Just about everything enrages me these days. But it's only once or twice a year that something makes me sick enough to my stomach to write to the newspaper. Bush's attempts to block the release of Abu Ghraib photos plus his threats to veto the defense bill if torture was investigated pushed me over the edge. This morning, my letter was published in Newsday (New York).
I urge everyone to write original letters to their newspapers. It's cathartic, and when you see something in print it has an effect that's sadly missing from online writing. This morning, about half a million people have this letter in front of them in black and white.
When you write to a newspaper, it is important to do two things: have a coherent point, and use the other side's statements against them. Without calling out Graham and Rumsfeld, my letter would sound like a left-wing nutty rant. With their quotes, it becomes something that really can't be denied.
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/letters/
Bush covers up Iraq rape, torture
The Bush administration has gone to court to block the release of further images from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq ["ACLU Blames Gov't for Abu Ghraib Delay," Newsday.com, July 22]. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has said that the images show evidence of "rape and murder." Even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has said that these photos depict "acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman."
Meanwhile, the president is threatening to veto the Senate military appropriations bill if it contains an amendment setting up a commission to investigate abuses like the ones captured in these photos. He doesn't even want the Senate to create rules regarding the humane treatment of our prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib - the majority of whom committed no crimes. The administration claims that the investigations and rules will cost too much, and will "[divert] resources from the war."
President George W. Bush says he will make sure that we don't properly investigate, prevent or even see the evidence of child rape by our forces - or he will cut off funding of our national defense. Is this cover-up of rape and torture really more important than our national security now? Sad to say, our president seems to think so.
(me)
I've taken my name off of this for dailykos, but I suppose that's moot now for anyone going to the site to read it.