Rummy: Time to Go

In testimony on Tuesday, Donald Rumsfeld said some pretty odd things. I can't find a transcript of what I found to be an egregious statement..pretty much classic Rumsfeld. I have an audio clip of an exchange that took place between an obviously upset Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rummy(it's only 53 secs. worth of audio. Only 424KB).

Download and listen. Rumsfeld always seems delusional, but Leahy really zings him. Good show from the Senator from Vermont.

By the way, did you know that Leahy is a longtime champion of human rights and speaks eloquently on the topic? I only did because he's almost a neighbor.

The entire segment of a news report by FSRN's Mitch Jeserich adds far more color(2MB..just D/L it!). Included are a short statement by Bill "Serial Feline Killer" Frist(R-Self-Aggrandizer), as well as some wise words from attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, who filed for release of the latest round of photos under the Freedom of Information Act with the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. Rummy, that cold war relic's statement referenced above is also included.

One more article. Maybe two. This is a segment of an article by Sumana Chatterjee writing for Knight-Ridder:

The pointed, skeptical and sometimes hostile questions [about U.S foreign policies] signaled a new determination by lawmakers of both parties to assert stricter oversight of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq. Republicans have been reluctant to question President Bush, but now lawmakers wonder if they've been quiet for too long.

One of the most heated exchanges came as Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., questioned the hand-over of sovereignty to Iraqis, scheduled for June 30. Domenici said he was worried that neither the Iraqis nor the U.S.-led coalition is prepared for the difficult task.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS?

"I can envision that this situation will not work and that we won't have an organizational structure that will do anything other than have Americans fighting and us supplying those fighters with more and more money," Domenici said. What, he asked, are the U.S. plans? Is the American taxpayer going to pay for Iraq's new infrastructure?

Rumsfeld offered few new details, outlining instead the plan for United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to work with Iraqis to appoint a president, several vice presidents and a Cabinet of ministers. He said he hopes the Iraqis will finance their own reconstruction. While his answers were sketchy, Domenici said after the hearing: "It's the best we've ever gotten."

That comment reflects widely held resentment on Capitol Hill of Rumsfeld's habit of treating Congress as an afterthought undeserving of much information. That's no longer acceptable to lawmakers in light of the growing U.S. death toll, the scandal over U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners, revelations that the administration used information from dubious sources to persuade Congress to support the war and doubts about how to return Iraq to Iraqis.

The bad news is moving lawmakers to exert stronger oversight over every dimension of U.S. policy on Iraq, said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Wednesday's session came before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which oversees the Pentagon's budget.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., challenged Rumsfeld for permitting abusive interrogation techniques of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and said the practices violated international rules set by the Geneva Conventions.

While decrying the abuses, Rumsfeld said Pentagon lawyers had approved harsh interrogation techniques such as sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation and forcing prisoners to assume stressful positions.

Much more at link above.

Rummy's always been a huge liability. In a fully functioning democracy, he'd be toast. He's still insisting that the Geneva Conventions were abided by in the growing Iraqi/Afghanistan/Guantanamo Bay prisoner/detainee torture scandal...Gimme a freakin' break.

Now there are allegedly photos of detainees being forced to have homosexual sex and a host of other depraved acts. The linked article is quite good. It provides quotes from across the political spectrum concerning the nature of the photos as yet unseen by the public.

This is a shameful episode in a long series of shameful episodes by the American Imperialism Machine.

I wonder, as many others have, just where does the buck stop?

Bush publicly supports Rumsfeld? This man needs a cerebral transplant.

Sorry. This is turning into more of a rant than I imagined. I meant to just provide you with some audio and links to articles.

I am also equally appalled by the execution of Nicholas Berg.

Our dear leader reportedly said this yesterday about Berg's execution:

"Their intention is to shake our will. Their intention is to shake our confidence. Yet by their actions they remind us of how desperately parts of the world need free societies. ... We will complete our mission, we will complete our mission."

We've been hearing this tired line for a year now, and things in occupied Iraq have grown dramatically worse. Where's our Commander-in-Chief? Absent without leave. Again.

Bush's ad: "Steady Leadership in Times of Change" WTH? This guy puts his 'stay the course' monolithic bs above the safety of our troops, the Afghanis, and the Iraqis..which by the way, the International Committee of the Red Cross has repeatedly stated that 70% - 90% of all Iraqi prisoners were/are being "held in error." They were arrested "by mistake" in military sweep operations aimed at getting bad guys.

The excellent CS Monitor has all the links you need. A Clear...System Failure.

I just found a transcript of an interview that Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman had with Cliff Kindy, a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team who spent much time in Iraq. There is new stuff here that hasn't been reported elsewhere. Without further ado:

AMY GOODMAN: We're joined on the phone by Cliff Kindy, a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team who has spent extensive time in Iraq over the past two years, before the current prisoner abuse scandal became a major story. The Christian Peacemaker Team documented these types of human rights violations by US Forces. In January, the group released a report called, "Report and Recommendations on Iraqi Detainees". Kindy has had substantial contact with Iraqi detainees and their families and US Soldiers and higher-ups. We welcome you to Democracy Now!

CLIFF KINDY: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: What did you know and when did you know it?

(this is the way underreported stuff..Democracy Now!, and now pure bs, are the only two sources I know of for this info.)

CLIFF KINDY: I'm going to say a few things that might be helpful. We met with Ambassador Richard Jones, who was brought in to solve the detainee problem. He said - we met with him the 23rd of January - I think it was, he said at that point, "We were overwhelmed by the detainee problem." We met with Colonel Fishburn, Major Chrinsy, some of the officers in the field. We met with them at the Iraq Assistance Center on the 22nd of December. They said, "The problems we are facing now" and they affirmed the study in our report. They had seen our report. They said, "This goes beyond the Iraq Theater." They said, "Things need to change. People need to develop policies that take into account long-term security interests as well as short-term security interests." We were involved in the incidents in Al-Jazeera village where four US Soldiers were killed by friendly fire. In their frustration, they executed three of their prisoners and then opened fire on people leaving a mosque after prayer and five neighbors were killed by tank fire. That report didn't hit the press. We visited a village, a razor wire community about 50 kilometers north of Baghdad. A commander from a nearby base said they had instituted collective punishment. They razor wired the city and instituted a curfew from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 in the morning. That was in place five months ago and may still be. Now, those are detainees in one sense. We were in another village, a village along the Tigris River. One person was wanted. He was on officer in the BaÂ?ath party. 83 men and boys were swept up in that village. There were two males left in that village after the sweep. It seems practices are much broader than just inside Abu Ghraib prison. It seems that there are, well, as Fishers and Clinesy said there are no policies in place. Policies need to be developed that are accountable. Those things haven't been happening.

AMY GOODMAN: What What did US Military and those in the US Occupying Forces say to you as you were raising these issues?

CLIFF KINDY: They affirmed our findings. They said, "Yes, we have found these kinds of stories and worse." That was with Ambassador Richard Jones in the January meeting. They said, "Yes, we have a bureaucracy, and a bureaucracy moves slowly. We have suggestions on things that will help to improve this." They tried to institute those, but I think it is true, bureaucracy moves slowly. We're seeing the results of that.

Our government, and your tax dollars at work.

This entry was more than a bit over the top. Sorry. I'm angry. Now you know.