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Cindy Sheehan, Tom Hayden, and the Hate America Left meet with pro-Ba'athist members of the Iraqi parliament to discuss “peace.” TO FIND PEOPLE WHO HATE AMERICA AS MUCH AS THEY DO, the Fifth Column Left had to go halfway around the world to meet with Iraqi political leaders who call terrorism “honorable national resistance” and say foreign jihadists “are guaranteed Paradise” – and at least one of whom has ties to militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. By the end of the trip, the American leftists would echo these sentiments. Somehow most of the media – occupied with interminable coverage of Hurricane...

FORT HUACHUCA — Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast will be turning over the command of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca on June 29 to Brig. Gen. John Custer. Fast will become the deputy for the Army Capabilities Integration Center at the Training and Doctrine Command headquarters at Fort Monroe, Va. Custer, who is on the promotion list to major general, will be returning to Fort Huachuca from his current assignment as director of intelligence for the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. During his previous stint on the fort, Custer served as the Intelligence Center's deputy commander....

To my liberal friends: In light of the publication of what are purported to be photos of the torture of enemy prisoners by U.S. forces, I offer the following opinions: 1. Torture is illegal under both civil and military law. If these prisoners were tortured they were tortured in contravention of both law and regulations. This sort of thing was not and never had been official military policy. If these prisoners were tortured, it was a failure, yes-- but a failure of some small part of the system, not an indictment of the country or the military as a whole....

Lynndie England, the soldier convicted of abusing Iraqi detainees, was seriously burned in a prison kitchen accident at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, her mother said yesterday. England, who was pictured holding a leash to a naked and hooded Iraqi inmate at the Abu Ghraib prison, was sentenced in September to three years for her part in the abuse scandal, which sparked worldwide outrage. She has since been confined at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, which is on the base. The brig is the Department of Defense's only prison designated for women, said Brewster Schenck, a spokesman for the facility....

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Friday, in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, voiced Iran's concern over the increasing human rights violations of the US and Islamophobia in the West. In a letter to the UN secretary-general submitted by Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN, Mottaki criticized the US for its hidden prisons established all over the world, particularly in European states, and its use of torture in the interrogation of prisoners in such prisons, particularly terrorist suspects, as well as the increase in Islamophobia and mistreatment of Muslims in the West. Mottaki, in his letter, also called...

LONDON, July 22 (IranMania) - Iran accused the United States of extensive violation of human rights both inside and outside the US soil, IRNA reported. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi reacting to interfering statement of US President George W. Bush, said, "The United States is talking about violation of human rights in Iran, while the whole world is disgusted of extensive violation of human rights in USA and by US government around the world". Issuing a statement on Tuesday, President Bush expressed regret over continuation of Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji's imprisonment, asking for his "Immediate release" and proper...

The bloody attack on July 7 in London was a warning to the world to wake up against the evil of terrorism in all its forms. We have been hearing the cries of innocent victims of terrorism in so many countries, New York City, Karachi, Madrid, Beirut, Bosnia, Jakarta, Israel, Palestine and now London. Iraq is suffering from the sickness of suicide bombings every day. In 150 major terrorist attacks in the last 3 months, 2,400 Iraqis died and thousands more were wounded or handicapped. Mainstream Muslims helplessly find themselves as the main victims of terrorism. We still grieve the...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's government said Wednesday that President Bush shouldn't intervene in the case of a jailed Iranian dissident, particularly given allegations of U.S. human rights violations in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons. Bush called Tuesday for Tehran to release Akbar Ganji, a journalist jailed for writing articles linking government officials to murder. The White House statement came as some 300 Ganji supporters gathered in front of the Tehran University to demand Ganji's release. "The White House talks about violations of human rights in Iran while the world hates the U.S. violations of human rights in both Guantanamo...

The clip below is from an Oct 10, 2001 MRC special section on terrorism: Contrast Hoyt’s attitude to the one expressed by CBS’s Mike Wallace and ABC’s Peter Jennings during a 1989 forum on PBS. The two network stars agreed that if they were traveling with enemy troops and learned of an ambush planned to kill U.S. soldiers they would not provide any warning. A reprint from the April 1989 MediaWatch, a monthly newsletter then-published by the MRC: Peter Jennings and Mike Wallace Agree Reporters First, Americans Second In a future war involving U.S. soldiers what would a TV reporter...

(State Dept. Report Leaves Out U.S.) Never let it be said that the U.S. State Department lacks chutzpah. The department recently issued its annual report on human rights practices of nations around the world, pointedly criticizing perennial violators as well as allies, including the U.S.-sponsored interim Iraqi government. But the report doesn't discuss accusations of human rights abuses at the U.S. prisons in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Gharib, Iraq, where prisoners of war and terrorism suspects are held. Curtis Cooper, a State Department spokesman, explained that the report does not indulge in self-criticism. It leaves it to others to...

As the Senate Judiciary Committee voted today on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General, we hear a speech by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh on torture from Guantanamo to Abu Gharib to Vietnam.Hersh is the author of 'Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Gharib.' He spoke last month at the Wise Free Synagogue in New York.'The amazing thing is that we have been taken over by a cult of eight or nine neo-conservatives that have somehow grapped the government.' 'Just how and why they did it so efficiently, we will have to wait for much later...

FORT HOOD, Texas - Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of a band of rogue guards at the Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted Friday of abusing Iraqi detainees in a case that sparked international outrage when photographs were released that showed reservists gleefully torturing prisoners. Graner, the first soldier to be tried on charges arising from the scandal, was convicted of all five charges and faces up to 17 1/2 years behind bars. The jury took less than five hours to reach the verdict. The verdict came after a five-day trial in which prosecutors depicted Graner as a...

SAN FRANCISCO (News Frontiers) – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a man required to wear a signboard stating "I stole mail. This is my punishment," outside a San Francisco post office was unreasonably sanctioned. The 9th Circuit overturned a lower federal court's order that required mail thief and activist George Soarass to wear the sign, noting the public humiliation was intended to "break" him of an illusion he had committed a “victimless” crime. Paired with requiring Soarass to write apologies and lecture at a high school, the "somewhat crude" condition he wear the signboard provided...

July 27, 2004 Pg. 1 Senators Satisfied With Their 'No' Vote On Iraq ‘We were all firmly convinced we’d done the right thing’ By Lauren Shepherd By 1 a.m. that Friday morning, almost every senator had left the Capitol for home. Three Democrats, though, were still on the Senate floor, waiting for the final vote count on a resolution that would allow President Bush to launch a pre-emptive strike on Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) — had voted against the resolution along with 18 other Democrats, one independent and one...

Fake SEAL accuses soldiers of torture 21 DEC 2004 VeriSEAL TAMPA, Florida - A former California National Guard soldier who accused others in his unit of torturing Iraqi prisoners may have military justice problems of his own. Frank "Greg" Ford claims to have witnessed members of his National Guard battalion torturing Iraqi prisoners while his unit was stationed in Samarra in 2003, according to David DeBatto, a former National Guard Tactical HUMINT Team (THT) member and author of a story titled "Whitewashing Torture" published on a far left web site in early December. DeBatto says that Ford reported the alleged...

SIERRA VISTA - Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast is being made a scapegoat by some of the nation's most senior civilian and military leaders by their refusal to let her take command of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, a retired Army lieutenant general said. To Claudia Kennedy, who retired in 2000 as the Army's senior intelligence officer, Fast "is a fantastic, great leader." The talents of Fast, who returned to Fort Huachuca on July 30, is being lost because the Army is afraid to let her take command of the center and fort, even though the two-star was previously named...

BG Karpinski, the EX-Commander of the 800th MP Bde cries "IT'S A CONSPIRACY!" snip------

BAGHDAD, Aug 18 (AFP) - US soldiers killed two prisoners when a fight got out of control at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, at the heart of a US prison abuse scandal earlier this year, the US military said. The disturbance broke out at 5:45 am (0145 GMT) when guards saw a large group of detainees attacking a fellow inmate with rocks and tent poles before the fight swelled to more than 200 people, a statement said. Non-lethal ammunition failed to disperse the group, so lethal force was authorized when the life of one detainee was deemed still at...

Recently, several high-ranking Iranian leaders, among them Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Muhammad Khatami, expressed views on the achievements of Iran's Islamic Revolution and the legacy of Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, and on the relationship between Islam and Western culture and values. Both men attacked the U.S. for its handling of affairs in Iraq. Along with stressing the need to instill Ayatollah Khomeini's legacy among the younger Iranians who never knew him, Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei stated that not only is Khomeini's political thought appropriate for all of humanity's needs, but that the source of human suffering is "liberal democracy."...

Barely three weeks, and already I've developed Abu Ghraib fatigue. At first, I was saddened and ashamed by the photographs of abuse. I thought they might cost us the war, and deservedly so. But then I learned the prisoners in cell blocks 1A and 1B are not nice people. They're in prison because the Army thinks they did things like kill our soldiers with roadside bombs. Then I learned that, not infrequently, such interrogation techniques work — they elicit information that allows us to catch plotters and save lives. Then I was struck by the hypocrisy of Arab state leaders...

Graphic accounts by Iraqi prisoners of abuse at the hands of US soldiers have been published in a US newspaper, with fresh images depicting ill-treatment. The Washington Post says it has seen hundreds of videos and photos which show previously unseen abusive techniques. In sworn statements, detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad said they were beaten and sexually humiliated. They were also force-fed pork and alcohol, against their Muslim beliefs. The new photos include one of a prisoner being menaced by a soldier with a dog. In other abuses depicted in the latest pictures: A naked prisoner who...

Plans to destroy the prision where Iraqi detainees were 'humiliated' and 'abused' took a small step forward Thursday as lawmakers voted to include it in a multimillion dollar defense bill.The plan by Pennsylvania Reps. Curt Weldon a Republican, and John P. Murtha a Democrat would demolish the Abu Ghraib prision and build a modernized detention facility in its place.It was slipped into a $422 billion defense authorization bill that the House approved Thursday.The proposal drew an immediate rebuke from one lawmaker Wednesday during a short debate on the House floor.Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said destroying the prision is the 'sovereign...

As the Abu Gharib prisoner abuse scandal has almost naturally segued into calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation, the media has once again focused on the “news” to the detriment of the actual context needed to fully understand and appreciate the reality of the situation. Just as the media focuses on Fallujah and now Abu Gharib while ignoring the thousands of daily good deeds performed by Americans and others, those calling for Rumsfeld’s head on a platter are being given a pass on their motivations for doing so. When the media trots out one poll after another showing that half...

 Abu Gharib: A Product of the “War on Terror” By Yamin ZakariaAl-Jazeerah, May 8, 2004 As the obscene pictures depicting sexual abuse, torture and execution of the Iraqi prisoners continues to surface it only confirms the scale of the horror, obscenity, deceit, arrogance and the sheer hypocrisy of this war! Then the US has the gall to expect the Arabs/Muslims to condemn the human rights violation of Saddam Hussein’s regime but simultaneously expects the US forces to be excused for the same behaviour! Furthermore, one of the justifications for the carnage in Iraq was Saddam’s violation of human rights, but yet...

ShameMona Charen (archive) May 7, 2004 | Print | Send  Today's picture on the front page of the newspaper shows a naked Iraqi prisoner on the floor. A leash is tied around his neck. Holding the leash is an American soldier.  This is a disaster.  These photographs are a dagger in the heart of our hopes for Iraq and the wider Middle East. It isn't yet clear whether the damage is reversible, but first let's be clear about what the damage is.  Many have been at pains to object that what we have so far seen does not amount to...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 09/18/03 - Baghdad, Tikrit, Abu Gharib, Al-Taji, Beirut, Damascus BREAKING: Baghdad, BREAKING: Abu Gharib BREAKING: Al-Taji BREAKING: Beirut BREAKING: Mosul BREAKING: Syria BREAKING: Tikrit QFN [QUAMIRE-FREE NEWS] ========= Tikrit ========= BREAKING: In Tikrit, Iraq, AMERICAN HEROES deliver medical care to FREED Iraqis. The Bedouin children have never seen a doctor. Iraqi orphans, FREED by the USA. ========= Mosul ========= In Mosul, at the market BREAKING: In Mosul, Iraqi policeman qualify then receive a salary. =========== Al Arabiya =========== BREAKING: Arabic television channel Al Arabiya aired an old audio tape of Saddam. It...

Exposed: Secret and macabre world of jail where thousands were killed By Andrew Buncombe in Baghdad 14 April 2003 Wednesday was the day for killing and Thursday was the day relatives paid to collect the bodies of the dead. How prisoners were executed depended on an order from above – a bullet to the back of the head for those deemed to deserve a degree of mercy and the rope for those destined to suffer. On the morning of their deaths, prisoners were asked their permission to be killed: those who agreed first received a glass of water and a...

A huge mural just inside the gates of Abu Gharib Prison depicts a smiling Saddam Hussein and a row of black-hooded executioners. Bit redundant, that. The Iraqi president has been known to pull the trigger himself when in the mood for a spot of blood-letting or political avengement. But such was the frequency of formalized extermination under the Baath party regime that executioners were practically guaranteed tenure. Nowhere was the butchery more rife than Abu Gharib, a notorious penitentiary/gulag 40 kilometres west of the capital, and sprawling for miles behind thick stone walls along the main highway into town. It's...