Today's
Stories
April 27, 2006
Jose Pertierra
Honor and Injustice:the Case of
the Cuban Five
April 26,2006
Robin Philpot
The Rich Life of Jane Jacobs
Sherry Wolf
Democrats, Their Apologists and Abortion:
the Jig is Up
Pratyush Chandra
Nepal: a Saga of Compromise and Struggle
Joshua Frank
Zig-Zagging Through the War With John
Kerry
Gary
Leupp
The Neo-Cons and Iran: No Negotiations
Bill
Quigley
Katrina: Eight Months Later
April
25, 2006
Paul
Craig Roberts
The World is Uniting Against the Bush Imperium
Linda
S. Heard
Is the US Waging Israel's Wars?: the Prophecy of Oded Yinon
Ralph
Nader
Political Science: Gingrich, "Futurism" and the Abolition
of the OTA
Mike
Whitney
Preparing for the Economic Typhoon
Michael
Donnelly
Lutherans Betray Michigan's Loon Lake Wetlands for Pieces of Silver
Sharon
Smith
Breathing New Life Into May Day
Website
of the Day
SDS Ver. 2
April
24, 2006
Tim
Wise
What Kind of Card is Race?
John
Stanton
Strike Iran, Watch Pakistan and Turkey Fall
Dave
Lindorff
Dangerous Times Ahead
Steve
Shore
Berlusconi Defeated: The Long Wait is Over ... Or Is It?
Amadou
Deme
Hotel Rwanda: Setting the Record Straight
Mickey
Z.
15 Minutes of Radical Fame: America Meets Bill Blum and Ward Churchill
Ralph Nader
Lee
Raymond's Unconscionable Platinum Parachute
Alexander
Cockburn
Obama's Game
Website
of the Day
Too Stupid to Be President?
April
22/23, 2006
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The General, GM and the Stryker
Jeff
Halper
SUMUD vs. Apartheid: the Elections in Palestine and Israel
Jeff
Klein
How to Manufacture a War Criminal: Saddam and Me, a True Story
Thomas
P. Healy
Out Now: an Interview with Anthony Arnove
David
Underhill
Stuck in Mobile with the Rev. Graham Blues Again
Lee
Sustar
"We are Going to Keep Marching": an Interview with Immigrant
Rights Organizer Martín Unzueta
Deb
Reich
The Little Mermaid on Highway Six: Rooting for Ordinary Israelis
to Wake Up
John
Chuckman
America's Gulag: Purge at the CIA
Fred
Gardner
More Suppression of Marijuana Research
Julian
Edney
Can Our Economy Run Without Fear?
Seth
Sandronsky
The GOP and California's Levees
Brynne
Keith-Jennings
The Meddlesome Ambassador Trivelli: Undermining Democracy in Nicaragua
Dave
Lindorff
Where are the Frogs?
Catherine
Ann Cullen and Harry Browne
Springsteen Polishes His Roots: First Impressions of "We Shall
Overcome"
Bill
Pahnelas
Bush Passes the Buck on Soaring Gas Prices
Jim
French
Time to Overhaul US Farm Policy
Ron
Jacobs
"I Know I'm Not Dreaming, Because I Can't Sleep Any More"
David
Krieger
The Courage of Sophie Scholl: Resisting Hitler
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week
Poets'
Basement
Buknatski, Engel and Ford
Website
of the Weekend
Eye of the Storm
April
21, 2006
Jonathan
Cook
The Sinister Meaning of Olmert's "Hitkansut":
Deporting Hamas MPs
Lawrence
R. Velvel
Physical Courage, Moral Courage and American
Generals
Evelyn
Pringle
How to Out a CIA Agent
Christopher
Brauchli
The Rich are Different
Pratyush
Chandra
Pure-and-Simple Revolutions in Nepal and Venezuela
Michael
George Smith
This is What a Movement Looks Like
Missy
Comley Beattie
Serving at the Decider's Pleasure
Sarah
Hines
The Bracero Program: 1942-1964
Website
of the Day
Hunger Strike at U. of Miami
April 20, 2006
Chris
Kutalik
As Crisis Deepens, Is Labor Finally
Showing Signs of a Comeback?
Gary Leupp
Cheney, the Neocons and China
Joshua
Frank
Stop the War! Dump the Democrats!
Diane Christian
The Authority to Kill
William
S. Lind
Sweeping Up: the Real Problem Wasn't
the Execution of the War, But the Enterprise Itself
Ramzy
Baroud
A Case for the Palestinan Government
Justin
E.H. Smith
Doctors and Lethal Injection
April 19, 2006
P. Sainath
More Kids? Pay More for Your Water
Norman
Solomon
When Diplomacy Means War: Bait-and-Switch
on Iran
Anthony Papa
When Justice Isn't Blind: Double Standards
for the Rich and Poor in New York
Mike
Ferner
Movement Blues
Stanley Heller
The Massacre at Qana, 10 Years Later:
Still No Justice
Rifundazione
"We Defeated Berlusconi"
Christopher
Reed
Secrets of the Garden of Bliss
Alexander
Cockburn
The Pulitzer Farce
Website of
the Day
Bunker
Busters: the Movie
April 18, 2006
Paul Craig Roberts
How Safe is Your Job?
Eric
Wingerter
Washington Post vs. Venezuela
Juan Santos
What Immigrants Need to Learn from
the Black Civil Rights Movement
Greg
Weiher
The Zarqawi Gambit Revisited
Sam Bahour
Is Hamas Being Forced to Collapse?
Behzad
Yaghmaian
In the Gaze of New Orleans
Website of
the Day
The
FBI and the Jack Anderson Files
April 17, 2006
Kevin Zeese
An Interview with the First Arab-American
Senator: Jim Abourezk on Bush's Lies and the Dems' Complicity
Uri Avnery
Olmert the Fox
Norman Solomon
Why Won't Moveon.Org Oppose the Bombing
of Iran?
John Ross
A Real Day Without Mexicans?
Laila al-Haddad
The Earth is Closing in on Us: Dispatch
from Gaza
Jeffrey Blankfort
A Tale of Two Members of Congress
and the Capitol Hill Police
Website of the Day
Dixie
Chicks: Not Ready to Back Down
April
15 / 16, 2006
Jeffrey
St. Clair
How Star Wars Came to the Arctic
Ralph
Nader
Remembering Rev. William Sloan Coffin
Thaddeus
Hoffmeister
The Ghost of Shinseki: the General Who Was Sent Out to Pasture for
Being Right
Kevin Prosen
/ Dave Zirin
Privilege Meets Protest at Duke
Thomas
P. Healy
Taking Care of What We've Been Given: a Conversation with Wendell
Berry
Kristoffer
Larsson
Are 40 Percent of All Swedes Anti-Semitic?: Anatomy of a Statistical
Flim-Flam
Fred
Gardner
Continuing Medical (Marijuana) Education
Edwin Krales
New York's Katrina: the Hidden Toll of AIDS Among Blacks and the
Poor
Brian
Cloughley
Don't Blitz Iran: Risking the Ultimate Blowback
John Holt
Walking Off Vietnam with Edward Abbey's Surrogate Son
Seth
Sandronsky
What Billionaires Mean By Education Reform: Oprah, Bill Gates and
the Privatization of Public Schools
Rafael Renteria
Making It Plain About New Orleans
Michael
Ortiz Hill
In the Ashes of Lament: an Easter Meditation
William A.
Cook
An Israel Accountability Act
Gideon
Levy
Shooting Nasarin: a Story About a Little Girl
Andrew Wimmer
Stopping the Bush Juggernaut: a New Citizens Campaign
Madis
Senner
Talking Points for Easter Weekend: Jesus Didn't Lie, Mr. Bush
Michael Kuehl
The Sex Police State: Women as "Rapists" and "Pedophiles"?
Mark
Scaramella
When Even God Can't Follow His Own Commandments: the Timeless Scarcasm
of Mark Twain
Nate Mezmer
187 Proof: Living and Dying Hip-Hop
Jesse
Walker
Playlist
Poets' Basement
Engel, Laymon and Subiet
Website
of the Weekend
Pink Serenades Bush
April
14, 2006
Col.
Dan Smith
Candor or Career?: Why Few Top Military Officials
Resign on Principle
Saul Landau
Ho Chi Minh City Moves On Without Regrets
Stan
Cox
The Real Death Tax
Kevin Zeese
Hersh vs. Bush on Iran: Who Would You Believe?
Brian
McKinlay
Bad Times for Bush's Buddies
Howard Meyers
Dwarves, Knives and Freedom: Bush, Jr. is No LBJ
Ishmael
Reed
The Colored Mind Doubles: How the Media Uses Blacks
to Chastize Blacks
Website of
the Day
Asshole: a Film Strip
April
13, 2006
CounterPunch
News Service
Powell's "Bitch"?
Norman
Solomon
The Lobby and the Bulldozer
Stanley Heller
Time to Shake Up the Peace Movement
Jeff
Birkenstein
Bush and Freedom of Speech
Evelyn J.
Pringle
Not So Fast, Mr. Powell
Michael
Donnelly
The Week the Bush Administration Fell Apart
Kamran Matin
Synergism of the Neo-Cons: What's Going On In Iran?
Website
of the Day
"Don't Be Afraid of the Neo-Cons"
April
12, 2006
Vijay Prashad
Resisting Fences
Alan
Maass
The Suicide of Anthony Soltero
Dave Lindorff
Bush's Insane First Strike Policy: If You Don't Want to Get Whacked,
You'd Better Get Your Nation a Nuke ... Fast
Ron
Jacobs
Resistance: the Remedy for Fear
Ramzy Baroud
The Imminent Decline of the American Empire?
Randall
Dodd
How a Wal-Mart Bank will Harm Consumers
Missy Comley
Beattie
The Boy President Who Cried "Wolf!"
P. Sainath
The Corporate Hijack of India's Water
Website of
the Day
"The System is Irretrievably Corrupt"
April
11, 2006
Al
Krebs
Corporate Agriculture's Dirty Little Secret: Immigration
and a History of Greed
Lawrence
R. Velvel
The Gang That Couldn't Leak Straight
Sonia Nettinin
Palestinian Health Care Conditions Under Israeli Occupation
Willliam
S. Lind
The Fourth Plague Hits the Pentagon: Generals as Private Contractors
Robert Ovetz
Endangered Species in a Can: the Disappearance of Big Fish
Pratyush
Chandra
Nepalis Say, "Ya Basta!"
Grant F.
Smith
The Bush Administration's Final Surprise?
Laray
Polk
Loud, Soft, Hard, Quiet: Marching Through Dallas for Immigrant Rights
Francis Boyle
O'Reilly and the Law of the Jungle: How to Beat a Bully on His Home
Turf
José
Pertierra
A Glimpse into the Mindset of Terrorists: Posada Carriles, Orlando
Bosch and the Downing of Cubana Flight 455
Website of
the Day
The Dead Emcee Scrolls
April
10, 2006
Ralph
Nader
Tinhorn Caesar and the Spineless Democrats
Heather Gray
Atlanta and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Uri
Avnery
The Big Wink
Joshua Frank
Big Greens and Beltway Politics: Betting on Losers
Seth
Sandronsky
Immigration and Occupations
Michael Leonardi
The Italian Elections: "Reality is No Longer Important"
Evelyn
Pringle
Did Bush Pull a Fast One on Fitzgerald?
Tom Kerr
FoxNews Does Ward Churchill
Lucinda
Marshall
The Lynching of Cynthia McKinney
Website of
the Day
Brown Berets
April
7 -9, 2006
Alexander
Cockburn
If Only They'd Hissed Barack Obama
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The Saga of Magnequench: Outsourcing US Missile
Technology to China
Patrick
Cockburn
The War Gets Grimmer Every Day
David Vest
The Rebuking and Scorning of Cynthia McKinney
Dave
Lindorff
The Impeachment Clock Just Clicked Forward
Gary Leupp
"Ideologies of Hatred:" What Did Condi Mean?
Elaine
Cassel
The Moussaoui Trial: What Kind of Justice is This?
Saul Landau
Vietnam Diary: Hue Without Rules
James
Ridgeway
"This is Betty Ong Calling": a Short Film
Ron Jacobs
Why Iran was Right to Refuse US Money
John
Walsh
Kerry Advocates Iraqization: Too Little, Too Late
Ramzy Baroud
The US Attitude Toward Hamas: Disturbing Parallels with Nicaragua
Christopher
Brauchli
Bush Finds Democracy Has Its Limits
Todd Chretien
What the Pentagon Budget Could Buy for America
Jonathan
Scott
Javelins at the Head of the Monolith
John Bomar
What They're Saying About Bush in Arkansas
Michele
Brand
Iran, the US and the EU
Ronan Sheehan
Remember When the Irish First Met the Chinese?
Mickey
Z.
Let Us Now Praise OIL
Don Monkerud
March of the Bunglers
Michael
Dickinson
The Rich Young Man: a Miracle Play
Website
of the Weekend
The Case Against Israel and Munich: Compare and Contrast
| April
27, 2006
One Released War Crime Victim
at a Time
Making America Safer
By DAVE
LINDORFF
So
after as long as four and a half years in captivity, no doubt complete
with torture and abuse of all sorts, 141 of the remaining 500 captives
at Guantanamo are going to be released by the Bush administration,
which has finally determined that they, after all, "pose no
threat to the security" of the United States.
Oops.
Personally,
I'd be dubious about that assertion, though. After the experience
these people have been through, I would be amazed if any of them
harbors particularly warm, fuzzy feelings about their hosts for
the past half decade. That is to say, if they were not security
threats when they were wrongly picked up and "disappeared"
into America’s gulag in the Caribbean, they probably will
be once they are released.
I
thought it was ironic, too, that the announcement of their release
came from "an official of the war crimes tribunal."
What a sad joke! The "war crimes," for the most part,
which are the raison détre for Guantanamo, are not things
that were done by those in detention in the naval base detention
center; they are things that have been done to those captives by
those running the tribunal and the base.
As
a study by the Seton Hall University Law School determined, 55 percent
of the detainees (and that's a lot more than just those 141 being
released) were "not determined to have committed any hostile
acts against the United States or its coalition allies," while
another 40% "have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda at
all," and of that latter group, 18 percent have "no definitive
affiliation with either Al Qaeda or the Taliban." Think about
that: nearly three out of four of the detainees, or about 300 of
them, had nothing to do with Al Qaeda or the Taliban, yet they have
spent as much as four and a half years of their lives in brutal
detention at the hands of this great paragon of freedom and the
rule of law, the United States of America.
For
that matter, being affiliated with the Taliban, which was the official
government of Afghanistan at the time of the U.S.-led invasion of
that country in October, 2001, should never have been grounds for
being hauled off to Guantanamo. The Taliban fighters were not terrorists,
had never attacked America, and should have been treated as simple
prisoners of war, and released when the war in Afghanistan ended,
which was in early 2002.
It
should also be noted that the Seton Hall study found that only five
percent of those held in Guantanamo had been captured by American
forces. The rest had been captured by Pakistan or by Afghan warlords
and turned over to the U.S. But since the U.S. was offering a lucrative
bounty for captives, it is widely assumed, even by many in the U.S.
government, that most of those turned over in that manner were just
people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or who were
for some reason on the wrong side of an argument, and were being
traded for cash.
The
real war crimes were the capture and detention and holding for years
without charge of these hundreds of people, and the torture of many
of them on the authority of the president and the attorney general
and the secretary of defense.
Clearly
the administration's terrorist policies have put the U.S. in a bind.
Facing world condemnation for its blatant flaunting of the Geneva
Conventions, it must end the criminal detention of those held in
Guantanamo and at other “black” sites around the globe,
but if it does this, it will be releasing hundreds of people who
will be telling their horror stories of inhumane treatment at the
hands of the Americans for years to come. If they themselves don’t
become committed enemies of America, many of those who hear their
stories will.
No
wonder the government hasn't said where it is releasing these 141
people to. No wonder that, according to an article in Reuters, 30
percent of those the U.S. has "released from captivity"
in Guantanamo are still being held at the base--in some cases since
as long ago as March 2005! In some cases, it's afraid to let them
go; in others, the US knows that having held them so long, they
will be caught and tortured or killed if sent home to their native
countries, which no longer trust them to behave.
Nice
going, George, Dick and Don! A fine mess you’ve made!
Making
America safer indeed.So after as long as four and a half years in
captivity, no doubt complete with torture and abuse of all sorts,
141 of the remaining 500 captives at Guantanamo are going to be
released by the Bush administration, which has finally determined
that they, after all, "pose no threat to the security"
of the United States.
Oops.
Personally,
I'd be dubious about that assertion, though. After the experience
these people have been through, I would be amazed if any of them
harbors particularly warm, fuzzy feelings about their hosts for
the past half decade. That is to say, if they were not security
threats when they were wrongly picked up and "disappeared"
into America’s gulag in the Caribbean, they probably will
be once they are released.
I thought it was ironic, too, that the announcement of their release
came from "an official of the war crimes tribunal."
What a sad joke! The "war crimes," for the most part,
which are the raison détre for Guantanamo, are not things
that were done by those in detention in the naval base detention
center; they are things that have been done to those captives by
those running the tribunal and the base.
As
a study by the Seton Hall University Law School determined, 55 percent
of the detainees (and that's a lot more than just those 141 being
released) were "not determined to have committed any hostile
acts against the United States or its coalition allies," while
another 40% "have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda at
all," and of that latter group, 18 percent have "no definitive
affiliation with either Al Qaeda or the Taliban." Think about
that: nearly three out of four of the detainees, or about 300 of
them, had nothing to do with Al Qaeda or the Taliban, yet they have
spent as much as four and a half years of their lives in brutal
detention at the hands of this great paragon of freedom and the
rule of law, the United States of America.
For
that matter, being affiliated with the Taliban, which was the official
government of Afghanistan at the time of the U.S.-led invasion of
that country in October, 2001, should never have been grounds for
being hauled off to Guantanamo. The Taliban fighters were not terrorists,
had never attacked America, and should have been treated as simple
prisoners of war, and released when the war in Afghanistan ended,
which was in early 2002.
It
should also be noted that the Seton Hall study found that only five
percent of those held in Guantanamo had been captured by American
forces. The rest had been captured by Pakistan or by Afghan warlords
and turned over to the U.S. But since the U.S. was offering a lucrative
bounty for captives, it is widely assumed, even by many in the U.S.
government, that most of those turned over in that manner were just
people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or who were
for some reason on the wrong side of an argument, and were being
traded for cash.
The
real war crimes were the capture and detention and holding for years
without charge of these hundreds of people, and the torture of many
of them on the authority of the president and the attorney general
and the secretary of defense.
Clearly
the administration's terrorist policies have put the U.S. in a bind.
Facing world condemnation for its blatant flaunting of the Geneva
Conventions, it must end the criminal detention of those held in
Guantanamo and at other “black” sites around the globe,
but if it does this, it will be releasing hundreds of people who
will be telling their horror stories of inhumane treatment at the
hands of the Americans for years to come. If they themselves don’t
become committed enemies of America, many of those who hear their
stories will.
No
wonder the government hasn't said where it is releasing these 141
people to. No wonder that, according to an article in Reuters published
on April 14, 30 percent of those the U.S. has "released from
captivity" in Guantanamo are still being held at the base--in
some cases since as long ago as March 2005! In some cases, it's
afraid to let them go; in others, the US knows that having held
them so long, they will be caught and tortured or killed if sent
home to their native countries, which no longer trust them to behave.
Nice
going, George, Dick and Don! A fine mess you’ve made!
Making
America safer indeed.
|