Is it fair to say that the Bush administration created the climate

that allowed the prisoner abuse to take place?

This is the question that is mostly on my mind these last few days.

I say yes. The evidence is the lack of caring about the outsourcing of jobs, the willingness to do away with social security and Medicare, the disappearance of the middle class, the tax breaks for the wealthy only and the desire to make them permanent, the disregard for the huge budget deficit, the embracing of PNAC, the willingness to lie to get the country to support preemptive war on a country that posed no immediate threat to us, the willingness to continue to lie in order retain that support, the seeming love of war by those who chose to not experience it first hand themselves, the ability to have the media support what ever the administration does, no questions asked, the existence of the freeper, dittohead types.

I could go on.

I think we need to make this case, not just for political reasons but for the salvation of this country. Whether we are a direct part of this or not, the stench of it is on us because we are Americans.

I think we are on a similar wavelength this morning. See my post above or below...:)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/05/07/rights/index_np.html

They removed JAG oversight of interrogations.

As Rangel has said, Bush began demonizing the Iraqi people and the Afghan people early on. "We will find 'them' and bring 'them' to justice or kill 'them.' Who the hell was 'them?' The people who attacked on 9/11 are all dead. We never really knew who 'them' was so any Arab breathing has been fair game. We have come to think of them as the Israeli think of Palestinians. As Americans used to think of blacks and Native Americans. When you count the number of prisoners we are holding in our jails...many for minor drug offenses...we are the chief human right violators of the world.

When the only colors are black and white- (you finish the sentance...)

agencies questioned the treatment of Guantanomo prisioners Rummy, Bush and Cheney said that Geneva Convention guidelines didn't "exactly" apply. So they set the tone for permissiveness to mistreat prisioners. Too bad they forgot to tell the officials in Iraq that Iraq was different. Oh well!