Furthermore, those lying lefty bastards at the Red Cross are coming forth with some details to counter the government-issued brand of official nonsense:
The international Red Cross says it raised the issue of alleged Qur'an abuse at Guantanamo Bay with American officials on numerous occasions and as early as 2002.
Delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) didn't witness any mistreatment of Islam's holy book, but heard reports from a number of detainees, said spokesman Simon Schorno on Friday.
....
ICRC members have visited the base on the eastern tip of Cuba since the detainees arrived in January 2002.
Schorno told the Chicago Tribune newspaper on Thursday that Red Cross delegates compiled the complaints they received from various detainees and reported them to Guantanamo commanders and Pentagon officials on several occasions.
I should be very clear about one thing -- I don't really care if we did flush a couple copies of the Qu'ran down the toilet. Sorry, I feel like I should care, but I really don't. In the grand scheme of things, in that huge and ever-growing list of ways that man can find to be inhumane and cruel to his fellow man, this is relatively low on that list. If it can save lives to make a violent religious fanatic crack, faced with the desecration of his obsession, better that than, say, chaining them to ceilings for days on end, or sexually abusing them, or beating them to death.
Problem is, some of these guys have turned out to be innocent, after being subjected to horrible physical abuse and torture, sometimes resulting in death. We all know this is war, and we aren't expecting everyone to be Mirandized and coddled, but this is vile and un-American, period. Screw the Qu'ran bullshit, this is what we need to be concerned about; this is what's pissing them off and inciting these riots.
Hamid Karzai will have to stand up for himself, and his people, if he is to retain any credibility outside Kabul, and keep his fragile country together. Clearly we won't do it.
Now a 2,000-page confidential report detailing extensive abuse of Afghan prisoners kept at the Bagram airbase near Kabul has been cited in the Times.
The investigation into the deaths of two inmates in 2002 revealed other sustained cruelties such as prolonged beatings and chainings of prisoners to walls.
The U.S. military, responding to the allegations, defended its treatment of detainees, saying it would not tolerate maltreatment.
Sure they won't. Nobody here but us chickens. Remember -- the only reason you ever heard about Abu Ghraib was because of one military man with a conscience (Joseph Darby) and one journalist who was more interested in investigating actual news than reading Michael Jackson's antics off a TelePrompTer (Seymour Hersh).
There's your fine line between knowing and not knowing; that's the tenuous thread connecting fact with mere conjecture and rumor. That should give us all pause as to just how seriously the media has been co-opted in uncovering these houses of horror and misery we've been running in two misbegotten countries now, as well as rendering sometimes completely innocent men off to miserable holes where they don't torture nearly as "nice" as we do.
More details on some of the abuses:
The report deals mainly with the deaths of two prisoners, one of whom, a 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar, was said to have been tortured for days by US troops before he died.
Soldiers involved in Dilawar's interrogation later told investigators they believed he was innocent of any involvement in a rocket attack on a US base, but had been unlucky enough to have driven his taxi past the base at the wrong time.
The Afghan president's office reacted angrily to the news today and a spokesman said US soldiers should be punished.
....
The sworn testimonies used in this latest report tell how Dilawar was chained to a ceiling by his wrists for four days, and then beaten on his legs more than 100 times during a 24-hour period.
Soldiers also detail other abuses, including a prisoner being forced to kiss the boots of interrogators and another being forced to pick plastic bottle tops out of a drum filled with excrement and water.
A female interrogator is also accused of stepping on a man's neck and kicking another in the genitals.
A Pentagon spokesman said the New York Times was trying to make a new story out of old material, adding that the investigation was "very serious and very detailed".
"The standard has always been humane treatment for all detainees. When that standard is not met we will take action," the spokesman said.
Whatever. Six months in the brig is not "action" for beating an innocent man until the tissue around his knees turned to pulp, and he dies from deep-tissue infections. This is barbaric and disgusting, and it will not stand.
How many Iraqi insurgents were motivated by the Abu Ghraib pictures? How many Afghan rebels will be motivated by the horror stories coming out of Bagram?
How many more human beings -- American soldiers, Iraqi and Afghan civilians -- have to die because these bastards eschewed even the barest standards of civilized conduct and decency for their prisoners? Of course they're just wogs, and thus are not entitled to decent, humane treatment, right?
We are at war, but this is not what any of us signed up for. If we're going to point the self-righteous J'accuse finger at Newsweek for their treacherous and tragic incompetence, then save some for these assholes, who are an utter disgrace to their uniform and to this nation.
Frankly, I think the soldiers who tortured Dilawar to death should be shot, and I'm not indulging in polemic here. They've put every one of their comrades in both wars at unnecessary risk, and they are no doubt helping to foment the rage that may very well culminate in the next terrorist attack on American soil.
One thing Bush has made fashionable is the simplicity of choice and result of our actions. It is probably the only thing I have the stomach to agree with the "man" on. But we are either for extracting confessions by these brutal means, or we are not. If we are, then don't be too surprised when a US soldier eventually gets captured, and these fuckers go medieval on the poor bastard out of vengeance.
If we're not, then we're not. This can no longer stand. This is not what America is about.
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ReplyDeleteDear Apheresis brothers and sisters. I must tell you of an extremely danger, life altering medical condition that developed during my last triple apheresis donation. Please take the time to read my story and see if you too. Could unknowing be setting yourself up for possible personal calamity with very real and chilling effects. Such as your health, your job, your ability to work or even care for your family.
ReplyDeleteSounds far reaching and unimaginable doesn’t it. Why can such a safe & simple procedure, as easy as apheresis is. Be such a big deal anyway. After all it’s not the first times we’ve donated is it. You could say we ‘re all old hands at this . The Cross would call , and we freely and welling give because that what good donors do.
The American Red Cross wants all its donor to think and feel safe when giving donation. Rightly so you should say. Very rarely does anything ever go even remotely wrong to cause personal injury or harm to a donor as a result of a post complications from a donator procedure. Lets face it , other than a little sting from that needle. The biggest issue was what movie were we going to watch.. We’ve all been there going to nap or watch the movie.
Now I will ask you some questions to see if you really understand just how unimportant the American Red Cross is concerned with your well being . Question one : When was the last time you actually read and understood what the Informed Consent For Apheresis Blood Collections form was all about. Can you even remember it. Trust me that was one of the very first forms the American Red Cross had you sign. You say it doesn’t really ring a bell, you just don’t remember that form at all. Do you even remember signing it. Don’t worry about that. The Red Cross or their out sourced Risk Management Company will be the first to jog your memory back to reality with a well you signed it.
There is a very good reason why you don’t remember this consent form. Now let me see if I can get this straight myself.. According to what my ARC Donation Chapter in ST. Paul Minnesota. said. This Consent form is valid until there has been an FDA required changes made to the overall apheresis procedure. At that time a new consent form must than be signed and dated by the donor. If there has not been any FDA required changes made. There one signed copy of the consent form is all that’s required to cover the ARC if they are faced with a risk from some donor complication. I’d be donating for years and found out to my surprise I has signed four consent forms over the years. Can’t remember signing or even reading any of them, More less then even what was written on them. BIG mistake dear friends. This form basically spells out the real dangers that can develop from a donation are. The ARC version does not use the words LIFE- THREATRING CONDITION as the FDA recommends. Nor does the ARC require their people to discuss these dangerous complication with the donor’s before any consent forms are signed as required by FDA recommendations. I’d say this very safe and simple procedure that’s advertised on the ARC wed site. Isn’t as safe as we really think it is.
Question two . When you donate does your ARC technician go over the complete donor questionnaire and educational paper work with you.? I mean does he or she actual tell you there are very rare and serious complications that could end your life. Don’t tell me they just ask you about your sex life and traveling history. Seems they are far more concerned about the quality of your blood then they are about informing you of possible life altering complications from this donating that your freely giving them.
I will not ask you any more question at this time because I didn’t want to force a change of anyone mind about donations. But I do want to say the average donor does not understand what the true complication can be if they develop any serious medical conditions as a result of a donation. The ARC does not go out of their way to really inform you of this. Of course they will say they do. But in actually you must read and hopefully comprehend what‘s in these consent forms. The ARC does not personal tell you of such risks to your person. You must first read this yourself on the consent form and then ask them the questions . You would think it should be the other way around. Please don’t wait until it’s to late. Please start asking them hard questions about the consent forms that you sign. Remember what your really doing is releasing the ARC of all responsible if any thing should happen to you.
There is much more to my story if you interested.