Monday, June 27, 2005
Preznit Bush Marks United Nations International Day In Support Of Victims Of Torture
From Reuters:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush, whose administration has been hit by accusations of prisoner abuse, said on Sunday that the United States was committed to the elimination of torture worldwide.
In a statement to mark United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Bush said: 'Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right, and we are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law.'
Accusations of prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan and at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have brought into question the policies of the Bush administration in treating foreign prisoners.
The United States has also been accused of sending some prisoners to countries with poor human rights records where they might be tortured. An Italian judge last week ordered the arrest of 13 people linked to the CIA for kidnapping an Egyptian terrorism suspect in Milan and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was tortured.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in March said the United States would never send terrorism suspects to countries where they would be tortured. But he acknowledged that once the prisoners were in the other country's custody, the United States had little control over their treatment.
'America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies,' Bush said in the statement.
'All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you,' he said.
Unless we think you're our enemy, in which case we will kidnap you off an Italian street and send you to Egypt to be tortured or killed. Or send you to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and hold you "in perpetuity" and piss on your Koran through an airvent (oops!). Or send you to Camp Bagram, Afghanistan and hang you by your wrists and burn you with cigarettes until you scream "Allah! Allah!" over and over again because some of our military personnel think its funny. Or smear fake menstrual blood on your face while we're interrogating you so that you think you're unclean and can no longer pray to Allah. And these are just some of the incidents of abuse and torture we know about. Remember, Bush and Rummy won't allow an independent investigation of the U.S. overseas detention system.
But otherwise, as the preznit said in his statement, "We are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law."
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush, whose administration has been hit by accusations of prisoner abuse, said on Sunday that the United States was committed to the elimination of torture worldwide.
In a statement to mark United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Bush said: 'Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right, and we are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law.'
Accusations of prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan and at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have brought into question the policies of the Bush administration in treating foreign prisoners.
The United States has also been accused of sending some prisoners to countries with poor human rights records where they might be tortured. An Italian judge last week ordered the arrest of 13 people linked to the CIA for kidnapping an Egyptian terrorism suspect in Milan and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was tortured.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in March said the United States would never send terrorism suspects to countries where they would be tortured. But he acknowledged that once the prisoners were in the other country's custody, the United States had little control over their treatment.
'America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies,' Bush said in the statement.
'All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you,' he said.
Unless we think you're our enemy, in which case we will kidnap you off an Italian street and send you to Egypt to be tortured or killed. Or send you to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and hold you "in perpetuity" and piss on your Koran through an airvent (oops!). Or send you to Camp Bagram, Afghanistan and hang you by your wrists and burn you with cigarettes until you scream "Allah! Allah!" over and over again because some of our military personnel think its funny. Or smear fake menstrual blood on your face while we're interrogating you so that you think you're unclean and can no longer pray to Allah. And these are just some of the incidents of abuse and torture we know about. Remember, Bush and Rummy won't allow an independent investigation of the U.S. overseas detention system.
But otherwise, as the preznit said in his statement, "We are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law."
