...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Tuesday, May 11, 2004
      ( 11:49 AM )
 
Outrage...or Stupidity?

Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) demonstrated today that our country truly is having its lifeblood sucked out of it by trickle-down idiocy.

Sen. Inhofe (R-OK): First of all, I regret I wasn't here on Friday. I was unable to be here. But maybe it's better that I wasn't because as I watch this outrage that everyone seems to have about the treatment of these prisoners I have to say and I'm probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment.

The idea that these prisoners, they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in cell block 1A or 1B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents, and many of them probably have American blood probably on their hands and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.

Uh...Senator Inhofe, if we may:

From the Red Cross (ICRC) report on the treatment of prisoners in Iraq in February 2004:

Certain CF military intelligence officers told the ICRC that in their estimate between 70% and 90% of the persons deprived of their liberty in Iraq had been arrested by mistake.

By the way, even if 90% of them weren't innocent, you're still "outraged" enough to condone the torture of human beings? This kind of justification is so beyond my understanding. Is this the moral leadership of our government? Is this how we exemplify being a "Christian nation?" It's unspeakable.

(Thanks to Kicking Ass for the quotes and to Digby for the heads-up.)

p.s. I know most mamas who read my blog are as horrified as I am over all of this. Throughout this entire episode, we think about this reality: our government has created the worst of all possible examples for our children and the worst of all possible futures for our children - full of terror, risk, retribution, and danger. We spend our lives protecting our children and trying to bring them up to be people who would not even consider abusing other human beings. Yet, now our children are condemned to reap the whirlwind of pain that our government has forced on the people of Iraq, the Arab citizens of the world and our own soldiers.

UPDATE: The feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming. But do something. Do one small thing and it will be better. Write to any friend or person you know who is Arab or Muslim or Iraqi, or email one of your favorite Iraqi bloggers. Apologize. It is your place to apologize. Atrocities were committed in your name as an American. Apologize. Offer amends in the form of a concrete way you are working to change your country so this will never happen again. Here's the letter I emailed to Riverbend:

Dear River:

The whole horrible nature of recent events first had me ashamed to write you. But I write you now to offer my own regret and sorrow, for whatever it may be worth, and to tell you that millions of Americans are horrified at the heinous atrocities that have been committed in Iraq. It is unfair to ask that we not all be judged by the actions of a few when those actions affect all the people in your entire community, so I won't. It is hard to prove that we are out here, the ones who wish we could publicly apologize and condemn what has happened to the people of Iraq. Our own humiliation and disgrace is hard to bear, but is nothing compared to what your community has been burdened with. I pray that real amends will be made, that true justice will find its place in all of this. To that end, though it may seem a small action, I want to assure that I have written to all of my government representatives, even my local ones, condemning what has happened and asking for a public apology on my and other Americans' behalf for what has happened. I will stand with my fellow Americans to protest any attempt by the Bush administration to carry on with things as they are, and we will make every effort needed to ensure he is not re-elected in November. I am so sorry for what has happened. I pray that there will one day be peace and reconciliation between our countries, and that each of us will see eachother as brothers and sisters. Until then,

Most sincerely with regret and sorrow,
Bohemian Mama

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