Constant's pations

If it's more than 30 minutes old, it's not news. It's a blog.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Walter Reed Hearing: US Govt War Crimes Against US Miltiary Personnel

Ref Walter Reed is important. If the US troops at Walter Reed were Prisoners of War [POWs], the US government would be accused of committing war crimes.

Bad enough for US troops. Little prospect "annoying" foreign POWs are treated any better at US military detentions.

Ref Reed -- Thanks.

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The Walter Reed Conditions are fair notice of the "best" the US is doing; Congress needs to look at Walter Reed as a benchmark for what is possible, and reasonably assume the "annoying prisoners" are treated no better at the still hidden detention centers: Geneva violations despite Hamdan.

Watch for:

___ Do Member of Congress forward evidence of war crimes to the US Attorney?

___ How is the information from the Walter Reed facility compared with claims about US treatment of prisoners of war at Guantanamo?

___ What was the plan of the President and Attorney General to comply with Title 28 and Title 50 requirements and report to Congress in writing –- as required -– decisions not to fully comply with the Geneva requirements?

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Contractors: Halliburton, Army Civlian Leadership

___ How muhc of the "classificain" arugment in re botched US government contractor actiiites is to hide contrctor incomptence form Wall Street? [Rule 10b]

Ref Page 63 of 74: Dunlop -- Army Civlian Leadership connected to KBR memo

Ref Waler Reed contractors linked to Halliburton . . .

Ref Halliburton contracts in re privatization

Ref The more the troops find out, the more support the DNC civilians will have to be military Commanders. Yes, this means the military are inclined to support the DNC for the White House if they see leadership. Stop thinking about the White House and just focus day to do: What's the best thing to do for the troops; and what needs to be done to give them the leadership they need. This military wants to see this President lawfully punished for being a reckless Commander in Chief. He's betrayed and abused them. Time to stop making the troops do missions beyond what is feasible.

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Ref Amusing to see a Lt.Gen on the same witness list as a Specialist:

___ They will have an equal chance to be heard

___ The specialists comments can be contrasted with the Flag Officer

What's happening is the GOP blind assent to rank is falling away. This is needed:

___ Getting a Flag Officer to appear before Congress while a specialist is there providing a view on things.

It will be interesting to see how their comments contrast, especially when there are people who are not able to coordinate their answers.

Key question for the committee:

___ Did anyone in DoD coach any of the witnesses?

___ Which specific things did they encourage any of the witnesses not to review?

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Stimson Ref Ref

We’re talking about military hospitals in war time. Remember the Stimson deal -- he wanted to retaliate against attorneys who were challenging the illegal prisoner abuse. Stimson worked with the prisoners in the DOD prisoner affairs area.

It would be interesting to see how Stimon's comments on the Guantanamo issues compare and contrast with the way US soldiers are treated.

___ How is Stimson's Guantanamo-Hospital policy coming to light?

___ Why should anyone believe that the Prisoners at Guantanamo are treated consistent with Geneva when our top of the line combat troops are getting treated like garbage?

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It can hardly be credible that prisoner treatment conditions at Guantanamo are "classified" when the US military (apparently) treats activity duty troops no better than prisoners.

____ What is the plan of the Congress to glean the lessons of the abuses at Walter Reed; and then apply these lessons to what we're hearing from Eastern Europe and Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan and the black sites?

If the US is willing to do this to its own troops, there's no telling what the US is really doing at the remote locations where Congress has not been allowed to visit.