Black ops
Extraordinary rendition is a disgusting policy the US government operate whereby terror suspects are slipped out of US controlled detention and sent to places like Syria, Egypt and possibly Eastern Europe where the rules on torture are a little more relaxed. It is quite possibly Bush's most morally bankrupt policy although it is of course up against some stiff opposition. His managing of the US economy, his response to Katrina and his love of the death penalty all spring to mind.
Some of us, in that part of the free world outside of the US, think that torture is never justified. We take the view that in order to beat terrorists you have to be better than them. We believe that the 'liberating' powers should be setting an example, a powerful example of our decent and humane values. Not torturing people would be a good place to start wouldn't it?
In Europe anyway, the fight-back has begun. Two weeks ago Spain launched and enquiry after it was alleged that Spanish airfields were used by the CIA to refuel planes en-route to the US's hidden torture centres. A few days later Iceland and the Nordic states began enquiries to see if their airfields had been used. Yesterday Portugal began looking into the matter. And today, at long last George's best mate Tony Bliar ordered an investigation into whether UK bases were used. Bizarrely, the US government is also investigating the allegations and I'm sure George and Dick must be horrified that the CIA are torturing people. They must be, right? Oh, maybe not. I hope the first witness in front of the US enquiry is Lawrence Wilkerson. He was Colin Powell's chief of staff and he believes that Cheney holds a great of the reponsibility for the torture scandal and the lies told prior to the invasion. A transcript of his interview is here.
The other big Iraq related story is the revelation that Mr Bliar had to talk Mr Bush out of bombing the al-Jazeera news channel based in Qatar. The Qatar that is on our side, where our troops were based prior to the invasion. Bush wanted to bomb them. This would be a bigger story but for the fact that Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General spent most of last week on the phone making threats that anyone who published details of the memo would be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. The White House have of course denied the allegations so why the strong arm tactics here? Not hiding something are we Tony?
It is in this kind of situation that the blogosphere comes into its own. On Friday Blairwatch launched We're Prepared To Pay The Price Of Freedom, Are You? It has had a massive response and of course I have signed up. As soon as the memo enters the public domain, you'll find it here. They cannot jail all of us. As Boris Johnson MP and editor of the Spectator says
Some of us, in that part of the free world outside of the US, think that torture is never justified. We take the view that in order to beat terrorists you have to be better than them. We believe that the 'liberating' powers should be setting an example, a powerful example of our decent and humane values. Not torturing people would be a good place to start wouldn't it?
In Europe anyway, the fight-back has begun. Two weeks ago Spain launched and enquiry after it was alleged that Spanish airfields were used by the CIA to refuel planes en-route to the US's hidden torture centres. A few days later Iceland and the Nordic states began enquiries to see if their airfields had been used. Yesterday Portugal began looking into the matter. And today, at long last George's best mate Tony Bliar ordered an investigation into whether UK bases were used. Bizarrely, the US government is also investigating the allegations and I'm sure George and Dick must be horrified that the CIA are torturing people. They must be, right? Oh, maybe not. I hope the first witness in front of the US enquiry is Lawrence Wilkerson. He was Colin Powell's chief of staff and he believes that Cheney holds a great of the reponsibility for the torture scandal and the lies told prior to the invasion. A transcript of his interview is here.
The other big Iraq related story is the revelation that Mr Bliar had to talk Mr Bush out of bombing the al-Jazeera news channel based in Qatar. The Qatar that is on our side, where our troops were based prior to the invasion. Bush wanted to bomb them. This would be a bigger story but for the fact that Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General spent most of last week on the phone making threats that anyone who published details of the memo would be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. The White House have of course denied the allegations so why the strong arm tactics here? Not hiding something are we Tony?
It is in this kind of situation that the blogosphere comes into its own. On Friday Blairwatch launched We're Prepared To Pay The Price Of Freedom, Are You? It has had a massive response and of course I have signed up. As soon as the memo enters the public domain, you'll find it here. They cannot jail all of us. As Boris Johnson MP and editor of the Spectator says
The Attorney General's ban is ridiculous, untenable, and redolent of guilt. I do not like people to break the Official Secrets Act ... we now have allegations of such severity, against the US President and his motives, that we need to clear them up.Al Jazeera staff have set up a splendid blog, Don't Bomb Us which you should keep an eye on. Even if you disagree with what is being said, the more information you have, the better able you are to discover the truth. No doubt this is why Mr Bush thinks Al Jazeera so dangerous.
If someone passes me the document within the next few days I will be very happy to publish it in The Spectator, and risk a jail sentence. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. If we suppress the truth, we forget what we are fighting for.
posted by phylos @ 09:26
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home