WASHINGTON, D.C. — I just finished reading an article from MSN News Services, via Reuters and the AP on the so-called Bush-era torture programs/enhanced interrogation techniques during the early days of the War on Terror and I must say I am experiencing and have been experiencing a myriad of emotions, a veritable roller coaster ride of feelings on this pending report for the last two weeks.
I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what, respectfully, Mr. Obama & Co. are hiding? Why the need to delay, and deny the American people, their right to know? Additionally why the need to provide cover for the Intelligence Community? Finally why, in this article I read, was a pending report from out of the White House, “accidentally emailed” to an Associated Press reporter?
These are but some of the many questions some of the many points of emotion I have been wrestling with, and again, for the last two weeks.
And so it goes…
I learned something this week and I also want to correct, publicly now, a record of standing I have long-held against a former President of these United States, Dwight Eisenhower. I contended that it was former President Eisenhower who started the C.I.A., it was not. It was in fact Harry Truman who started the C.I.A., BUT and his later years he, like so many of us do, had a change of heart on all things Central Intelligence Agency. Here, is where the change of heart began.
And so it goes…
I said all that to say this. The White House, more importantly this President, Barack H. Obama, II., and the honorable, had better come clean. He has but two whole handfuls of months left in his presidency to serve. He has a real opportunity. A real chance to level the playing field to correct the record as it were for the good of all mankind. To become something far more than what I have titled him under this #blogpost as, an ‘ACCIDENTAL’ Statesman.
President Barack H. Obama, II, 2012 Democratic National Convention…
Because, and I will close with this. Comments such as these from online news articles, though good and very informative, WILL NOT suffice,
“The report does not draw the legal conclusion that the CIA’s actions constituted torture, though it makes clear that in some cases they amounted to torture by a common definition, two people who have read the report said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the still-classified document publicly by name.
The Senate report, the State Department proposes to say, “leaves no doubt that the methods used to extract information from some terrorist suspects caused profound pain, suffering and humiliation. It also leaves no doubt that the harm caused by the use of these techniques outweighed any potential benefit.”
Those methods included slapping, humiliation, exposure to cold, sleep deprivation and the near-drowning technique known as waterboarding.
The White House document is significant because it also reveals some of the State Department’s concerns about how the CIA’s tactics will be portrayed around the world.”
COMMENTS like these, for me at least, add up to duck and cover, run and hide, that age-old game of cat and mouse, that has been played throughout history both time and memorial by our fathers, grandfathers and forebears. The Cold War is over folks!
Yet Barack Obama, it appears wants to do nothing more than allow the Intelligence Community to play with the lives, fortunes and sacred honors of We The American People. It would appear to me, in the very least, that ,his attitude and actions of late, the Constitutional Law Professor has an obligatory disdain for the Rule of Law. It says, by his actions, that the Intelligence Community could give a fat rat’s rectum less about the Rule of Law OR that they only care about the Rule of Law when it is more than conveniently necessary for them to do so.
Such an attitude, such an approach toward governance and toward the everyday people who elected him to high office amounts to what Hollywood calls, “creative license”. And creative license will not cut it Mr. President! Respectfully.
Peace.
–Rhett.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, SHARE! PLEASE? THANK YOU. COME AGAIN.
ALEXANDRA, Virginia — In a short and sweet posting by some Facebook friends of mine I found this. A case in point example on why the Pentagon, moreover the Department of Defense needs to be Audited and WHY Congress, any Congress since 1990, hasn’t had the courage and the will to do it, even though it is mandated by law for Congress to do it. You know that whole ‘power of the purse’ thing?
MEET the F-35 ‘Colossal Waste of Money’ Raptor. The United States Department of Defense biggest cash cow since the chinook helicopter! Yet still and all remains the incessant fact that somehow the Department of Defense says that it needs more of these, in fact it demands that our Armed Forces have these planes, these particular planes in fact on ‘standing order’ with all ‘aircraft manufactures’.
And so it goes…
Under any set of normal circumstances, in fact dumb ones, I’d be all for our nation’s defense department wasting our time and hard-earned income taxable dollars but and alas yours truly is not. That’s why I’m joining my friends at Against Crony Capitalism, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Democrat-California, Congressman Michael Burgess, Republican-Texas, tax advocate Grover Norquist and consumer advocate Ralph Nader in saying, “support the” Audit the Pentagon Act of 2014!
Congressman Michael Burgess, Republican-Texas and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Democrat-California, 2014
The audit the pentagon act of 2014 is former Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s “Audit the Fed Act” on steroids.
Aside from the U.S. Federal Reserve the Pentagon and in fact the U.S. Department of Defense is the biggest waste of misspent earned income taxable dollars since Nixon did in the Gold Standard in 75′.
And so it goes…
In so long as the Pentagon is allowed to go unchecked and unrequited by our nation’s Watchdog (that would be the Congress of the United States of America) then they will continue to waste, I mean spend, your and my money in the name of ‘keeping America safe’. #SadButTrue
Join me and the afore-mentioned. Petition your Congressional Representatives at various points of contact on social media to SUPPORT, PASS and GET THE PRESIDENT TO SIGN INTO LAW The Audit The Pentagon Act of 2014. Thank you!
SOMALIA, MOGODESHU–We all remember this iconic photo from the Somalia campaign. For eleven days C.W.O. Michael J. “Mike” Durant, U.S. Army (SOAR), was held captive by Mohammed El Farrah Aidid’s Somali forces after negotiations for him and one other soldier with the Nigerian Army to the International Red Cross were deemed a success and he was returned home.
Some say the American Military had no business being their in the first place, in Somalia, BUT, they went at the behest of their then Commander and Chief William J. Clinton, the Honorable.
Many is the vested as well as interested citizen of this still free world who has said the American Military was in over its head from the start of the nearly 3 day campaign. BUT, we got Durant back. At what cost though?
After the chattering class pretty much finished with today’s take on the Bowe Bergdahl affair I thought I would wade through the waters of varying opinion, yet again, hopefully compelling those who would read this #blogpost to some common sense.
Hopefully???
Similarities persist in the Bergdahl Affair and the Durant Affair. In that both releases for these men were done through a third party. In the case of Durant the International Red Cross negotiated with Aidid and his intermediaries for his release and as many as they were willing to trade for in the case of food, medical supplies and clothing. In the case of Bergdahl the Cutarian leadership negotiated his release and return on the conditions of food, medical supplies, clothing, shelter and ammunition. Such is and has been the most unreported of FACTS surrounding this case! WHY? Answer: Aide and comfort as well as clemency for an enemy was given in exchange for a service member of a world military force’s release. And such goes against the grain of every international law, edict and affair since the League of Nations, NOW the United Nations, was formed by then President Woodrow Wilson.
Members of the elite media know for a FACT were this detail to come out and or emerge altogether that this tradeoff would be regarded by the free world as an international incident. Instead their settling for the isolated incidental chance that aside from alleged dereliction of duty or the abandonment of his post Sgt. 1st class, Bowe Robert Bergdahl, U.S. Army, of Hailey, ID. U.S.A., will come out, maybe, with a simple court martial, some prison time, a fine and a discharge from the Army, preferably not dishonorable because he will loose everything. More importantly the nickel and dime temp plate newsroom water cooler narrative will be torn asunder should the eventual, possible discharge from the Army of Bowe Bergdahl be listed as dishonorable. BUT, more on that at a later date.
(Just as an Aside: What has come of Bergdahl’s immediate commanders, both in the field and at home here in the United States who simply allowed the young man to leave his post five years ago? Have those individuals been dealt with accordingly?)
POINT IS, is how did this thing all happen?
Prevailing wisdom is that Cutar Malaga, Spain stepped in after having reported to the American army that Bergdahl was in trouble. Both physically and mentally. The Taliban was getting no where with the American military and they learned, eventually, that Bowe Bergdahl was no so called ‘high value’ in the upper echelon of the American military. So they approached intermediaries at Cutar and negotiated. Cutar officials saw Bergdahl in person, filmed him, took extensive as possible photos of him, as to the extent that the Taliban would allow, and reported his proof of life to military command in Afghanistan. Command in Afghanistan reported the findings, shortly after doing their own research and development, REMEMBER: Trust BUT Verify–Thanks Gipper!, back to the Pentagon and the Pentagon after reissuing an order to reinvestigate and confirm what they saw to be true, to be the case rather, the Pentagon contacted National Security and the White House for some debriefs and disbursement of intel.
President Obama is a compassionate man. Many in his Administration are compassionate themselves. The family, friends and ultimately the parents of Bowe Bergdahl themselves pleas for help was also met with that very same compassion. President Obama acted, on compassion, unfortunately not the law, and negotiated for Bergdahl’s release. The effort was successful from the standpoint of compassion but it was not successful from the standpoint of the law. No matter how much you hear, see, read or listen to the chattering class, the Monday morning quarterbacks of old, in the elite media and insiders of Washington’s beltway about the intentions and compassions of others toward Bowe Bergdahl REMEMBER there’s this little pesky B Sing thing called the law that trumps everything. Bottom line. Intentions, respectfully, and compassions be damned!
Bowe Robert Bergdahl could have just as easily been rescued, easily been exchanged, easily gotten back home to family and friends under the guise and auspices of the law, period, full stop. The law is what separates us from plants, animals and man ourselves. YET compassion and good intentions always manage to somehow trump that.
The International Red Cross worked for 11 days to negotiate, legally, for the release of Mike Durant in 1993. And eleven days later Durant came home. Does Washington intend to spin this as we tried and failed in regard to the letter of the law but in the compassions and intentions department we won the day? Something to think about along with the refrains of Tom Sizemore in “Blackhawk Down”…
–Rhett.
“Mike Durant we won’t leave you behind! Mike Durant we won’t leave you behind!”
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, SHARE! PLEASE? THANK YOU. COME AGAIN.
We’re just inviting you to take a timeout into the rhythmic ambiance of our breakfast, brunch and/or coffee selections. We are happy whenever you stop by.
SOMALIA, MOGODESHU–We all remember this iconic photo from the Somalia campaign. For eleven days C.W.O. Michael J. “Mike” Durant, U.S. Army (SOAR), was held captive by Mohammed El Farrah Aidid’s Somali forces after negotiations for him and one other soldier with the Nigerian Army to the International Red Cross were deemed a success and he was returned home.
Say What News?! 