From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib

Seymour Hersy, interviewed on Democracy Now:

He goes to the base, goes and takes a look. He sees two men easily 80 years old, living in their own excrement bound in a jail, in a pen.

There’s absolutely no differentiation among those who are people who wanted to do something, conspired against America or were al Qaeda members, and those who are simply people just caught up in the American sweeps.

So, what you have, if you want it talk about how Abu Ghraib began, what you have is a attitude that these people are not humans. Dehumanization. We do that more all the time, but you also have an attitude that it doesn’t matter what you do.

It’s a crime against humanity, it’s a crime against the Geneva Convention, and of course, it’s also dangerous in a rational world to the presidency itself. Because if you don’t inflict values at the very beginning, you do end up down the road with the kind of abuses we had.


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7 responses to “From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib”

  1. Bill Spacey Avatar

    so John Kerry has admitted to commiting war crimes, to “hacking off heads, cutting off arms and doing things liken to JINJUS KAHN”, and we have no problem with that…

    meanwhile, there are some bullies taking rude photographs and beating prisoners in Iraq and they get 40 years…

    (prisoners are terrorists, folks)

    so Kerry gets a zillion dollars and a seat in the Senate and a chance to rule the free world for being a war criminal and actually KILLING innocent civilians…

    and these US Soliders get 40 years in prison for NOT KILLING anyone…

    only in liberal AMERICA, folks…

    (if a republican admitted to war crimes he wouldn’t be elected dog catcher)

    ONLY IN LIBERAL AMERICA!!!

  2. chrisafer Avatar

    Bill, you’re wrong. He didn’t admit to those things. He was recounting others’ experiences. The full quote starts off “Several months ago in Detroit we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia , not isolated incidents, but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. They re-lived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do. They had personally raped, cut off ears…”

    Sorry to rain on your parade if you were planning the Lynndie England in 2036 campaign.

  3. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    prisoners are terrorists, folks

    Most of them have not been charged or have little idea why they’ve been detained.

    Aren’t they innocent until proven guilty?

    Do people incarcerated here in the U.S. before and during their trial deserve their treatment?

    If this is liberal America, how come the conservatives control over all three branches of the government?

  4. Joey Avatar

    Yeah, a democrat who may or may not have done those things a long time ago, who has learned from his mistakes and other’s over the course of the years, or a republican who hasn’t learned a thing, despite the lesson repeating itself quite often?

    Whether they are terrorists or not does not mean we must treat them like animals, otherwise we are no better than they.

  5. Matthew Avatar

    Take it or leave it or call it anything other than what it is….Kerry is weak and not able to be the leader of the US. PERIOD

  6. Dano Avatar
    Dano

    As the election comes the new president will solve problens for all the prisoner.Read the news in Europe to see what is happening in the USA. Youth is very instightful as to problems in the world..Look deeper to the party and remember you vote to elect th entire party……….

  7. Brent! Avatar

    >so John Kerry has admitted to commiting war crimes, to “hacking off heads, cutting off arms and doing things liken to JINJUS KAHN”, and we have no problem with that…

    Kerry nevery said that; that’s what was taken out of context and put in the Republican-run TV ads. If they played the entire sentence or paragraph, it would reveal that Kerry indicated only that he witnessed such atrocities by other soliders in Iraq; and that he himeself never did it.

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