There's no nice way to occupy a nation (LAT)

[struggle4progress]

<snip> Most Iraqis do not consent to the open-ended military occupation they have been living under for more than two years. On Jan. 30, a clear majority voted for political parties promising to demand a timetable for U.S. withdrawal. Washington may have succeeded in persuading Iraq's political class to abandon that demand, but the fact remains that U.S. troops are on Iraqi soil in defiance of the express wishes of the population.

Lacking consent, the U.S.-Iraqi regime relies heavily on fear, including the most terrifying tactics of them all: disappearances, indefinite detention without charge and torture.

A year ago, President Bush pledged to erase the stain of Abu Ghraib by razing the prison. There has been a change of plans. Abu Ghraib and two other U.S.-run prisons in Iraq are being expanded, and a new 2,000-person detention facility is being built, with a price tag of $50 million.

The U.S. military may be cracking down on prisoner abuse, but torture in Iraq is not in decline - it has simply been outsourced. In January, Human Rights Watch found that torture within Iraqi-run (and U.S.-supervised) jails and detention facilities was ``systematic,'' including the use of electroshock. <snip>

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/06/12/ed.col.torture.0612.html

[bemildred]

1. A kick for Ms Klein.

:kick:

[wallwriter]

2. Greeted as liberators...