The recently declassified report on torture, practiced by the American CIA against people suspected of belonging to the al-Qaida organization, highlights the double standard with which the U.S. seems to deal with certain issues. It is true that the subject is attributable to the administration of a president who, like George W. Bush, reached the White House amid suspicions that at the very least, the will of the majority of Americans had not been respected.
It appears that for some politicians, the laws and the Constitution should be obeyed when they serve their interests, and never when they are opposed to them.
The daring Sept. 11 attack not only caused the fall of the twin towers, but also showed that the security system reputed to be the best in the world was vulnerable.
Press censorship, expressly prohibited by the internal norms of the country, was immediately applied after the attacks occurred. That the nation’s morale might have been in play is not an argument that could justify the prohibitions applied to the media, or that they accepted limitations that were clearly illegal.
However, this may be considered an internal issue, which is irrelevant to the rest of the world. It is an American problem if the U.S. prevents its citizens from knowing the truth about a certain event, but watch out if something like that occurs in another latitude. Cuba and Venezuela can attest to what is stated in this paragraph.
We have heard the media in charge of spreading Washington’s propaganda say that in the years Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union, concentration camps and repressive actions against political adversaries were common acts. Criticism and condemnation were commonplace. Television series, such as "Mission Impossible," led these campaigns.
What moral authority could those same writers of messages have if in their own cesspools, suspects are subjected to brutal tortures, some of which have been documented, and at present there is no enemy country, like the USSR could have been at the time, to sanction such actions?
Moreover, these acts leave without a credible and consistent discourse the Cuban and Venezuelan exiles who present the U.S. model as the paradigm of freedom.
The northern country has not been able to hide the mud that floods its own prisons any longer.
In that regard, can the authorities of that enormous nation present themselves as champions of the defense and compliance with human rights? Surely, they will continue doing it, but increasingly, their credibility and interventions will be able to rest solely on the strength of their missiles and cannons, alongside their own instruments of torture.
PALADÍN DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS
El recientemente desclasificado informe relativo a torturas practicadas por agentes de la CIA estadounidense en contra de sospechosos de pertenecer a la organización Al Qaeda pone de manifiesto la doble moral con la que Estados Unidos suele tratar ciertos asuntos. Es verdad que el tema es atribuible a la administración de un presidente, quien como George W. Bush, accedió a La Casa Blanca en medio de sospechas de que, cuando menos, no se respetó la voluntad mayoritaria de los estadounidenses.
Da la impresión de que para algunos políticos, la Constitución y las leyes deben aplicarse cuando son funcionales a sus intereses y de manera alguna, cuando se contraponen a ellos.
Después del 11 de septiembre, cuando un audaz golpe determinó no solamente la caída de las Torres Gemelas, sino que puso de manifiesto que el considerado mejor sistema de seguridad del mundo es vulnerable.
La censura de prensa, algo estrictamente prohibido por la normatividad interna de ese país, fue aplicada inmediatamente después de producirse los ataques. Que la moral de la nación hubiera estado en juego no es un argumento que vaya a justificar las prohibiciones aplicadas a los medios y que éstos hubieran aceptado las limitaciones claramente ilegales.
Sin embargo, ése puede calificarse como un tema interno, que para el mundo resulta irrelevante. Allá ellos si impiden a sus ciudadanos conocer la verdad de determinado hecho, pero ¡guarda! si algo así ocurre en otra latitud. Las acusaciones y las sanciones sobrevendrán inexorablemente. Cuba y Venezuela pueden dar fe de lo afirmado en este párrafo.
Se ha escuchado a los medios encargados de difundir la propaganda de Washington que en los años de José Stalin al frente de la Unión Soviética, los campos de concentración y las acciones represivas a los adversarios políticos eran una acción común.
Las críticas y las condenas eran el pan de cada día. Seriales televisivas como Misión Imposible abanderaban esas campañas.
¿Qué autoridad moral pueden tener esos mismos redactores de mensajes si en su propias sentinas, sospechosos son sometidos a brutales torturas, algunas de las cuales han sido documentadas y en el presente, no existe un país adversario, como pudo haber sido la URSS en su momento, para sancionar esos hechos?
Estos hechos, además, dejan sin discurso creíble y consistente a los exiliados cubanos o venezolanos, quienes presentan al modelo de Estados Unidos como el paradigma de la libertad.
El país del norte no ha podido esconder por más tiempo el fango que inunda sus propias cárceles.
¿Pueden, en ese sentido, las autoridades de esa enorme nación presentarse a sí mismas como paladines de la defensa y cumplimiento de los derechos humanos?
Seguramente, lo seguirán haciendo, pero cada vez más, su credibilidad y sus intervenciones solamente podrán apoyarse en la fuerza de sus misiles y de sus cañones, además de sus propios instrumentos de tortura.
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As a citizen of the United States I think all decent Americans should be ashamed of this horrific torture report. If torture works for the CIA, then why not for its fanatical Islamic enemies -who also have a grievance list: against INFIDEL OCCUPIERS ?
The United States government is not above international law. The guilty individuals here should be delivered to the World Court. They must stand trial for crimes against humanity.
The U.S. military has lost all moral credibility in its war against terrorism. The capitalist news media here conditions the people for a brainless acceptance of all wars-no matter how foolish and criminal. Returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are often greeted with a moronic ” thank you for your service “. But the unquestioning ” good citizen ” never inquires about the nature of this ” service “. Thank you for killing innocent civilians ? Thank you for torturing helpless prisoners ? Thank you for serving as soldiers of fortune in a land of endless war ?
Perhaps if a million people protest in Washington, D.C. -as they did in Cairo, Egypt in 2011- this nightmare will come to an end.
The terrorism of the ” enemy ” is rooted in unbearable cultural oppression-not the religion of Islam. The terrorism of the CIA and the U.S. military is rooted in ” The Arrogance of Power “. That was the title of a book written by Senator J. William Fulbright during the Vietnam War era. A popular 60s protest song is still relevant today: ” The Eve of Destruction “. And also quite relevant the lyrics of another popular anti-war song : ” when will they ever learn… when will they ever learn ? ” http://radicalrons.blogspot.com/
As a citizen of the United States I think all decent Americans should be ashamed of this horrific torture report. If torture works for the CIA, then why not for its fanatical Islamic enemies -who also have a grievance list: against INFIDEL OCCUPIERS ?
The United States government is not above international law. The guilty individuals here should be delivered to the World Court. They must stand trial for crimes against humanity.
The U.S. military has lost all moral credibility in its war against terrorism. The capitalist news media here conditions the people for a brainless acceptance of all wars-no matter how foolish and criminal. Returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are often greeted with a moronic ” thank you for your service “. But the unquestioning ” good citizen ” never inquires about the nature of this ” service “. Thank you for killing innocent civilians ? Thank you for torturing helpless prisoners ? Thank you for serving as soldiers of fortune in a land of endless war ?
Perhaps if a million people protest in Washington, D.C. -as they did in Cairo, Egypt in 2011- this nightmare will come to an end.
The terrorism of the ” enemy ” is rooted in unbearable cultural oppression-not the religion of Islam. The terrorism of the CIA and the U.S. military is rooted in ” The Arrogance of Power “. That was the title of a book written by Senator J. William Fulbright during the Vietnam War era. A popular 60s protest song is still relevant today: ” The Eve of Destruction “. And also quite relevant the lyrics of another popular anti-war song : ” when will they ever learn… when will they ever learn ? ”
http://radicalrons.blogspot.com/