tecolahagos.com - ethiopian related issues and commentary

It is extremely distressing to any decent human being to see pictures of Iraqi prisoners being subjected to all forms of torture, humiliation, degradation, even death in the hands of the United States soldiers. The atrocities committed against Iraqi prisoners and wanton killing of Iraqi civilians proves once more the adage that �power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.� The Executive Branch of the United States Government, more or less was left to its own device since April 2003 in carrying out its military attack in Iraq, with minimal supervision or oversight by the other two branches of the Government. The legislative and the judiciary Branches seem to have been cowered in or have abrogated their responsibilities for personal political expediency; nevertheless, the result has been devastating to the American civil society. Legislation like the Patriot Act, have demolished so many civil liberties and constitutional rights that we are set back a hundred years.

The Republican Party must bear the responsibility for the polarized relationship that exists at this time in Congress solely due to the uncompromising pursuit of the Republican�s incestuously narrow conservative agenda. The Iraqi war, despite the enormous waste of money and death of tens of thousands of human beings, has failed in its mission to bring about peace and stability [democracy] to Iraq. The latest ever shifting reasons for going to war against the Iraqi government is now claimed to be stability and democracy. Even at that, instead what has happened is daily fighting resulting in the death of hundreds of US soldiers and the killing of thousands of Iraqis.

Sooner than later, left to themselves, human beings whether they are high officials or simple soldiers will fall into committing crimes against those who are under their control unless they are forced to conduct themselves by established standards, rules, and procedures. Nothing illustrates better the evil of unsupervised power than the unfolding record of atrocities committed against Iraqi prisoners of war and non-combatants. What is tragic is the fact that human beings do not seem to learn anything at all from experience or from history. The United States Government, which has freed Europe from the grips of Nazi atrocities over fifty years ago, and of late has expressed its regrets for not stopping the genocide in Rwanda, has now committed what amounts to �war crimes� in the treatment of Iraqi prisoners, both soldiers and non-combatants. The evidence is out for the World to see: the torture, humiliation, and murder committed against Iraqi prisoners have severely violated numerous well established international law principles contained in Conventions, Customary International Law, and Declarations. The following three international instruments are the principal ones: the Nuremberg Principles, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and The Universal Declarations of Human Rights.

In trying to find (more or less on a fishing expedition) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and other evidences to establish the initial reasons given for going to war, the Bush Government seems to have gone out of control trying to extract non-existent evidence from its Iraqi war prisoners and civilian detainees by using torture, degradation, and even murder. One of President George Bush�s favorite expressions is to label some non-western leaders as �barbaric� and their governments as evil. Now we know whom to add to that list. The recent exposure of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners clearly established the fact that �war crimes� have been committed by the leaders of the United Sates Government and the United States Military Commanders; blaming soldiers lower down in the command structure in no way frees those in position of power/authority from the commission of war crimes by soldiers. The Nuremberg Principles have clearly established that principle of responsibility up and down the chain of Command.

We should not forget or overlook the sources of all these world conflict and antagonism. The World�s inability to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the disproportionate material wealth distribution among nations, the oppression of Arabs by their respective dictatorial governments, the religious inflammatory rhetoric of Mullahs and religious leaders et cetera have all contributed to the present conflicted world situation. The Americans always brandishing their saber at every little conflict have not helped matters either. We believe the present situation is totally man-made that could have been avoided. Thus, we want to add our small voice to that of millions of concerned human beings in protest of the actions or inactions of Officials and soldiers of the United States in Iraq that resulted in war crimes, such as torture, abuse, humiliation et cetera of Iraqi prisoners.

As members of the American community and the human family, it is appalling to us to witness once more history repeating itself. No one country, no one people, or no one leader is above committing war crimes. Without exception, all of mankind and all of the world nations are deficient in their ethics. Thus, no one is better than anyone else. Big industrialized nations, small and underdeveloped nations, rich nations, poor nations, White people, Brown people, Black people, Christians, Moslems et cetera all have committed some crime against humanity, crimes against individuals, the most recent being the one still going on in Iraqi. It is this delusion of greatness and the mistaken idea of being better than others that had led men and women astray, to be arrogant, and foolish and often brutal. The simple soldiers involved in the actual torturing, degradation, and murdering of Iraqis did not act out of the blues, they got their orders and clues from higher ups. The atmosphere for such brutality was created by none other than the President himself in his very many addresses dehumanizing leaders and whole people by labeling them as �barbaric,� �uncivilized� et cetera. It should not come as a surprise to anyone, if lower in the command structure, American soldiers or civilians act out brutally towards Iraqis or any non-western individual. That is why we need laws and regulations, accountability, check and balance, disclosure of the activities of government officials et cetera in any government.

It is no great disclosure to recognize that every human being has a dual capacity to be kind or brutal. What elevates us from being creatures of violence and brutality, and further defines us as caring and responsible human beings is our capacity to live up to some ethical principles. It is not our ability or inability to know few tricks to manipulate physical nature and laws that makes us civilized societies. If our leaders are gullible enough to equate technological advancement with ethical or moral excellence, we surly are in great danger of descending back to the time of Nazi Germany. Rather it is in the humanity of our actions and our relationship with other human beings where we find our true capacity to do something good and honorable. Our human history is littered with atrocities by so called civilized nations during the colonial era, the Second World War, and very many other wars around the world. Let us not delude ourselves about the superiority of the ethical standard of the West as a done-deal, finished case, or a given.

It is very encouraging to witness President Bush, Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers and others making public apologies, and contrition for their failure to protect and properly handle their prisoners. Skeptics say that those Officials were doing so because they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. That maybe so; however, I tend to recognize in that public act of apology a glimmer of human conscience, on which quality I may add that mankind through out the ages built civil societies everywhere. Compared to the brutal dictators and oppressors of Arabs in the many undemocratic governments in the Middle East, who still torture and abuse their respective citizens as we speak, George Bush and his officials were willing to acknowledge their mistakes publicly and apologize. That is not something that should be taken for granted. It marks the important distinction between democracy and tyranny.

Nevertheless, contrition after the fact of the horrendous damage to Iraqis may cleanse the souls of Americans, but does not nullify the responsibility to mend broken fences and correct mistakes, and above all to accept punishments. We hold responsible for all the suffering of the Iraqi people in general, and specifically for the torture, humiliation, degradation et cetera of Iraqi prisoners since April 2003 President Bush and his Members of Government, as well as his Military Commanders. The Bush Government should immediately end its occupation of Iraq and withdrew its military forces. [Moreover, George Bush should not run for reelection, and he should let the Republican Party choose new candidates, such as Senators Frist, Graham, or McCain et cetera.] Our heart felt sorrow for the suffering of Iraqis, for they seem to have traded one horrible situation and master for another one.