Friday, May 21, 2004
On the Banks of the River Hubris...
One of the worst elements of this entire Bush-Iraq debacle—aside from the 700 dead GIs, the ten thousand dead Iraqis, the many tens of thousands of maimed Iraqis and GIs, the 37 confirmed Iraqis and Afgans who've been tortured to death at the hands of U.S. captors, the total depletion of the United States Treasury, the dismantling of the Bill of Rights and the full disintegration of simple human decency within the White House and the administration—yes, aside from all that, one of the sadder components has been the sad moral dissolution of one Secretary of State Colin Powell.0 comments
That the story below should appear on the day the Pentagon confesses to the torture deaths of approximately 37 Iraqis and Afghans in U.S. custody, and at a time when investigations into the 2002 mass murder of upwards of 3,000 Taliban prisoners of war by Afghan rebels and U.S. troops at Kurdun is heating up, is enough to make even the most disinterested watcher of "The Batchelor" vomit.
Washington Post: U.S. Hears of Uzbekistan Torture Reports
From others who are not American, it's called "torture." If it's from us, it's merely "hazing," or perhaps, "abuse."
WASHINGTON - The State Department expressed concern Friday about reports that an Uzbek man was tortured before dying while in police custody.
The United States "expects to see a swift, transparent and professional investigation" into the death of Andrei Shelkavenko, a department statement said.
He is reported to have died on Tuesday in a detention center in the town of Cazalkent, 30 miles northeast of the capital Tashkent.
You've noticed, of course, that there is no mention of this being a "terrorism" story. The man simply was an Uzbek citizen arrested in Uzbekistan for a murder. In a country that still reportedly boils its guilty, you can understand that Mr. Shelkavenko faced dire straits.
"The recurrence of unresolved and unpunished deaths in detention in Uzbekistan is unacceptable," the State Department said.
However, Powell feels that it's perfectly acceptable, and even applauded, in U.S.-run detention centers.
[Our friends at State] said that the Uzbek government recently signed a national action plan to combat torture and promised to implement United Nations recommendations on fulfilling that commitment.
Uzbekistan would lose a portion of its U.S. assistance unless Secretary of State Colin Powell certifies that the country is making progress in protection of human rights.
Powell has not made a decision on the subject.
Nor has he made a decision on the proposed cutting off of financial aid to the regime in the White House in Washington, D.C. for the same reasons.
At one time, Colin Powell was the man everyone wanted. And wanted to be.
Now, he merely makes you wince.
By his cowardice on the battlefield of the world stage of the last few years, he has rendered himself impotent and morally rudderless to the point that political groups no longer want or respect him.
Even his slimy son, Michael Powell of the FCC, has more credibility at this point—at least Michael steadfastly stands by his sliminess. You can confront and/or deal with a man who stands by his principles—even if they're slimy. You at least know who Michael Powell is.
But, today, no one knows who Colin Powell is anymore.
Today, Colin Powell is a man without a party; a man without a country.
A man without values.
Sadly, a man who has squandered his very life.
posted by Gotham 10:43 PM
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