SocraticGadfly: Taguba (Anthony)
Showing posts with label Taguba (Anthony). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taguba (Anthony). Show all posts

May 28, 2009

Abu Ghraib 2.0 pix show rapes – Obama tactics backfiring? Cover-up?

Both male-female and male-male rapes are pictured in the photographs President Barack Obama is fighting against releasing.

Of course, the more this gets reported by newspapers, the worse it could look for the U.S. in the Muslim world with a sort of “emotional judo.” The longer Obama refuses to release the pix even while places like the Telegraph tell more what’s on some of them, conspiratorial thinkers begin wondering just what is worse than what newspaper leakers have revealed. They then wonder how high up the U.S. military chain of command this reaches, and what Obama is covering up.
Maj. Gen. (Anthony) Taguba, who retired in January 2007, said he supported the President’s decision, adding: “These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.

“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them, and British troops who are trying to build security in Afghanistan.

“The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”

I’d rather not. Who knows how complicit YOU are? (Read the full story for additional comments by Taguba.)

We don’t.

Obama claims “appropriate actions” have been taken. How do we know that?

We don’t.

Since the victim of a male-male rape is now involved with a civil suit, how do we know you’re not covering up legal evidence?

We don’t.

Update: The Pentagon is denying the claims about the new pix; of course, what else do you expect? Although it had originally agreed on releasing them, Defense Secretary Bob Gates agrees with Obama on NOT releasing them.

June 19, 2008

BushCo does not ‘condone’ torture

It just practices it without linguistic niceties.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Taguba:
“After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes.”

Doesn’t get much clearer than that, does it?

For more details of the ugliness, see this in-depth newspaper series by McClatchy.