Cross-posted at
liberalstreetfighter.com.
Okay, I've just got to wade out into the middle of this whole Newsweek brouhaha to see if I can get a little clarification. All day yesterday the right-wing echo chamber was calling for Michael Isikoff's head on a platter. "This is an outrage! This is Memogate all over again!" By the way, when dittiots say `memogate' they're referring to Dan Rather, not Valerie Plame or Tony Blair. I just thought I should clarify.
So here's the story as I understand it. Back in 2001 you've got these conscripted members of the Taliban's army. America declares war (in as much as we ever declare war...we make the President do it even though he has absolutely no authority to do so), and these 200 conscripts say to the Taliban "screw you guys...we're going home."
"Oh...all right" says Mr. Soon-to-surrender Afghan general, "fine...everybody hop in this shipping crate and I'll send you all home."
"Hmm...okay, sure. Whatever. You're being a lot cooler about this than I would have thought!" says Mr. Soon-to-be-detained-indefinitely conscript.
And so the general sells a shipping container full of 200 guys to the Americans...for cash. There's no way for 200 guys to breathe in the container, so someone grabs a machine gun and ventilates it. A couple of guys get clipped, but hey, no big deal, right? The 200 prisoners are stripped nekkid, have their hands and feet bound with those plastic zip ties, and are shipped off to Gitmo in a cargo hold.
By the time the container gets there most of the 200 are dead. Those who didn't have the courtesy to die are then dragged across the tarmac hooded and naked. Since their feet were bound with zip ties they weren't able to walk. Since they were being dragged barefoot across asphalt, they lost a lot of skin from the bottoms of their feet in the process. They were beaten and cursed by the friendly and lovable staff at Gitmo. Some complained of having a bucket used as a toilet dumped over their heads for refusing to cooperate.
One detainee was so exhausted from the beatings that he couldn't even respond to questioning. When he didn't respond, he was beaten even more. When his questioning was finished he was taken to a room where something was inserted into his rectum and removed (proving once and for all that Gitmo is being run by extra terrestrials). He would go on to endure thousands of hours of beatings and questioning. A woman would wipe menstrual blood in his face. He was photographed naked while hooded, clearly not for any purpose other than humiliation. Two and a half years later he would be released without charges. "Sorry dude! Turns out you were right! You didn't know anything. Hope there's no hard feelings?"
In the face of all of these allegations, abuses, and failures the administration's only response is "Hey, hey, hey! Let's get one thing straight here. We did NOT flush the Koran down the toilet! Okay?...That would be disrespectful."
Sure, we'll beat you, poke you, prod you, dump feces on your head, and have angry dogs snap at your genitals. But desecrating the Koran!? That's beyond the pale! Please forgive me if I find it hard to believe that the same people who brought us the naked human pyramid, light-stick sodomy, and gunpoint masturbation suddenly get all solemn and respectful when it comes to the holy book of the people they're interrogating.
The Republican echo chamber predictably goes into "blame America first" mode. "This is all the American media's fault! If we didn't have an independent media none of this would have happened! How could Newsweek base an entire story on one questionable source?"
[COUGH, COUGH]...Ahmed Chalabi...[COUGH]
Maybe this is Imran Khan's fault for trying to insight violence against a political foe, Hamid Karzai. Maybe if Karzai's leadership had provided Afghanistan with a strong, stable, home-grown economy, rather than an extension of Bush's `Corporate Colonialism,' the Newsweek story would have blown over in May just like it did in January. Or maybe those who committed the actual violence are "personally responsible" for the violence.
Ah, but who am I trying to kid? Clearly this is all Newsweek's fault.