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BUSH PRETENDS HE NEVER GAVE SECRET PRISON ORDER
Two weeks ago, President Bush appeared on Arab television claiming that he
wanted to stop the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and implying that he had
nothing to do with the policies that led to them. During his appearance Bush
said, "We want to make sure that if there is a systemic problem -- in other
words, if there's a problem system-wide -- that we stop the practices" (1).
However, a new report appears to show that the President and top
Administration officials may have authorized procedures that led to the
abuses in the first place.
A new investigation by Newsweek "shows that President Bush, along with
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft signed
off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door
to such methods" of abuse and torture as documented at Abu Ghraib (2). The
secret orders were designed "to sidestep the historical safeguards of the
Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees and prisoners of
war. In doing so, they overrode the objections of Secretary of State Colin
Powell and America's top military lawyers."
The President has repeatedly said he wants to "usher in an era of personal
responsibility" (3). Yet, despite these revelations, the White House has
yet to admit any culpability. When asked whether a crucial Presidential
legal memo (4) attempting to skirt the Geneva Conventions (5) helped to
create the atmosphere that led to the prison abuses, White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said, "Absolutely not" (6).
Sources:
1. President Bush Meets with Al Arabiya Television on Wednesday, 05/05/2004,
daily.misleader.org.
2. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, 05/24/2004,
daily.misleader.org.
3. President Bush Discusses Progress in Education in St. Louis, 01/05/2004,
daily.misleader.org.
4. "Memos Reveal War Crimes Warnings", Newsweek, 05/19/2004,
daily.misleader.org.
5. "Report: White House Memo Backed Abuse", San Francisco Chronicle,
05/17/2004, daily.misleader.org.
6. Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan, 05/17/2004,
daily.misleader.org.
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