Stunning confirmation of mass murder in the Bush gulag-by Chris Floyd

[kpete]

CRIMINALS ABOVE THE LAW:
Torturegate: Truth, But No Consequences
by Chris Floyd

............... In the course of the past few days, a series of events has laid bare the stinking sepsis at the heart of the Bush Regime for all to see.

It began last Sunday with the launch of a remarkable series by McClatchy Newspapers, detailing the torture, brutality, injustice and murder that has riddled the Bush gulag from top to bottom. Then came fiery Senate hearings, in which long-somnolent legislators finally bestirred themselves to confront and denounce some of the torture system's architects, including Dick Cheney pointman William Haynes III, who was left reeling, shuffling, dissembling – and bracing for perjury charges after his blatantly mendacious testimony.

Companion hearings in the House produced stunning confirmation of mass murder in the Bush gulag – a bare minimum of 27 killings, among the 108 known cases of death among Terror War captives. This evidence came from rock-solid Establishment figure Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell. (Of course, as many captives have been and are being held in "secret prisons," and an untold number of others have been hidden from the Red Cross, there is no way of knowing at this point how many prisoners have actually died or been murdered – or even how many prisoners there are in the gulag.)

.......................

By week's end, the evidence that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and other top government officials had deliberately created a system of torture which they knew was illegal – indeed, a capital crime – under U.S. law was so plain, so overwhelming, and so handily concentrated that it broke through the levees of institutional cover-up and media complicity that had held this clear truth at bay for so long. The grim facts had finally worked their way into "conventional wisdom." It was now permissible for good "centrist" folk to speak of such things, even condemn them, without being automatically relegated to ranks of "the haters," the "unserious," the "shrill partisans," etc.

And yet, even as this new consensus was forming, you could see the sandbags piling up in the background to make sure that the water didn't reach too far. A line of defense was being laid that would allow the purveyors of conventional wisdom to vent a bit of righteous outrage at official wrongdoing without actually having to do anything about it or admitting of any flaws in their fundamentalist doctrine of American exceptionalism. No one need take any risks, make any effort, or discomfort themselves in any way to rectify the injustice; indeed, even the perpetrators should be left undisturbed. Instead, our uniquely good and smooth-running political system will magically make everything all better, and somehow prevent the bad things from happening again.

more at:
http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/062008Floyd.shtml

[libnnc]

1. kick

[seemslikeadream]

2. Baltimore Chronicle?

a step up from the Moscow Times? ;)

[rucky]

62. Sounds pretty cool to me...

http://baltimorechronicle.com/chronsent.shtml

[bananas]

74. A lot of good writers

WRITERS:
Uri Avnery, Ramzy Baroud, Margie Burns, Darrell Carter, Fred Cederholm, Ivan Elan, Chris Floyd, Thom Hartmann, Anwaar Hussain, Lynda Lambert, David Lindorff, Jason Miller, Greg Palast, Robert Parry, Sheldon Richman, Paul Craig Roberts

[Joe Chi Minh]

64. High praise, indeed. But I would say, just doing their job.

[bjobotts]

66. They (including Obama Pelosi and Reid) want us to just forget about it and move on.

[bjobotts]

67. American Justice does not apply to our leaders or their friends

[tularetom]

3. k & r

[leftchick]

4. I find this distressing

to say the least. :(

<snip>

As we noted here a few weeks ago, Barack Obama – who has been busy this week bolstering "Blue Dog" supporters of executive tyranny and appointing a gaggle of dim warhawks, has-beens and imperial factotums as his national security team) – has given every indication he too sees the Administration's high crimes as "dumb policies" that don't require any legal redress:

Obama says that any decision to pursue "investigation" of "possibilities" of "genuine crimes" would be "an area where I would exercise judgment." He stressed the need to draw a distinction between "really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity." He said he would not want "my first term to be consumed by what would be perceived by Republicans as a partisan witch hunt."

He then tied his thinking on torture, illegal wiretapping, aggressive war and all the other depredations of the Bush Regime to his stance on impeachment:

"I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings. And I've often said, I do not think that would be something that would be fruitful to pursue. I think impeachment should be reserved for exceptional circumstances."

In other words, very strong, credible, evidence-based charges of launching a criminal war of aggression based on deception is not an "exceptional circumstance" worthy of the investigative and prosecutorial process of impeachment. It might just be a "very dumb policy." Very strong, credible, evidence-based charges of knowingly, deliberately creating a regimen of systematic torture is not an "exceptional circumstance" worthy of impeachment; it might not even be worth further investigation by the Justice Department. It too could just be a "dumb policy" that we should forget about – especially if Republicans are going to make a fuss about it.

In any case, it is obvious that to Obama, "what we already know" does not constitute "exceptional circumstances" – otherwise he would already be pressing for criminal investigation, via the impeachment process or by calling for a special prosecutor... He pretends that it is still an open question – "an exercise of judgment" – whether these crimes should even be investigated further, much less prosecuted. He pretends – or even worse, actually believes – that we are not in the grip of "exceptional circumstances," but are apparently just rolling along with business as usual, aside from a few "dumb policies" which he will tinker with and set right.

It has indeed been a remarkable week in American politics. But I fear that the most remarkable thing about it will turn out to be that it had no lasting effect at all.

[peacetalksforall]

11. He's copping out. As a lawyer, I guess he wants some perfect

victims, perfect evidence, perfect witnesses - in some court room far, far away from Washington. This is really disappointing. Very wimpy. What is it with our leaders. No one is representing me and I'm feeling totally and nervously heartsick.

Does anyone know who it was that posted on DU that we were not going to like everything Obama said and did. It sounded like an all-out supporter with some inside knowledge? Anyone know?

A very strong feeling of desperation is growing in me.

[Beam Me Up]

28. They will murder anyone who doesn't cooperate. It is truly that simple.

And that ugly. What we're witnessing is a battle between different criminal enterprises covered with the ever thinning veneer of "politics as usual" -- a media driven reality matrix designed to keep us believing that, at least, even if the system isn't working, it can still be made to work. The illusion is part of the social control mechanism and anyone who has the charisma to use it effectively has influence. However, there are ceilings beyond which no one can climb without the backing -- and protection -- of certain criminal interests.

[JohnyCanuck]

34. IMHO, you're right, but most DUers are still in denial. n/t

[meowomon]

33. Does Skull and Bones have an Affirmative Action program we don't know about?

[bagrman]

50. Can you imagine setting up a criminal enterprize,then letting it slip away due to a silly election?

edit grammer

[ooglymoogly]

59. Nail on head argument nt

[ooglymoogly]

58. way over a million at this point nt

[pokercat999]

35. Or he's reserving the "right" of future preznuts (including

himself) to conduct their own unlawful wars of aggression!

At least that will be the consequence, intended or otherwise, of letting this criminal activity by the current administration pass unchallenged.

My hope is the ambiguity of his statements will allow him enough "wiggle-room" to fully pursue these criminals once the election is won. But I'm always reminded of the saying "Hope in one hand and crap in the other and see which one gets full first".

[redqueen]

47. Everyone should have expected a right turn for the GE. (nt)

[frog92969]

19. I keep hoping it's a game he's playing

to be allowed to get to the WH, if it is I can understand.
If it isn't then we might be supporting our next dictator.

[liberalla]

38. That has crossed my mind also. I keep thinking he's really

smart and turning the tables on them. I hope that's it.

[Forrest Greene]

52. Them-them, Or Us-Them? n/t

[liberalla]

73. I'm thinking (hoping) he's carefully and cleverly navigating the system

(beating them at their own games), to get in the WH, to fight for us.

To fight for us, the constitution, the planet, the economic bottom 90%, and all the other much needed, good causes out there!

[redqueen]

48. It's the GE now.

How effectively would a criminal investigation into this criminal administration merge with a campaign of unity and reaching out to those who have been enablers of that criminal administration?

[electropop]

51. Not "failed policies," not "dumb ideas," but successful crimes.

When you understand that the goal of every Bush policy is to accumulate power and wealth, you understand that he has not failed. He has successfully transferred huge amounts of money from the poor and middle class to himself and his uber-wealthy cronies. The destruction and genocide in Iraq have successfully kept at bay one of the biggest competitors to the Bush-Laden Oil Cartel. And the torture and murder in his gulags? Just a fun bonus.

[leftchick]

54. best reply ever!

thank you for saying it so well.

:thumbsup:

[electropop]

55. Now, if "our" leaders and candidates could say it clearly, we'd have hope.

But I don't think they want to, because they're just lesser versions of the same crap.

[Maria Wr]

65. And he has done just that

I will reserve judgement until the end of this week on the FISA issue.
I did sign the petition for filibuster tho.

[Usrename]

72. It's not just a fun bonus, it underpins the whole coverup schema.

The waterboarding is how we ended up with the "official" 9/11 Commission Report.

It's how they gathered all of their fake evidence for their fairytale.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[electropop]

75. Point taken. It's also how they cooked up the invasion of Iraq.

[katandmoon]

56. This is a good summation of why the extreme Obama adulation here is so mystifying to me

The man is more in love with the sound of his own voice than he is in inconveniencing repubs in the slightest.

[DutchLiberal]

70. Millions of Americans who should know better are fooling themselves by believing

that Obama is going to bring 'change'; that, somehow, he's different. Reality-check: he's not. He's just the same as Hillary Clinton and all those other DLC Republican-lights. Only he knows to hide it better, and he runs a good p.r.-campaign based on charisma only. Obama is yet another enabler of the Republicans. Like Bill Clinton before him, he will leave the criminals that were in power before him untouched. No need for a "partisan witch hunt". Those are reserved for Republicans only, preferably over blow jobs...

[Kaleko]

5. Very well written article. A must read. n/t

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

6. K&R. Aggressively pursuing accountability for these crimes...

...is an absolute must if any remaining remnants of our national soul are to be salvaged.

[Echo In Light]

7. A grim K&R

[speedoo]

8. K&R, and bookmarked. nt

[Cleita]

9. Thanks.

I just added the Atlantic Free Press to my news bookmarks.

This needs to be heard in the Hague if our own complicit Congress won't do it.

[PDJane]

10. If the US does not indict these folks for their crimes,

The reputation of the US and her people will be tarnished for a very long time.

[crickets]

12. There is no excuse for not starting impeachment proceedings. NOW.

There is no excuse for not pursuing war crimes trials. NOW. If some Democrats (Nancy, little Jay and friends) are involved, so be it. Party affiliation is not the point. Scrape all of the war criminals out of office, arrest them and put them on trial.

There is no excuse - moral, legal or otherwise - for Congress not addressing this. This has been laid out plain as day last week, and what are we doing over the weekend? Are we talking about the probability of upcoming trials? No. We're left wringing our hands because Congress is halfway through passing a bill that makes a mockery of the Fourth Amendment.

This is insanity.

There is no excuse for Congress ignoring war crimes, no excuse for letting war criminals conduct business as usual, with prison camps still in operation and the majority of Americans going through the wringer economically and emotionally because of the actions of said war criminals.

There is no excuse. NONE.

[Zhade]

20. Can you imagine DUers clamoring for the Nazis not to be held accountable?

Yet cowards here are willing to let these criminals walk.

[Hydra]

60. It would have happened

If we learn nothing else from Bush, it was that the Nazis were no accident, and that the "Good Germans" were not much different from most of America.

:evilgrin:

If there is one thing I take great pleasure in what Bush has done, it is in how his blatant actions no longer allow us a fig leaf of "I didn't know" in regards to how we destroy the lives of people around the globe for profit.

[balantz]

25. There is no excuse.

The scary thing is there seems to be some unknown reason or reasons they are not carrying out the necessary pursuit of the criminals for at least some of their many well known crimes..

We need to uncover the reason so we can know the full nature of the treason against us, and all of the players.

[bleever]

13. Kick.

This is the definition of wrong.

[Disturbed]

14. It sure seems that if Sen Obama becomes Pres. that he will

not pursue anything relating to the Busholini Regime. He will say that the Govt. has
more important things on the agenda than digging up the past. Still, this would be better than a McLame Pres. Disappointing, yeah, but it would not surprise me. Sometimes, there is no Justice.

[Zhade]

21. Would it? I mean, mcLame is evil, but is allowing evil to go unchecked much better?

NT!

[mikehiggins]

31. Yeah, we had that kind of argument all over the place in 2000

How did that work out, I wonder?

There are always ways to get things done, even if you don't lay them out in every particular detail for everyone who asks. What will happen after the General Election?

Its an open question what an Obama administration will be like.

There's no question at all what a McCain administration will be like. We've seen it for eight years.

Do the math.

[skyounkin]

15. How much more evidence

does anyone freaking need? Seriously? pelosi? reid? Anyone?!

This goes beyond appalling......

[djp2]

16. Prison Ships

What happened about the report of prison ships in the UK Guardian?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/usa.humanrights

[peacetalksforall]

40. self delete

[autorank]

17. Any legislator with knowledge of this will oppose investigating it.

They'll say that we need to just get through 2008 or that we need to focus on this or that.

Of course they'll deplore this and find it appaling but they will have excuses that will be
used to avoid discovering the truth.

Why? While they may not have endorse this murder, if they were "informed" in any way and did
nothing, they're guilty of federal conspiracy:

"The Supreme Court has described the gravity of the conspiracy offense:

For two or more to confederate and combine together to commit or cause to be committed a breach of the criminal laws, is an offense of the gravest character, sometimes quite outweighing, in injury to the public, the mere commission of the contemplated crime. It involves deliberate plotting to subvert the laws, educating and preparing the conspirators for further and habitual criminal practices. And it is characterized by secrecy, rendering it difficult of detection, requiring more time for its discovery, and adding to the importance of punishing it when discovered.(4)" http://tinyurl.com/6ygj2x

They're in on it if they knew.

So when you hear an elected official dismissing this, putting it on the back burner, or otherwise
dissembling they are either (a) worried about their guilt or (b) so crude and callous that they
don't think that this is important. I'd assume "(a)".

[crickets]

22. Exactly.

That is exactly what is going on. What's so sad is that there must be enough who weren't officially informed that they could say to the Gang of Eight et al: "Look, enough, we're not going to carry water for you any more." And they're not doing it. It's despicable.

[balantz]

26. We need to find a way to offer enough of the least offenders of conspiracy

some kind of amnesty so that we can get them to come out with it and tip the balance toward pursuit of the real criminals.

We need to find a way to cut some kind of a deal with the majority of congress who are tied up in this to have them help us.

[balantz]

27. Unfortunately I think the ties of congress members to other players in the conspiracy

like corporate players, media players & etc. may make any deal cutting impossible.

It is an octopus of a coup this oligarchy has pulled on our Democracy.

[Hubert Flottz]

29. CLEARLY the terrorists have won round one...

The terrortists have changed America from the "Beacon Of Freedom" into the same type of country that we had despised for 200 years.

Our tax dollars are being used to torture and kill and our congress people are so terrorized that they can no longer tell right from wrong.

I think the stage was set for the "Terrorists" to win on 12/12/2000...the day the "Will Of The People" was thrown in the trash. The day the RULE OF LAW was laid to rest...America CAN NEVER "get over" that.

[autorank]

68. 12/12/2000 perfect - The day the total charade started

Bush v. Gore - the theft of the presidency.

And then 09/11/2001 - the day stolen from the people to serve the elites.

I suspect that there are some Smedley Butlers out there. We're gpoing to need them.

Part 1 of this article was printed in American Almanac, Vol. 8, No. 24, of July 4, 1994; part 2 in Vol. 8, No. 25, of July 11; and part 3 in Vol 8., No. 26, of July 18, 1994.

Part 1 explained why the British, and their Wall Street allies, the Morgans, hated President Franklin D. Roosevelt and how FDR battled to reduce their influence and power. Part 2 continued the story of FDR's fight and laid out Morgan's counterattack, featuring a 1934 plan for a fascist coup against the FDR White House, which the Morgans hoped would be led by the Marine hero, Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler. Part 3 began the story of explosive congressional hearings in which Butler exposed the Morgan plot. http://american_almanac.tripod.com/morgan4.htm

When they run out of tricks or face a candidate who they cannot stop, there's always this old trick.

You're dead on.

[Zhade]

18. And yet this Democratic Congress will let these murderous criminals walk.

Cowardice? Or complicity?

[Lugnut]

23. K&R n/t

[frog92969]

24. Is this enough to get some outside help?

Because I know our congress won't(can't) do anything about it.

[Solly Mack]

30. ...

"And yet, even as this new consensus was forming, you could see the sandbags piling up in the background to make sure that the water didn't reach too far. A line of defense was being laid that would allow the purveyors of conventional wisdom to vent a bit of righteous outrage at official wrongdoing without actually having to do anything about it or admitting of any flaws in their fundamentalist doctrine of American exceptionalism. No one need take any risks, make any effort, or discomfort themselves in any way to rectify the injustice; indeed, even the perpetrators should be left undisturbed. Instead, our uniquely good and smooth-running political system will magically make everything all better, and somehow prevent the bad things from happening again."

Now that's the gospel...

[meowomon]

32. Is this off the table too, Nancy?

What a bunch of wimpy Democrats we have running things. What do we have to do to make them listen. Prosecute the whole bunch of them!

[sui generis]

43. would. not. be.. expedient.

why do I think Nancy has lost her way? When you place senatorial decorum in front of legislative responsibility, you are no longer playing a canny political game. It's the path of least resistance.

Unfortunately, Nancy, the path of least resistance means 4000 of our nations children flown home in bodybags, inside aluminum boxes.

[formercia]

36. This was just practice

Softening up a few little brown people in preparation for using their Gulag on Americans.

[mwb970]

37. Appalling.

In recognition of its incredible hypocrisy, and the yawning chasm between what it says and what it does, America easily takes the gold. "Worst nation....in the world!"

[lebkuchen]

39. this is so sickening...we know it's been going on, which makes it worse

not to talk about it with utter outrage, but that's the situation on US military bases.

[mmonk]

41. Exceptional article.

[pleah]

42. K&R Bookmarked

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." - Denis Diderot

[dccrossman]

44. Should be shouted from the rooftops

While pursuing the crimes of Bush and Cheney might cloud part of Obama's first term and would lead to repubs claiming "witch hunt", it would also show the rest of the world and our nation, that our laws apply to all, even the wealthy and privileged.

Sad part is, that repubs and democs alike, are part of the same club. They'll fight amongst themselves, but fight to preserve the club above all else.

Wish I had enough posts to recommend this.

Kick!

[Hydra]

61. Welcome to DU!

Obama is playing it safe and sticking to the line of the Powers That Be.

From any objective perspective, hanging Bush and Cheney out to dry in the most detailed fashion would benefit our party immensely- and might actually BURY the republican party for all time.

But why should I expect anything different from America? After all, Carlin called it correctly:

"Our nation was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free... So, we kept our black African people, in order to fight and kill the white English people, so we could move west and steal the land from the red Indian people, and then move south and steal the land from the brown Mexican people, which would give us a place to take off and bomb the yellow Japanese people! You know what the motto for this country oughtta be? 'YOU GIVE US A COLOR, AND WE`LL WIPE IT OUT!'"
-- George Carlin

[stubtoe]

45. Impeach, indict, imprison. n/t

[northernlights]

46. priorities people

The fact is we *don't* know what Obama will do once he wins the presidency.

Right now he is a candidate, and as such must be circumspect, prudent, moderate, tactical and strategic.

Once he wins the election, the scales may fall from his eyes and he may see how exceptional and criminal this administration was, and how deserving of indictment for treason.

Or he may not. We don't know. We can only trust and hope and make our voices heard....after the election is secured.

In the meantime, we *do* know that if the rethugs steal yet another election, McSame will give them a pass and possibly do worse. Who knows what drugs they'll have him on while they prop him up in front of the camera.

[redqueen]

49. Very well said.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[wildbilln864]

53. k&r1 nt

[ooglymoogly]

57. Thugs in power....kr nt

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

63. Will President Obama sign the Rome Statute?

PREAMBLE
The States Parties to this Statute,

Conscious that all peoples are united by common bonds, their cultures pieced together in a shared heritage, and concerned that this delicate mosaic may be shattered at any time,

Mindful that during this century millions of children, women and men have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity,

Recognizing that such grave crimes threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world,

Affirming that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level and by enhancing international cooperation,

Determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes,

Recalling that it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes,

Reaffirming the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,

Emphasizing in this connection that nothing in this Statute shall be taken as authorizing any State Party to intervene in an armed conflict or in the internal affairs of any State,

Determined to these ends and for the sake of present and future generations, to establish an independent permanent International Criminal Court in relationship with the United Nations system, with jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole,

Emphasizing that the International Criminal Court established under this Statute shall be complementary to national criminal jurisdictions,

Resolved to guarantee lasting respect for and the enforcement of international justice,

Have agreed as follows:

http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm

I would like Barack Obama's First Official Act to Resign The Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court.
If he really is for change and making America a great Nation again Here is where he needs to start.

[leftchick]

69. No One Cuts Through all of the BS like Chris!

Excellent!

[jazzjunkysue]

71. Too many dems are too complicit to take this up.

"Impeachment is off the table."
"We are in the closet."