Dem Senators' questions today: HUGE disappointment. They missed the mark.

All the questioners failed to note--except Hillary, who did so without particular emphasis--that these abuses are a direct result of administration policies as enforced by Rumsfeld.

Most Merikuns think these abuses are the result of just a few bad apples, or maybe a bad CO or two. They absolve Rummy and hence Bush because they see no policy connection between the Bushies and the abuses.

But those connections are very precise. At the outset of combat two years ago, Rumsfeld announced:

1. that detainees in Afghanistan "do not have any rights" under the Geneva Conventions, which are "outdated",

2. that there will be no formal hearings to determine whether detainees are prisoners of war or unlawful combatants (as GCs require),

3. that Army regulations on the interrogation of prisoners no longer apply,

4. that detainees may be held incommunicado,

5. that detainees may be deprived of legal representation, even if they are US citizens,

6. that--even after all of the previous standards of conduct had been waived--no new procedures were put in place to ensure against violations of conduct.


There is a direct connection between the policies of this misadministration and the abuses that occurred. That point needs to be made clear to the American people.

...or is it?? Won't they continue these questionings?

Just make Rumfilled squirm a little for getting caught with the tortures and then send him back to kill brown skin people.

Remember, Hillary just two weeks ago stated that she still completely supports the invasion.

We are run by neanderthals, some who appear so to appeal to half the country, and some who appear to be "moderate" or reasonable, but whose aims are precisely the same. They would be called "democrats" but aren't.

" Hillary just two weeks ago stated that she still completely supports the invasion. "


Is that true? Or did Hillary actually say something else?


Link please.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is not sorry she voted for a resolution authorizing President Bush to take military action in Iraq despite the recent problems there but she does regret "the way the president used the authority."

This was April 24, 2004.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/21/iraq.hillary/

And she gets no pass from me for saying the invasion "just wasn't done correctly".

It is disgusting that the Dems have caved on this for the support of their Israeli friends.

I didn't think so.


She said something else, and you chose to assign you own special meaning to her words.

And she gets no pass from me for saying the invasion "just wasn't done correctly".

She didn't say that either, did she?

invasion and continuing to support it, then feel free to do so.

Have a nice life.

When Levin led off today with his statement (http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=221240), I was buoyed, "someone gets it" I thought. Then McCain, Kennedy, Byrd... wow, I thought, now this is wide open.

Then I heard NPR - not a peep of what was said. ABC, CNN, CBS - all the same - "Rumsfeld Apologizes". and "Rumsfeld is thinking of resigning". My heart sank - No matter what our guys say, the press won't cover it.

I posted a transcript a while back, but it sank amid all the excitement.

A very good summation of the larger picture, and I think it means that these issues are not going to be ignored by the dems.

http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=221240

snip>

General Taguba’s finding that “personnel assigned to the 372nd MP company...were directed to change facility procedures to ‘set the conditions’ for M(ilitary) I(ntelligence) interrogations” is bolstered by pictures that suggest the sadistic abuse is part of an organized and conscious process of intelligence gathering. In other words, these abusive actions do not appear to be aberrant conduct by individuals, but part of a conscious method of extracting information. If true, the planners of this process are at least as guilty as those who carried out the abuses.

The President’s Legal Counsel, Alberto Gonzales, reportedly wrote in a memorandum that the decision to avoid invoking the Geneva Conventions "preserves flexibility" in the war on terrorism. Belittling or ignoring the Geneva Conventions invites our enemies to do the same, and increases the danger to our military servicemen and women. It also sends a disturbing message to the world that America does not feel bound by internationally accepted standards of conduct.

The findings of General Taguba’s report as reported on a public website raise a number of disturbing issues. For example:
* How far up the chain of command was there implicit or explicit direction or approval or knowledge of this prisoner abuse?
* Why was a Joint Interrogation and Detention Facility at Abu Ghraib established in a way which led to the subordination of the military police brigade to the military intelligence unit conducting interrogation activities?
* What was the role played by military intelligence, the CIA, and any other intelligence units in requesting or suggesting abusive activities?
* How is it in our nation's interest to have civilian contractors, rather than military personnel, performing vital national security functions, such as prisoner interrogations, in a war zone? When soldiers break the law or fail to follow orders, commanders can hold them accountable for their misconduct. Military commanders don't have the same authority over civilian contractors.

Finally, Secretary Rumsfeld and General Myers, I must express my deep dismay that when you briefed Senators in a classified session last week on events in Iraq just hours before the story broke on television, you made no reference to the impending revelations. Executive Branch consultation with Congress is not supposed to be an option, but a long-standing and fundamental responsibility.

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I still maintain that only the blind fail to see the specific, precise logical connections between publicly stated administration policy and these abuses. Until that connection is made and made clearly and repeatedly, we Democrats are utterly AWOL on this issue.