Starting today, I aintend to feature the photos one at a time each day on this blog. The photos were originally released by an Australian TV station, not an American news outlet. They are very graphic, and they are almost guaranteed to make you want justice for the criminals who ordered the torture, the criminals who justified it, and those who carried it out in Abu Ghirab, Gitmo and CIA secret prisons around the world.
I think it is important that these photos be widely published. Never again should this nation engage in this kind of brutal behavior. Torture is a crime, and the spotlight should be turned on the crimes that were done in our name. There should be no debate about whether the criminals should be prosecuted. There is never any debate about whether murder should be prosecuted, and apparently in too many cases, torture in U.S. prisons outside the U.S. resulted in death., We need to know the whole story, and we need prosecution, to make sure this never happens again. America is supposed to be the leader in human rights, not a criminal rogue nation, as much of the world now regards us.
If these photos do not make you angry and want to demand justice, you have not been paying attention.
4 comments:
Since they have been out for over 3 years how are they hidden photos that have never been released? I have seen them several times.
How do seeing more photos of man piles, of bloody, beaten men, men smeared with crap help get anything done.
I am sorry, I have to side with the President on this one. I just don't see the benefit right now of releasing these pictures. We are at a very volatile time, and there can be no good at seeing these pictures.
Disagree. Hiding these shots only gives the reset of the world the idea we have something to hide. The excuse that "publication will hurt the troops" is nonsense. People bent on hurting the troops will continue to work their violence.
THis country must face squarely what Bush and company did in our name. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Transparency is the American way.
We need to show the world that we are not afraid to face our leaders' criminality. And publication should motivate the public to pressure Obama and Congress to prosecute the wrongdoers. THis era should not be allowed to go down the memory hole. THis is criminal behavior. We prosecuted and executed Nazis and Japanese for doing the exact same things. And low level U.S. soldiers are serving time for doing what these photos depict. It's time the architects of this policy pay.
But how does showing those photos more than they have already been shown, make them pay? That's what I am saying. Nowhere did I say that publication will hurt the troops. I just said I agreed they didn't need to be let out to the public at this time. And I don't think more pictures are the answer. How many pictures do you need to see to know we tortured? Don't you already know that? We know we did it, so does the entire world, why do we need more pictures to show it? We just need the investigations to go forward, not more pictures for everyone to sit and make fun of and for the GOP and for the Republicans and BushCo to say, see I told you it was just those few bad apples that did it.. That's what is going to happen... read what the President said... he said those pictures would just detract from "Future Investigations" That's what we need to watch out for.. Is that what you want? Just as the Nancy Pelosi flap this week was a distraction, these pictures are just more distraction for the GOP... We don't need any more distractions, we need trials.
You're right about the distractions. You're right about the need for trials. My instinct is just that all information needs to be free. Nothing hidden, nothing secret, and it all comes out in the wash. I could be wrong, but I truly believe that more information about what your government is doing means more democracy and more justice.
See what you think of John Cusac's piece on Huffpo.
< http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-cusack/a-hollow-and-horrible-equ_b_203817.html >
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