A Good Investment . . .

Today may be a nice day to further observe how US taxdollars are being spent to win the hearts and minds of our global neighbors. Salon.com has recently released 279 photos and 19 videos of US soldiers' "fun and games" at Abu Ghraib prison. The propagandists in the Department of Defense and the White House (echoed by a compliant media) would have you believe that the atrocities are the result of a few "rogue" elements unconnected to the directives of superiors. But the sad reality is that the type of abuse bears all the earmarks of US development and refinement of torture techniques for generations. Even as early as in 1963, the CIA printed a subsquently declassified report on psychological torture called KUBARK. Among the many books outlining the long history of CIA and armed forces' involvement in torture and psychological abuse, none is perhaps more comprehensive and timely than that of brilliant professor Alfred McCoy. And the warmongers fail to acknowledge the futility of their actions. For, though widely known that psychological torture is far worse and causes more lasting damage than physical abuse (Mahar Arar)(Moazzam Begg), it creates new generations of children more inclined to take asymmetical actions against US forces (i.e. suicide bombers).

Yet as further proof of how out of touch this Administration is with reality and the will of the international community, they debate over whether the President has the legal authority to authorize the crushing of a 10 year old's testicles in front of his father as a legitimate form of interrogation. Great example of that "liberal education" that students at University of California at Berkeley's Boalt Hall receive.

Meanwhile Russia continues to profit from American agression as it gains from nations needing to protect themselves from US imperial intentions, as borne out by the most recent Algerian military sale. But there will be other opportunities to explore this issue with greater depth in the future.