"BIRD - DOGGING TORTURERS in NYC" observations by Ray McGovern

[Mira]

Bird-Dogging Torturers in NYC by Ray McGovern

September 10, 2011





As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nears, many ex-Bush administration officials who approved torture in the "war on terror" and botched the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are back in the spotlight taking bows from appreciative audiences in tightly controlled settings.
Back in my native New York on Thursday afternoon, I was bolstered by a scene of what I call real New Yorkers (along with tourists and honking cab drivers) joining in a protest of the adulation bestowed on torture lawyer John Yoo at the swank University Club off Fifth Avenue.
What became gradually and reassuringly clear is that New York continues to be a tale of two cities. And those whom my grandmother used to call "the swells" remain a loud but increasingly transparent minority.
The hoi aristoi arrived at the club quite decked out in wide silk ties and pricey shoes to honor Yoo, the Bush administration lawyer who drafted some of the most objectionable rationalizations for torturing detainees in the "war on terror." (He is now a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley.)
My chatting with the hoi polloi on the street, who were supporting the protest, brought a welcome reminder that the self-important "meritocracy" of the University Club -- "the suits and the shoes" as we call them -- hardly represent New York City.


That realization also generated some helpful adrenalin for later, when I traveled over to the 92nd Street Y for a panel discussion on "9/11 a Decade Later: Lessons Learned and Future Challenges," featuring former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, ex-Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and George W. Bush's press spokesman Ari Fleischer. The event, sponsored by the Jewish Policy Center, was moderated by neoconservative talk show host Michael Medved.
I found myself in the banal belly of the beast.



for all of it go to:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bird-Dogging-Torturers-in-by-Ray-McGovern-110910-292.html

[Solly Mack]

1. K/R

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Very good read....K&R