"Meet the New Boss..."

Bush Pretends He Never Gave Secret Prison Order

Two weeks ago, President Bush appeared on Arab television claiming that he wanted to stop the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and implying that he had nothing to do with the policies that led to them. During his appearance Bush said, "We want to make sure that if there is a systemic problem -- in other words, if there's a problem system-wide -- that we stop the practices"1. However, a new report appears to show that the President and top Administration officials may have authorized procedures that led to the abuses in the first place.

A new investigation by Newsweek "shows that President Bush, along with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door to such methods" of abuse and torture as documented at Abu Ghraib2. The secret orders were designed "to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees and prisoners of war. In doing so, they overrode the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and America's top military lawyers."

The President has repeatedly said he wants to "usher in an era of personal responsibility"3. Yet, despite these revelations, the White House has yet to admit any culpability. When asked whether a crucial Presidential legal memo4 attempting to skirt the Geneva Conventions5 helped to create the atmosphere that led to the prison abuses, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "Absolutely not"6.

Sources:

1. President Bush Meets with Al Arabiya Television on Wednesday, 05/05/2004.

2. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, 05/24/2004.

3. President Bush Discusses Progress in Education in St. Louis, 01/05/2004.

4. "Memos Reveal War Crimes Warnings", Newsweek, 05/19/2004.

5. "Report: White House Memo Backed Abuse", San Francisco Chronicle, 05/17/2004.

6. Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan, 05/17/2004.

(emphasis mine)

"Personal responsibility" is a concept on the dim and distant horizon of Dubbyuh's consciousness, trotted out only when it seems politically expedient. Also, that Antonio Gonzalez expressed concerns about these actions violating provisions od the Geneva Convention and the War Crimes Act is telling. But since he also stated that the Geneva Convention was "quaint" and "obsolete", those reservations can be taken with a grain of salt. More telling is that the Dubbyuh and his band o' thugs didn't let such concerns stand in their way. It is but the latest example of the Administration's complete and utter disregard for international law, except where it directly benefits US interests.

Having utterly abandoned the moral high ground and descended to the level of such human rights luminaries and Stalin and Pohl Poht, this administration has abdicated its stated goal of bringing democracy to Iraq and the Middle East. "...Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."