Here's something of note: I was sickened by the
NY Times piece about Guantanamo today. Totally distressing for so very many reasons, not the least of which is that improper, hell, ILLEGAL treatment of those so-called "Gitmo" detainees is completely believable, and almost expected. I mean, is this really "news"? The news should be why it took so long to uncover this, and why the piece with the allegations was as stunningly short as this one. I wonder if the reporter was scared to be the name on this piece. I also couldn't help but cringe on behalf of Zach de la Rocha and Tom Morello and the other two Ragers Against the Machines, whose music was cited as having a role in the torture. I mean, of all bands, this one has railed against this type of governmental collusion from their earliest days. They must feel truly mournful today. Actually, I wonder when we'll see an Op-Ed from them decrying this news?
One other note about this piece: so much dancing around the big T word. Why can't we just say it? TORTURE. Both headlines in the NYT and the Seattle Times used the word "harsh. At least (horrifying as it is) the
New Yorker piece about Abu Ghraib had the T word in the headline. "Harsh?" That seems so bewilderingly delicate. Harsh happens in wars - that word implies that what's been happening at Guantanamo is within the normal spectrum of wartime behavior (when, clearly, our gov't is totally denying the apparently-unimportant Geneva Conventions). What has to happen to have this country held accountable? If another government did this to our people there would be an outcry like no other.
