Never mind the torture and political prisoners, he's Bush's man

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=506773

In the rogues' gallery of Soviet dinosaurs, the rulers of the central Asian states have pride of place. Islam Karimov, who has ruled the impoverished republic of Uzbekistan as a dictator for 15 years, may not be the looniest.

That reputation could probably be claimed by his neighbour, President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, who in 2002 renamed the months of the calendar - January after himself. But President Karimov could well be the cruellest, accused of torture of opponents, muzzling freedom of speech and jailing up to 6,500 political prisoners.

Mr Karimov, 66, has rarely troubled with elections. In 1989, he became Communist Party leader in Uzbekistan in the then Soviet Union. After independence in 1991, he was the natural choice to become president as the communists kept power.

He took office with one hand on the Koran and the other on the constitution. But his term of office has been troubled by opposition from Islamic militants, who tried to assassinate him in 1999. Since 11 September 2001, he has come into his own, however, thanks to George Bush and the war on terror. After opening an air base to the US military for the war against the Taliban, he was thanked with a visit to the White House. Despite the human rights abuses in his one-party state, Mr Karimov looks likely to stay as the Bush administration's man in central Asia.

[stevedeshazer]

1. Makes me proud to be an American

No one beats us to an oil pipeline, by God.

We've liberated millions in Uzbekistan, just like Iraq and Afghanistan.

:toast: to the Coalition of the Willing!

[countmyvote4real]

2. Red, white and crude (or puke). I hear the refrain now.

and I do want to puke.

I HATE this administration for their arrogance and bald face lies. "You're either with us or your against us." That may be true. But that doesn't make it the right choice. How come they don't say, "You're either right or your wrong?"

That would confuse and confront the sheeple/media with a thought process. In the meantime, they are so wrong and anybody that says so is treated with the Western version of Saddam's wrath: character assination.

The world will be a much safer place without *. When that happens, I will be proud to be an American.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Here he is, with Bush, and with Powell! And Rumsfeld!

Here's Rumsfeld's trip to meet him in Uzbekistan:



(torture victem photos, if you can stand it. Apparently it's not all that bad, or he'd not be our ally.)
http://www.thenausea.com/elements/uzbekistan/tortures.html

Unbelievable knowing he's our new freedpm-loving friend. _Bush must be so proud!

At least he's not an "evil doer," right? :eyes:

[saigon68]

6. Looks like the picture of RumDumb and Saddam

I wonder if RumDumb kissed his ass also ?

[Judi Lynn]

4. Bush ally kick!

:kick:

[xchrom]

5. here we go again

the admin just loves those dictator types.
and i don't think it's a case of opposites attract.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. But we saved Iraq from a brutal dictator

so it's okay.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

8. And replaced him with our very own freedom-loving...

...NeoCon dictator.

[T_i_B]

11. Hypocricy? Bush & Blair?

Why of course. Here's a good article on the matter.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1072313,00.html

So just one excuse remains, and it is a powerful one. Saddam Hussein was a brutal tyrant. While there was no legal argument for forcibly deposing him on the grounds of his abuse of human rights, there was a moral argument. It is one which our prime minister made repeatedly and forcefully. "The moral case against war has a moral answer: it is the moral case for removing Saddam," Tony Blair told the Labour party's spring conference in February. "Ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of humanity. It is leaving him there that is in truth inhumane."

There is just one test of this sincerity, and that is the consistency with which his concern for human rights guides his foreign policy. If he cares so much about the welfare of foreigners that he is prepared to go to war on their behalf, we should expect to see this concern reflected in all his relations with the governments of other countries. We should expect him, for example, to do all he can to help the people of Uzbekistan.

There are over 6,000 political and religious prisoners in Uzbekistan. Every year, some of them are tortured to death. Sometimes the policemen or intelligence agents simply break their fingers, their ribs and then their skulls with hammers, or stab them with screwdrivers, or rip off bits of skin and flesh with pliers, or drive needles under their fingernails, or leave them standing for a fortnight, up to their knees in freezing water. Sometimes they are a little more inventive. The body of one prisoner was delivered to his relatives last year, with a curious red tidemark around the middle of his torso. He had been boiled to death. His crime, like that of many of the country's prisoners, was practising his religion. Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, learned his politics in the Soviet Union. He was appointed under the old system, and its collapse in 1991 did not interrupt his rule. An Islamist terrorist network has been operating there, but Karimov makes no distinction between peaceful Muslims and terrorists: anyone who worships privately, who does not praise the president during his prayers or who joins an organisation which has not been approved by the state can be imprisoned. Political dissidents, human rights activists and homosexuals receive the same treatment. Some of them, like in the old Soviet Union, are sent to psychiatric hospitals.

But Uzbekistan is seen by the US government as a key western asset, as Saddam Hussein's Iraq once was. Since 1999, US special forces have been training Karimov's soldiers. In October 2001, he gave the United States permission to use Uzbekistan as an airbase for its war against the Taliban. The Taliban have now been overthrown, but the US has no intention of moving out. Uzbekistan is in the middle of central Asia's massive gas and oil fields. It is a nation for whose favours both Russia and China have been vying. Like Saddam Hussein's Iraq, it is a secular state fending off the forces of Islam. So, far from seeking to isolate his regime, the US government has tripled its aid to Karimov.

[BiggJawn]

9. "The Enemy of my enemy..."

We never freakin' LEARN, do we?

Insanity-The act of repeating the same action over and over, expecting a different result.

[goforit]

10. Hmmmm......our telling future.

It is time for these bozos to go!!!

[Judi Lynn]

12. I noticed the photos of George Bush and Colin Powell shaking hands

with Islam Karimov have disappeared into the ethers, so if you're interested in looking at them, here's the URL for photos of them with their new "coalition" friend. I've spotted the Colin Powell photo on page #2, in a quick trip to reclaim those damned photos:

~~~~ link ~~~~