May 07, 2004

Where’s Gen. Alexander Haig when you really need him? Will someone please step up and tell me to whom a low level grunt like me can pass the buck? Former President Truman had a sign on his desk: “The Buck Stops Here!” Where is that sign? Where’s the guy in charge?

Remember when Haig, then-Secretary of State, burst past the throng of reporters and news cameras after the assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan and proclaimed, “I’m in charge!?” I guess that was during a time when being the top guy in an organization was an honor as well as the signature of success earned by accomplishment and achievement. What’s happened?

Consider the former head of Enron, CEO Kenneth Lay. Where is he these days? We were able to locate and crucify Martha Stewart, Leona Helmsley and Marge Schott, but we can’t find Lay, or the guy who authored the Iraqi WMD intelligence report, or the President of the United States of America. Thank God we found Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski! And now we’ve got Spc. Lynndie England, the female lead soldier dangling a fag from her lips Johnny Dio style in all those sadistic porn photos of American military Standard Operating Procedures for handling prisoners of war.

Has it been mentioned in the corporate media that those photos are every bit as good as the evidence used against the Nazis in prosecuting war crimes against humanity as defined by the Geneva Convention and undertaken by US at Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945? Nah! And then there was one murder, then two, then ten, and the number keeps growing! What’s going on?

And when these abuse stories first broke, did anyone pay attention? Of course not! They were written off as just anti-Bush blather and reinforced as such, in all likelihood, by talk radio. In fact, I heard Sean Hannity utter almost precisely the same words offered by a friend of Spc. England’s family, who after it was said that England “…wasn’t really involved, and…wasn’t charged with anything,” angrily offered, “He doesn’t know what these guys are going through,” referring to the comments made by President Bush reacting to the public outcry over the photos.

President Bush is responsible for this undeclared, unjust, and unnecessary war. Talk radio offers our troops are going through hell, so we should understand the penchant for overreaction. But what about Bush’s overreaction? Mistreating war prisoners is okay as long as it was either a mistake, or lack of training, or some kind of mix-up? But isn’t that why we put responsible, qualified leaders in charge?

The photos incensed many Americans, most of the world, and the Arab world of Muslims in its one billion member entirety. So of course President Bush was justified in apologizing to the Arab world on Arab television. Bush offered, “Everything is not perfect, and mistakes are made, but in a democracy, as well, those mistakes will be investigated, and people will be brought to justice.” And, “The actions of these few people do not reflect the hearts of the American people. The American people are just as appalled.” And, “There will be investigations; people will be brought to justice.”

But what about Bush and the “few” who started this unnecessary war? Were they elected or appointed by Bush? So when will Bush apologize for his administration’s incompetence? When will he apologize for its mistakes? And why are such actions continually considered as mere incompetence and mistakes? Bush has yet to apologize for “intelligence” mistakes as concerns WMD. And what about his obstruction of the investigations of the 9-11 commission? Is that investigative body still functioning? And what about the investigation concerning the leak of CIA operative Wilson. How’s that coming?

Investigations, more investigations, and then still more investigations! Signifying what? What have we learned from these ten zillion investigations? Every time Bush is called to either help with an investigation or to testify, there is either all out obstructionism and/or total secrecy. Bush and Cheney just testified in secret to the 9-11 commission, and precisely what was gained by the American people?

It’s good that two Army generals have apologized, but President Bush admitting that he only found out about this in the exact same way we did, when the photos were shown by CBS, is not merely an “oops!” It shows a totally out-of control and dangerous government. But now we know Bush watches something else other than “Walker, Texas Ranger,” even if he still doesn’t read the paper.

Theodore E. Lang

© 2004 THEODORE E. LANG All rights reserved

Ted Lang is a political analyst and a freelance writer.

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Terrorist Summit - Most Evil One Strikes Again!

Military Censorship of the Press - Covering Up Mass Murder

America Disgraced! George Bush's Legacy

Patriotic Acts of Abuse - What's In Store For US?

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