BUSH CONTINUES MISLEADING THE PUBLIC OVER PRISON ABUSE SCANDAL

"There ought to be limits
to freedom..."

— George W. Bush,
commenting on the website
www.gwbush.com

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QUOTES OF THE MONTH:

"I did the right thing. It's a little early to project the amount of money the Legislature will be dealing with, and as you know I hope I'm not here to deal with it. I'm seeking another office." --Governor George W. Bush, on the effect of his tax cuts on the Texas budget. 7/13/00

"If you asked me, life or death, 'You've got to tell me how big the tax cut is, that George is proposing,' I couldn't tell you. I don't give a damn. Because I'm out of it. I'm out of it." --ex-President Bush, recent NYT interview

"If you don't think it's a gamble to put a man in the White House who believes we should have guns in church, who thinks the Taliban is a rock band, who was such a failure as a businessman that his company was nicknamed "El-Busto," who wants to turn our Social Security system into a Wall Street boiler room, who can't name a single thing he disagrees with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on, who smeared a bona fide hero named John McCain, and whose principle policy proposal is to give America's surplus to the idle rich in the form of a $1.3 trillion tax cut, you're either nuts or a Republican."
... Equal Time co-host Paul Begala, shooting the bull.

CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER ANALYSIS OF GEORGE "DUBYA" AND HIS TAX PROPOSALS.

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:47 PM   In his speech before the U.S. Army War College this week, President Bush again tried to absolve himself and his Administration from any responsibility for the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison. He said the abuse was "disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values" [1]. But new reports show that the Administration - and President Bush himself - approved key documents that originally opened the door to the abuse.

Since the scandal broke, the Administration has said that, in Iraq, it always insisted on following the Geneva Conventions on humane treatment for prisoners. However, in a letter to the Red Cross dated December 24, 2003, the Bush Administration asserted that detainees in Iraq "were not entitled to the full protections of the Geneva Convention" [2] This disregard for internationally-recognized human rights regulations was consistent with a January 2002 directive by the White House labeling the Geneva Conventions "quaint" and "obsolete" [3]. It is also consistent with a Newsweek report showing that "President Bush, along with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door to such methods" of abuse and torture as documented at Abu Ghraib [4]. Those secret orders were designed "to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions."

Instead of acknowledging these documents and upholding his pledge to "usher in an era of personal responsibility," [5] the Bush Administration is now assaulting those who brought the story to light. Sgt. Samuel Provance told the Associated Press he has "been disciplined by the military and stripped of his security clearance" after he publicly refuted the President's claims that the abuse was only the work of a few soldiers [6]. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld banned "digital cameras, camcorders and cellphones with cameras" from all military installations in Iraq [7]. And, as MSNBC reports, the whole Administration is "lashing out at American journalists, adding their official voices to the chorus of talk radio, conservative Web site and newspaper columnists" who claim the media's coverage of the scandal and Iraq in general "is undermining support for the war" [8].

Sources:

1. President Outlines Steps to Help Iraq Achieve Democracy and Freedom, 05/24/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37573.

2. "Commander in Iraq to Be Replaced", Los Angeles Times, 05/25/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37574.

3. "White House memo criticized", USA Today, 05/26/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37575.

4. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, May 24, 2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37576.

5. President Bush Discusses Progress in Education in St. Louis, 01/05/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37577.

6. "Soldier Who Spoke Out About Prisoner Abuse Disciplined", WXII12.com, 05/26/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37578.

7. "Rumsfeld Bans Camera Phones in Iraq: Report", Agence France Passe, 05/23/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37579.

8. "Media takes heat from administration over Iraq", MSNBC, 05/25/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37580.

Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. --> < http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=37581 >

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