Tuesday, June 28, 2005
United Nations: U.S. May Have Prison Ships
From the BBC:
"The United Nations says it has learned of serious allegations that the US is secretly detaining terrorism suspects, notably on American military ships.
The special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said the accusations were rumours at this stage, but urged the US to co-operate in an investigation.
He said the UN wants lists of the places of detention and those held.
The comments come five days after the UN accused the US of stalling on their requests to visit Guantanamo Bay.
Investigators have been asking to visit the jail in Cuba to carry out checks into allegations of human rights abuse.
The UN said for over a year there had been no response to its requests, and it would begin an inquiry into alleged abuses with or without US co-operation.
Washington had yet to grant their request, Mr Nowak said.
He told the BBC there were a number of allegations from reliable sources that the US was holding terrorist suspects in secret places of detention, including vessels abroad.
He said that according to the reports, the ships were believed to be in the Indian Ocean.
Mr Nowak said the charges of secret detention camps were very serious, amounting to enforced disappearances."
These "prison ship" accusations are more allegations over the administration's handling of terror suspects that Preznit Bush and Vice Preznit Cheney will call "absurd." Yet the administration stonewalls any independent inquiry into the overseas detainee system so we have to take Bush and Cheney at their words that there are no prison ships and that terror suspects are not being abused, tortured, humiliated, or murdered.
I don't know about you, but I don't believe a word either Bush or Cheney say. Not even "is" or "the." I want an independent inquiry into the handling of terror suspects. I don't want Rummy running the inquiry or Attorney General Abu Gonzalez or Condi Rice or Senator Pat Roberts or Majority Leader Frist or any other member of the Washington establishment who has a vested interest in making sure Bush comes off looking good. Pat Roberts has already killed the pre-war intelligence commission we were promised would come after the "2004 political season." I guarantee you that Bush will do everything in his power to make sure no independent investigation is made of any of the prison abuse allegations because once somebody fair-minded and independent shines a light on the inner workings of the administration's "War on Terror," Americans are going to find that the frat boy antics of the Abu Ghraib nightshift was just the tip of a shameful, deviant episode in our nation's history that will make the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II seem like summer camp outings.
"The United Nations says it has learned of serious allegations that the US is secretly detaining terrorism suspects, notably on American military ships.
The special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said the accusations were rumours at this stage, but urged the US to co-operate in an investigation.
He said the UN wants lists of the places of detention and those held.
The comments come five days after the UN accused the US of stalling on their requests to visit Guantanamo Bay.
Investigators have been asking to visit the jail in Cuba to carry out checks into allegations of human rights abuse.
The UN said for over a year there had been no response to its requests, and it would begin an inquiry into alleged abuses with or without US co-operation.
Washington had yet to grant their request, Mr Nowak said.
He told the BBC there were a number of allegations from reliable sources that the US was holding terrorist suspects in secret places of detention, including vessels abroad.
He said that according to the reports, the ships were believed to be in the Indian Ocean.
Mr Nowak said the charges of secret detention camps were very serious, amounting to enforced disappearances."
These "prison ship" accusations are more allegations over the administration's handling of terror suspects that Preznit Bush and Vice Preznit Cheney will call "absurd." Yet the administration stonewalls any independent inquiry into the overseas detainee system so we have to take Bush and Cheney at their words that there are no prison ships and that terror suspects are not being abused, tortured, humiliated, or murdered.
I don't know about you, but I don't believe a word either Bush or Cheney say. Not even "is" or "the." I want an independent inquiry into the handling of terror suspects. I don't want Rummy running the inquiry or Attorney General Abu Gonzalez or Condi Rice or Senator Pat Roberts or Majority Leader Frist or any other member of the Washington establishment who has a vested interest in making sure Bush comes off looking good. Pat Roberts has already killed the pre-war intelligence commission we were promised would come after the "2004 political season." I guarantee you that Bush will do everything in his power to make sure no independent investigation is made of any of the prison abuse allegations because once somebody fair-minded and independent shines a light on the inner workings of the administration's "War on Terror," Americans are going to find that the frat boy antics of the Abu Ghraib nightshift was just the tip of a shameful, deviant episode in our nation's history that will make the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II seem like summer camp outings.
