Dick Cheney is so afraid that the Republicans are going to get a total ass kicking in a weeks time that he has to rely on terrorists in order to get out the vote.

White House transcript of Cheney’s recent interview with Conservative WDAY Radio:-

Q Are the terrorists trying to influence our election in your view?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I think they're very much aware of our political calendar here, I really do. And when you see the kinds of things that happened this year, for example, when the Democratic Party in Connecticut purged Joe Lieberman, in effect, drummed him out of the party on the grounds that he had supported the President in the global war on terror, that sends a message to the terrorists overseas that their basic strategy of trying to break the will of the American people may, in fact, work.

Al-Qieda, America’s worst enemy - not only do they seek to kill everyone, but they mounted an all out effort to get that great American, Joe Lieberman deselected. Damn their evil plots.

Osama bin Laden has talked about it. He believes firmly that we don't have the stomach for the fight long-term, that if you kill enough Americans you can change American policy. And he cites what happened in Beirut in 1983, when we lost 241 Marines, and within months, we'd withdrawn from Lebanon; or Mogadishu in 1993, when we lost people in the battle in Mogadishu, and within weeks had pulled our troops out of Somalia. So I think they are very conscious of the electoral timetable in the United States.

Interesting that the big Dick doesn’t mention Vietnam, a bloody war which the US government described as a battle between good against evil, a war in which the endless stream of US casualties and US public opposition eventually forced a change in US policy. It was a war which many of Dick’s generation had first had knowledge of, but obviously not Dick who got 5 draft deferments.

I can't say that they make a specific decision for a particular act, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's a factor that enters into their thinking.

Just so we all clear then, voting for anyone but the Republicans is a vote for the terrorists.

These people have disgraced the ideals of democracy, they have shamed their country and they have amply demonstrated their extensive incompetence at administering anything. They are going down.

This is an article which critically reviews 109th US Congress’s performance. I could not agree more with Matt Taibbi’s assessment or conclusions.

I read a lot of Billmon, a serious blogger doesn’t rush to conclusions and this post encapsulates a lot of what I have been thinking but been unable to put my finger on.

Ken Macdonald QC
Director of Public Prosecutions

Dear Mr. Macdonald,

Further to the Coroners investigation into the death of Mr Terry Lloyd the ITN reporter killed near Basra in 2003 I understand that a verdict of “Unlawful Killing” has been recorded. I further understand that the Coroner in question, Mr. Andrew Walker has written to you and the Attorney General requesting that charges be brought against the American troops responsible for Mr. Lloyd’s death, along with the killing of Mr. Osman and Mr. Nerac the other members of the ITN team who were killed in the same incident.

I am writing to you to urge you to take up this case and to prosecute the soldiers involved as matter of urgency. As you may be aware, this is not the first time a UK Coroners office has found US military personnel responsible for the unlawful killing of UK citizens. In 1992, the Oxford Coroner found that 9 British soldiers killed by US pilots to have been unlawfully killed. In this case, the UK did not pursue any criminal or other proceedings against those responsible and an internal US military investigation cleared the pilots of any wrongdoing.

Based on the US military and civilian court’s appalling record of investigating and subsequently charging servicemen accused of un-lawfully killing or abusing civilians or other soldiers, I do not believe that the UK government can rely on the US justice system to act on its behalf. All major Human Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeated called on the US government to thoroughly investigate the ever growing backlog of credible cases of US military abuse or unlawful killings, yet very little progress has been made. HRW studies indicate that as of Apr06, of the 600 US military personnel implicated in the Abu Ghraib abuses, only 40 are currently serving jail time and only 10 US personnel have been sentenced to more than 1 year in jail, with no US Officer having been held account for the actions of their subordinates.

Even when US military personnel are found guilty of murder, the sentences meted out fall far short of the equivalent sentences imposed by US Civil courts. I cite the cases of Staff Sgt Horne Jr, jailed for 3 years for murdering an Iraqi civilian, Staff Sgt Cardenas Alban, jailed for 1 year for the same murder and the 60 days confinement along with a $6000 fine imposed on CWO Welshofer for suffocating to death a captured Iraqi General during an interrogation.

In summary, serious doubts exist about the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Justice’s political impartiality, their willingness to prosecute serving military personnel and the fairness of the sentences issued for grave crimes against Iraqi civilians. It is therefore vital that the UK CPS pursues the case against those responsible for Mr. Lloyds death in Iraq as the US Justice system cannot be relied upon to impartially investigate or prosecute this crime.

Allegations of excessive or reckless use of force by US forces against Non combatants have continued to emerge from Iraq and Afghanistan since the end of major hostilities in 2003. I note the recent comments of Lance Corporal Gerrard, a soldier wounded in 2003 during an attack on his vehicle by a US A-10 pilot in Iraq, which killed one and wounded 4 British soldiers – “There was a boy of about 12 years old. He was no more than 20 meters away when the Yank opened up. There were all these civilians around…….. He (the pilot) had absolutely no regard from human life.”

When the number of incidents in which US forces are alleged to have used excessive or reckless force are steadily mounting and the US President asserts his right to indefinitely imprison suspects, denying them access to the courts to challenge their detention and then seeks to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions to permit their “enhanced” interrogation, it becomes a moral obligation of the UK government to challenge these abuses, especially when, as in the case of the death of Terry Lloyd, they involve the interpretation and adherence to the Geneva Conventions. I urge you not to defer to political pressure or to be dissuaded by the practical challenges which pursuing this case will involve.

I understand that the UK has recently signed a bi-lateral extradition treaty with the USA, which has now been ratified by the US Senate, making the reciprocal extradition of suspects a straight forward matter. A number of UK citizens, the majority accused of white collar crimes have been extradited to the USA under this agreement. Given the seriousness of the charges, I urge you to demand the extradition of the US service members implicated in this crime so that they may be tried by a British court.

To fail to prosecute this case would be a tragedy for the families of Terry Lloyd, Hussein Osman and Fred Nerac. It would also show the world that the UK applies its code of justice selectively and only where it is politically expedient. It would further compound the current immunity from justice that US servicemen enjoy when operating in Iraq and Afghanistan with the attendant risks this poses to non combatants in these countries.

Yours sincerely

AJ Bladderwait.

This is too good to miss. Condi gives foreign policy advice.

Why I blog.

G U A N T A N A M O B A Y

That and prisoners dying in US custody. And Torture. And because Blair is facilitating Bush’s atrocities and not speaking out. And the ASBO keeps me indoors a lot.

My favourite Condi Rice quotes of all time:-

1. 15Jan06 – Speaking to the Press after the US assignation attempt on Ayman Al-Zawahri in Damadola Pakistan left 17 people dead, including 4 children but missed the intended target. Serious riots and protests erupted across Pakistan as a result. Rice offered no apologies and refused to talk about the incident but did say this:

“It’s obviously difficult at this time for the Pakistani Government”.

Yeah, I’d say so, kind of like it would be difficult for the US government if Mexico started dropping bombs on the homes of Texas vigilantes and killing their kids.

2. 12Jun05 – A beautiful bit of rhetoric delivered at the start of Rice’s European tour against a back drop of a rising tide of demonstrable cases of US sanctioned torture, kidnapping and “disappearances” of suspects into secret gulags in Eastern Europe. Major European allies were pushing the US for details of its programs and a clear commitment to the Convention against Torture and Inhumane treatment. Rice’s comment?

“The US does not condone Torture”.

Note how this statement is not and cannot be “The US has NEVER tortured” or “The US WILL NEVER torture”. At the same time as Rice was making her US tour, VP Dick Cheney was lobbying Sen McCain to amend his bill clearly banning the use of inhumane treatment by US forces to exempt the CIA.

3. 02Oct06 - Probably the all time classic and an excellent example of the Bush regime’s inherent dishonesty and capacity for lying. Rice is denying that the CIA tried seriously to encourage her to do more to counter growing terrorist threats, during a meeting she had previously been unable to recall occurring when interrogated by the 9/11 commission.

“The Idea that I would have ignored that, I find incomprehensible”

Ignore it she did, as the National Security Advisor she let her boss take the month of August off and the following month, as predicted by the CIA, by the PDB of Aug 6th, Osama Bin Laden organises and executes a massive attack in the USA involving hijacked aircraft.

4. 13May04 – This would rank as one of the funniest TV moments of all time if the results of the Bush gang’s incompetence wasn’t so tragic. Rice is testifying before the 9/11 commission and after her opening statement and a series of softball questions during which she sets a scene in which all the intelligence reports from the CIA indicate that there was no NEW threat and advises the commission that the CIA and FBI were actively working to chase up all leads and that essentially she and President were taking no action because there was nothing to be done that wasn’t already being done. In addition she indicates that no new intelligence concerning threats in the USA came to light in the 6th August Presidential Daily Briefing which required any action or her part. When asked what the title of the PDB for 6th August was, she answered somewhat petulantly;

“I believe that the title was, Bin Laden Determined to Attack inside the United States.”

No comment is necessary.

5. 16Jul06 – A press briefing by Rice at the G8 summit in Russia, shortly after the IDF had begun bombing Lebanon. Dr Rice was asked a number of questions about Israel’s actions and specifically if she felt that Israel was showing restraint.

“…..And so the Israelis themselves have said that they want to spare innocent civilian life; they themselves have said that they are mindful of problems of civilian infrastructure -- they’ve said this to me – and of the humanitarian situation.”

For reference, at the time of the UN brokered ceasefire 14th August, almost a month after Condi received assurances from Israel, the body count was:

· 63 Hezbollah members were killed in Lebanon
· 1,238 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli forces, 400 of these deaths were children.
· Over 4,000 Lebanese civilians have been wounded, of which 1,000 are children.
· 35,000 homes have been destroyed in Lebanon with over 100,000 people made homeless.
· 80 bridges and 94 road flyovers have been destroyed in Lebanon.
· 350 Lebanese schools were destroyed or severely damaged by the IDF.
· Israeli casualties were 117 military personnel killed.
· 43 Israeli civilian deaths.

They said it to you Dr. Rice but they did not mean a single syllable of it. This much should have been apparent to you from the beginning, assuming of course that you have any inclination of foreign policy or interest in history. The USA aided and abetted in the slaughter in Lebanon and Dr. Rice in conjunction with Ambassador Bolton carried out the diplomatic effort to ensure that no cease-fire was possible and that Israel could withstand any international pressure. The blood of 400 children is on your hands.


6. Jan05 – During her Senate confirmation hearings, Dr Rice uttered this rather ironic observation on Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez’s democratic credentials,

“We are very concerned about a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way, and some of the steps he’s taken against the media, against the opposition, I think are really very troubling.”

Coming from the Bush administration, that has got to hurt and embarrass Mr Chavez.

7. 25Oct05 – How could we miss this gem?

“Well, I think the word of the United States has been as good as gold in its international dealings and its agreements”


As Kos points out, the very same day the Washington Post demonstrates that her statement is bullshit. Lets not even start on the ABM treaties, the ICC, the Doha trade talks, the EU open skies talks, the Geneva conventions or UN Human rights.

The best quote about Dr Rice comes from Sen Boxer (D Ca.)

“I personally believe – this is my personal view – that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell the war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth.”

…and yourself, and your country and the lives of 50,000 Iraqi civilians and the concept of justice, democracy and freedom from tyranny.

Dear Ambassador Tuttle,

I am writing to you in order to clarify a couple of definitions over which I feel that your government has become more than a little confused in the past few months years. I know that your nation is a stupid one, with very little of your country’s vast wealth devoted to educating your children so I have been as patronizing as possible when spelling out exactly where you, as a nation, have gone wrong in your English comprehension.

Firstly the definition of “Freedom” is commonly misunderstood. This is a word frequently uttered by President George Bush, yet I fear that he does not fully understand its meaning. Whilst it is difficult to completely and comprehensively define “Freedom”, there are a couple of things which it is not. One of these things is imprisonment without the right to challenge, in an impartial court, such imprisonment. Another thing Freedom is not is torture or mistreatment of any kind when detained by the agents of a government. Several further things which “Freedom” is most definitely not, are: Kidnapping, Detention in secret prisons without access to the law or even the Red Cross, executions and the use of high explosives, especially cluster munitions, on civilians. All of these things should correctly be termed “Wrong”, “Evil” or simply “Disgusting”.

Secondly, the word “Democracy” is frequently used by President Bush to describe his “visions” for the rest of the world. Again, I fear that frequently you American’s have misunderstood the true meaning of the word and that you are often operating under the misguided assumption that your own form of government represents an example of “Democracy”. This is not the case, as in a true democracy, the elected government has responsibilities to the people who elected it. In your country, Politicians, be they Senators or Congressman are more readily available for purchase than hookers. Osama Bin Laden need not engage your country in armed combat, but simply arrive in Washington with a couple of million dollars and some illicit sex workers in order to secure whatever legislation he requires. Similarly, as former President Carter noted, the US Presidential elections are not the International Standards for elections. “Democracy” does not involve Diebold voting machines. “Democracy” does not involve planted journalism to propagate positive new stories. I trust that this explanation has been helpful.

One other thing. Now that your government has legalized the use of torture as an interrogation technique, along with arbitrary detention and extraordinary rendition, I am formally advising you that should any US government representative step foot on my property, I will piss in their eyes. If you try and stop me in the street or try to bring “Freedom & Democracy” to my place of work or to my children, I will attempt to urinate on as many of you as possible. I will defecate on your face, stick my pen in your eye or just beat you with my huge Johnson until you can no longer plea for mercy. It is nothing personal and at all times, I shall act within the law, but if you come for me you better be well armed and ready to take wet casualties, know what I’m saying? You will spread your “Freedom & Democracy” in my country and my neighborhood over my dead body and empty bladder. Idiots.

Anyway – good luck with that War on Terror thing, I hope that all works out well for you and that you don’t kill too many more innocent Afghan/Iraqi/Pakistani civilians or British or Canadian soldiers.

Regards

AJ Bladderwait.

Dear Tony Blair,

I wish to check that you are fully aware of the implications of your flagship extradition treaty with the USA, now that the US Congress and Senate have passed the Torture and Detention bill.

You, of course understand that under the terms of your extradition treaty, any UK citizen can be extradited to the US if the US government simply “requires” their presence. The person requested by the US would have no legal recourse in the UK to object to their extradition and once in the United States, the person would be treated under US law.

As you may be aware, the US is one of the few countries in the world, which now authorizes its agents to torture people. In addition, the US allows the indefinite detention of prisoners, whilst allowing such prisoners no opportunity to challenge their detention. Further, the US now allows for the trials of individuals who are not allowed to see or challenge the evidence arrayed against them.

The new US law is a breathtaking challenge to conventional wisdom on the rights of the individual, the basic rules of law and the authority of the state. Not since 1933 have we seen a government so blatantly disregard conventional wisdom and established precedents of Human Rights.

Mr. Blair, what were you thinking when you signed the extradition treaty with the US in 2003? Were you bent over your desk being rodgered by the US Ambassador? Were you sucking on George Bush’s cock? Were you thinking, they can’t be so bad? You TOTAL FUCKING IDIOT.

The US government thinks that drowning people is a smart way to get information from them. It happily sends its soldiers to death simply to save the President face. It puts Pedophiles in charge of congressional commissions to protect children from pedophiles. It is run by a group of congressmen and senators who would sell their souls to the devil for pocket change or a hooker and most importantly it is happy to sell out the constitution, the basis on which their government was founded if they thought they could marginally profit.

You have created an environment in which UK citizens can be exported to a country which has no credible legal system, a country which tortures people, without that person having the ability to challenge their extradition in a UK court. How exactly are you serving the UK public? I imagine that at some point you were an idealist and active supporter of human rights – how exactly did you end up as an enabler of George W Bush and his law which permits the torture of suspects detained without legal rights?

I hope you can sleep at night

AJ Bladderwait.

Dear Dr Reid,

It is with some satisfaction that I note your recent proposal to remove the right of prisoners in UK custody, from protection from torture. Since the US Senate ratified a bill to permit the torture of suspects held without trial or right of appeal, it was always inevitable that the archaic British Laws which prevent the extradition of prisoners to countries which practice torture would have to be updated. Otherwise how could we continue to extradite our bankers to the USA?

I do feel however that the proposals as reported in the Sunday Times do not go far enough in my view. If we have made the leap to allow other countries to torture our prisoners, why should we not torture them ourselves, obviously using your very careful criteria of applying torture in cases of “overriding considerations of national security”?

Why also should we stop with terrorist suspects. If we are prepared to see suspected terrorist prisoners tortured, we should also be prepared to torture those who have actually been convicted of terrorists acts or intentions. In the event, why do not we not propose a law which would allow our security services to torture domestic prisoners or suspects, for example those convicted or suspected of pedophilia or kidnapping or rape? If my daughter was raped, I would certainly wish to see the person suspected of it tortured terribly.

Given how soft New Labour has been on the issue of Crime and Law and Order, I believe that a program of domestic torture for suspected and convicted criminals would be a real vote winner in the forthcoming general election. I am still unsure whether I will vote BNP or New Labour, but a domestic torture program like they now have in the USA would help convince me that a Labour government could be as cruel and vicious as the Daily Mail demands in order to defeat crime.

Yours sincerely

AJ Bladderwait.