Did you hear the one about?

[ExpatriateTexan]

July 17, 2005

An Open Letter to My Family, Friends and Fellow Americans

I know this is kind of long, but I pray you will bear with me to the end. We owe it to our country.

Not too long ago my sister was thoughtful enough to share with me a thing called “The Straight Scoop” from Charlie Daniels (if you don’t have a sister, you can read it here http://www.charliedaniels.com/soapbox/m02/192.htl). Now I like old Charlie’s music and think he is a fine musician. But since this thing didn’t rhyme or have any chords with it, I was a bit puzzled just why she sent it to me. Then I figured out that it must be cause Charlie and me are both members of the Good Ol’ Boys of Girth with Big White Beards Club.

Actually, when I got to thinking on it, me and Charlie have quite a bit in common. Neither of us can be called youngsters, we’re both from the South (though I’m from Texas, which is kind of a special class of Southerner, at least a according to Texans), we both sing songs and like old timey music (though Charlie does play the fiddle, while I don’t play any musical instruments at all, in spite of using the guitar for several decades – don’t get concerned, I got a prescription), and we’re both proud patriotic Americans.

Having said that however, Charlie is bout as close to being a human rights investigator, a political analyst or well versed in international law as George Bush is to being a Texan. In fact, George may even be a little ahead of Charlie; George has at least lived in Texas.

But before I get too wound up, whole lots of people know Charlie, but not that many know me. So I should probably introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me (and those who think you do).

My name is Gerald Ganann. I’m an American, born in 1945 in the great state of Texas and have lived in the great state of Minnesota since 1969.

Now I don’t hold with the Democrats or the Republicans, and never have. As Brother Dave Gardner used to say, “I’m an independent: I grease my own car.” That doesn’t mean I don’t care or don’t know anything about politics. I learned to read some before I ever got to school and never broke the habit (though I never been burdened much with higher education). I vote for the person, regardless of party, that I think can do the best job. My momma and daddy taught me to always judge people on their own merits. Course too often it boils down to votin’ for the lesser of a whole ****pot full of evils.

Some might call me a “liberal”, cause on a bunch of issues I hold opinions that are labeled “liberal”. But they would be dead wrong, cause on a bunch of other issues I hold opinions that are labeled “conservative”. I’m of a mind that such labels just cloud our judgment and cause us to not think about things clearly.

OK, back to “The Straight Scoop” …

In spite of Charlie’s exhaustive on-site research at Guantanamo (“… saw Camp X-Ray … only from a distance” and “… talking with a lot of different people”), you’ll pardon me if I take his conclusions of “the truth” with a grain of salt. After all, on the other side of the ledger are reports from the FBI1, the Red Cross2 and the accounts in a book by a former US soldier stationed at Guantanamo who charges that “…despite attempts to right wrongs at Guantanamo, the camp still defiles the values the US is fighting for in the war on terror.”3

Course I’m just pointing out facts, and Charlie’s opinions shouldn’t be dismissed out-of-hand, after all he was just in Guantanamo … wasn’t he?

I thought the use of the term “Camp X-Ray” curious. Wasn’t that a temporary detention facility? Wasn’t it replaced by Camp Delta back in 2002? Curiosity has always been one of my (many) failings. Got on the Internet. Yep, Camp Delta replaced Camp X-Ray in April of 2002! Maybe Charlie misspoke himself, or maybe this was another of those emails I get (sorry Sis) that are just BS. But no, a little research shows Charlie Daniels did in fact write “The Straight Scoop”, and posted it on his website in March 2002! That’s right, this thing is all over the Internet in mid-2005 like it was breaking news, and it’s over three years old! At the time Charlie wrote this, Bushco was still mismanaging the invasion of Afghanistan and deciding on what lies would convince us to allow him to mismanage the invasion of Iraq.

The (current) truth of the matter is that abuse of prisoners by US (upper and lower case) in our illegal Iraqi adventure is documented in a report by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba.4 It is an admitted fact (with photos and videos from Abu Ghraib).5,6 And there is a bunch of evidence that those abuses were pioneered at Guantanamo and transferred to Iraq, and that this was a deliberate, systematic strategy developed by US military and/or intelligence agencies from a Pentagon-funded program known as SERE or "Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape."7,8,9,10 Originally developed to prepare our soldiers for treatment we hoped they would never have to endure, it has now been turned on its head to have our own troops do what we’ve been condemning about those we’re fighting against. Of course what punishment that has been delt out has fallen largely on the troops instead of the people that are really responsible and should be punished, the power hungry civilian and military “leaders” in Washington!

So there is just a teeny-tiny possibility that good ol’ Charlie’s “straight scoop”, being so out of date (and a little bent), shouldn’t be taken as the “absolute” truth. And quite aside from whether the treatment of the detainees in Gitmo constitutes abuse, torture, humane treatment or a five star resort, the fact is they are being detained indefinitely without due process.

Contrary to popular opinion, due process is a concept embraced not only for US citizens by the Constitution, but by international treaty to which the US is a signatory; thereby, under Article VI of the US Constitution, the provisions of those treaties become part of “… the supreme Law of the Land.”

Every person in enemy hands must have some status under international law; he is either a prisoner of war . . . covered by the Third Geneva Convention, a civilian covered by the Fourth Convention, or . . . a member of the medical personnel of the armed forces covered by the First Convention. There is no intermediate status; NOBODY in enemy hands can be outside the law.

But the US government is arguing that they may be held in limbo “until the end of hostilities”, which Dick Cheney says, “will not end in our lifetime”; in other words forever. Furthermore, there are reports from eye witnesses that the military tribunal hearings, which the Supreme Court has ruled must be available to detainees, denies them even the opportunity to be told of any charges or evidence against them; guilty until proven innocent, with no way of proving their innocence.

Now I have no problem believing that some of the approximately 70,000 detainees being held outside the USA in our “war on terror” are dastardly folks who should be given their due process and shot. But I’m equally certain that some of them are absolutely innocent and are a threat to no one. And perhaps, since only a handful are citizens of the US or “friendly nations”, you may think that’s small potatoes and just the price we (they) must pay. If so, I repeat the warning to be careful when you ignore the other guy’s rights. You may be next. Under the Patriot Act, the government can do exactly the same thing to any one of us for any or no reason.

Please understand, I am not questioning anyone’s patriotism; but informed consent of the governed is critical to our nation, and in our complex world with very real threats both within and without, responsible citizenship requires real effort. (Just watching Fox “News” and listening to those who agree with you doesn’t constitute real effort.)

As a staunch supporter of First Amendment rights, I welcome your comments, with the following warning: unlike the “chicken hawk” cowards in the White House, I am a Vietnam-era Army veteran and honorably completed my military service; so I don’t want to get any crap about my patriotism or support for the troops (unless you’re close enough to “take it outside” with me). Nor am I the only patriotic military veteran to oppose this administration and the crimes they have committed; consider the following.

Operation Truth is an organization of veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars (OEF/OIF) created to allow those that have been there/done that to speak their piece, good and bad. If you want the straight poop from our troops, this is the place to go.11 Eight retired Generals and Admirals of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps have written a letter to Bush urging the creation of an comprehensive independent commission to investigate the “…now dozens of well-documented allegations of torture, abuse, and otherwise questionable detention practices …”.12 Veterans for Common Sense, an organization of over 12,000 veterans based on the pragmatic ideals of the American patriot Thomas Paine, has also called for an independent commission to investigate allegations of abuse.13 Veterans for Peace, a national organization with over 120 chapters throughout the United States, has called for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney.14, 15

Following 9/11/01, virtually the entire world stood squarely in support of the United States. From that point, it has all been downhill. Under the “leadership” in Washington, we have squandered the goodwill of the community of nations, allowed encroachment on our freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and indentured our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren with massive debt that threatens to bankrupt the very nation we love.

From a nation of laws, we have become a nation that flaunts law. They say that those who wish us harm are evil, and we must therefore meet them with evil. But evil can never be justified and we have surrendered the moral high ground, becoming that which we sought to suppress. We have, on the basis of lies, decimated a nation; killed tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children, horribly maimed tens of thousands more; reduced entire cities to ruble; deprived untold numbers by our actions of food, water and the basic necessities of life. We have done these things because those who should have led us with vision, values, wisdom, bravery and strength of character, have instead preached an endless doctrine of fear and uncertainty, and repeatedly assured us that these things must be done to make us safe.

And what has been gained for this terrible price? We are not safer. al Qaeda continues to operate unfettered and is stronger, not weaker. Osama bin Laden has not been brought to justice. And we have put truth to the lies of Muslim radicals, creating in Iraq a breeding ground and training camp for terrorism unprecedented in modern times, perhaps ever. No, the only gains have been for the governmental and military instruments of power in Washington, D.C. and the obscenely rich corporate power brokers behind them.

In “The Straight Scoop”, Charlie says, “People like being told the truth.” I must disagree. People should be told the truth, they like being told what they want to hear. And the people in power in Washington are unparalleled experts at telling the public what it wants to hear. But mark my words! They care nothing for you, your well-being, your loved ones, your rights, or your religions. As long as they can gain your complacent approval of their quest for globally dominant power simply by lying to you, they will. Understand though, that when challenged there is no measure they will not take to maintain the power they’ve already seized and to continue their pursuit of more.

Oh, and if you want to send something else in an email, please feel free to do so. But please make sure you know what you’re sending.

Note – following the footnotes, I have included a list of the laws violated by President George W. Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney, public officials under their authority, and high-ranking members of the U.S. military under their command, sufficient for impeachment.

Footnotes:

1 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A memo from a senior FBI counterterrorism official has outlined three alleged cases of abuse in 2002 that FBI agents had become aware of while serving at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base prison. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/08/guantanamo.abuse/

2 Red Cross Report Details Guantanamo Prisoner Abuse
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4192337

3 Soldier lifts lid on Guantanamo 'abuse'
A former Army linguist who served at Guantanamo as an Arabic translator from December 2002 to June 2003 wrote in a draft manuscript that female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood. The draft written by former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar was obtained by AP, which reported on its contents last week.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4523825.stm

4 The Taguba Report
http://www.agonist.org/annex/taguba.htm

5 NY Times March 12, 2005 “Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in an Afghan Jail”
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html

6 Abuse scandal ‘terrible’ for U.S., Powell concedes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4855930/

7 The Road to Abu Ghraib
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/abughraib_halton.html

8 The Gitmo Experiment
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/06/1428250

9 In Gitmo
http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/articles/050711on_onlineonly01

10 Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantanamo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302380.html

11 Operation Truth (OEF/OIF Veterans Organization)
http://www.optruth.org

12 Call for Independent Commission by Generals and Admirals
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/detainees/Military_Leaders_Letter_President_Bush_FINAL.pdf

13 Open Letter from Veterans for Common Sense
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/files/vcs/Abu%20Ghraib%20Gitmo%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

14 Veterans for Peace Impeachment Letter
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/impeachment/impeach_letter.doc

15 Veterans for Peace Declaration of Impeachment
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/impeachment/declaration_of_impeachment.pdf


Laws violated by President George W. Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney, public officials under their authority, and members of the U.S. military under their command, sufficient for impeachment
· The U. S. Constitution, Art. VI, para. 2, makes treaties adopted by the U.S. part of the “law of the land.” Thus, a violation of the U. N. Charter, Hague IV, Geneva Conventions, etc. is also a violation of U.S. federal law.
· U.S. Federal Law 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (War Crimes Act of 1996) makes committing a war crime, defined as: “…a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party…” punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death.
· The following treaties and charters which define: wars of aggression, war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.
Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV)
Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator…of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.

U.N. Gen. Assembly Res. 3314
Defines the crime of aggression as “... the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State…or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations…”

Nuremberg Tribunal Charter
Principle VI: “The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under
international law:
(a) Crimes against peace: Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties;
(b) War crimes: …murder, ill-treatment…of civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war,…plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages…
(c) Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination…and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population…when such acts are done…in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.”

Geneva Conventions
A) Protocol I, Article 75: “(1)…persons who are in the power of a Party to the conflict…shall be treated humanely in all circumstances…(2) The following acts are and shall remain prohibited…whether committed by civilian or by military agents: (a) violence to the life, health, or physical or mental well-being of persons…(b) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault…and threats to commit any of the foregoing acts.”

B) Protocol I, Art. 51: “The civilian population…shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.” Art. 57: (parties shall) “do everything feasible to verify that the objectives to be attacked are neither civilians nor civilian objects…an attack shall be cancelled or suspended if it becomes apparent that the objective is not a military one…”

C) Protocol I, Art. 70: “The Parties to the conflict…shall allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment and personnel…even if such assistance is destined for the civilian population of the adverse Party.”

D) Protocol I, Art. 35: “In any armed conflict, the right of the Parties…to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited…It is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the environment.”

E) Convention I, Art. 3: “Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms… shall in all circumstances be treated humanely...To this end, the following acts (in addition to those listed in Art. 75, above) are and shall remain prohibited:…the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

F) Convention III, Art. 5: “Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy (are prisoners of war under this Convention), such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.”

G) Convention IV, Art. 33: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

In addition, the “Downing Street Minutes” and other official documents of the British government that have been leaked to the press provide probable cause to believe that (members of) this administration may have violated federal criminal statues, including the False Statements Accountability Act of 1966.
See: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/

Posted on buzzflash.com as "The Good Ol' Boys Strike Again"

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Thanks for this. But the mods will tell you no more than 4 paragraphs

and a link. ;)

Anyway, welcome to DU! :hi: