously.
Could you imagine the outrage and public outcries if the situation were reversed?
Ever heard of fucking human rights?
Sorry to rant, but I can’t even begin to explain how upset I am when the American public is lied to, kept in the dark, and basically handled with kid-gloves. Though they did not occur under his term, President Obama has decided to NOT release the photographs of torture and rape in order to protect our troops abroad. Not that I want to see these pictures, honestly, but I think that people should be able to see more hard evidence of our deeds, misdeeds, and so on. I also think there should be a public trial of those implicated in the crimes. How can we be proud of our country if we don’t even know what the fuck we are blindly standing for?
Should Obama release the pictures? Should there be a public trial? What can be done to prevent this hypocrisy in the future? Fuck this bullshit.
– Dollface
I don’t think the pictures should be released, more as protection for the victims than for the persecutors. They’ve been through so much shit already; they don’t need the atrocities done to them published for 300 million people’s eyes.
On the other hand, I’m getting pretty weary of Obama’s wishy-washiness with this whole situation. When he was campaigning last year, he told us that he wanted to make government more transparent and accountable. Lately, I feel like he’s been trying to keep all these torture memos and new findings low-key.
We have a responsibility as a democratic nation to be true to our ideals and to be accountable when we fail to uphold them. In this case, we completely turned our backs on everything we stood for. The least we can do is put the perpetrators on trial. I actually think it’s time we start to rethink our military entirely, given its longheld misogynist, racist foundations. Whatever it is though, *something* needs to be done.
Obama is as big a part in the capitalist machine as any other. This is another symptom of the dehumanizing elements of the capatilist system. Nothing will change or get better while we keep giving a different master the whip instead of taking the reigns ourselves.
Agreed.
I agree completely. It’s ridiculous that this is happening, and yet Obama does not take a strong stance on the situations. I have to agree with Dolly though — I’m not sure I’d want the photos to be released simply because of the victims. They really don’t need to go through that and have the entire world see what has happened to them. They have dignity too and that’s being ignored in this whole process.
However again I have agree with Dolly that Obama really needs to be more firm in terms of encouraging transparency. He has done a lot of great things but he is having so much difficulty confronting human rights and Guantanamo issues. He wants to keep moving forward but there is value in looking back and making sure this doesn’t happen again. And it’s true – he’s caught in the system and he wants to please everyone. But in that process he’s not pleasing anyone.
@ Akhila — You and Dolly are right…privacy & preservation of dignity should be afforded the victims of these crimes. In a way, I’m glad the photos aren’t released, yet I can’t help but feel Obama is choosing to not release them for the wrong reasons (protecting troops abroad rather than respect for the victims).
Obama is in a real tough position right now. Here read this:
Blackmail: GOP Threatens To Filibuster Nominees If Obama Releases Torture Memos
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-05/are-republicans-blackmailing-obama/
If the president releases the Bush torture memos, Republicans are promising to “go nuclear” and filibuster his legal appointments. Scott Horton reports on a serious threat to Obama’s transparency.
Democracy had nothing to do with it. It was just a nice catchphrase to get people behind when they started asking what it was about.
The days of needing to spread democracy and attempt to convince other countries that democracy is “the way to go” are gone with the Cold War.
Oh, and Muslims don’t want democracy. The same way Christian conservatives don’t want the choice to abort fetuses, the Muslim world doesn’t want the choice of it’s leadership. The Sunnis will put up with it but if it spreads to a Shia area there will be unbelievable conflict. For Shia, democratic elections as opposed to monarchy is in direct contrast to their faith and as such an insult to Muhammad.