Yet Another Effect of Torture

The torture photos, the White House memos by the attorney general designate, the international Red Cross reports alleging U.S. torture in Iraq and Guantanamo: besides besmirching the name of America around the world, inflaming the Islamic cultures, and making it difficult for American military to insist on Geneva convention treatment for U.S. servicepeople, and now one more effect: the Iraqis now in power, who are likely to be the ones in power after the "election," are accused of rampant torture of their prisoners. And exactly what can the U.S. say about it? That anybody will believe?

Don't look now, but the Bushies are going to have to revise their reason for invading Iraq once again, because "to get rid of the tyrant who tortured his own people" doesn't look so good right now. Unless they want to add, "and replace him with another tyrant who tortures his own people, and the folks at Halliburton."

There's very little they can credibly say, when the Secretary of State designate refuses repeated opportunities to condemn torture, and the Attorney General designate is one of the architects of U.S. permissiveness and policy of torture. Neither should be confirmed, but we join in the movement to deny AG designate Alberto Gonzales confirmation by the Senate.

Yahoo! News - Torture Still Routine in Iraqi Jails, Report Says