by Ray McGovern, TomPaine.com

With the worst of the photos on the way, we cannot let enlisted soldiers take the fall for a criminal chain of command.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050930/abu_ghraib_command_responsibility.php

On Iraq Blair is not simply discredited: his personal pride has become a fundamental obstacle to any rational discussion about what now needs to happen. It has been obvious for some time that the presence of British and American troops is causing more problems than it solves.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1580655,00.html


From Information Clearing House

BBC News [UK]

09/29/05

A judge in New York has ruled that pictures of Iraqi inmates abused by US troops should be released. The judge made the order after a request by the American Civil Liberties Union for access to unseen images. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected government arguments that this could fuel anti-US feelings. Pictures of Iraqi inmates being abused at Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad last year have caused an outcry around the world. Several US soldiers have been jailed. The ruling represents a huge potential embarrassment for the US administration, says the BBC's Jeremy Cooke in New York. The government has 20 days to consider an appeal. In a first reaction, the head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, said publication of more pictures could distort reality...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4295324.stm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Independent [UK]

09/29/05

The Labour Party was forced to make a humiliating apology to an 82-year-old party member last night after he was thrown out of the conference for heckling Jack Straw.

Walter Wolfgang, a party member for 57 years, was bundled out of the conference hall by stewards after shouting 'nonsense' as Mr Straw, the Foreign Secretary, defended Britain's role in Iraq. He was later stopped under anti-terrorist powers as he tried to re-enter the hall. The heavy-handed treatment of Mr Wolfgang revived criticism of the 'control freakery' associated with New Labour and even drew comparisons with the way the Communist leaders in Russia and China stifled dissent. Mr Wolfgang fled Nazi Germany as a teenager for the freedom of Britain. He said: 'I shouted out 'nonsense.' That's all I said. Then these two toughies came round and wanted to manhandle me out'...

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article315804.ece


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050928/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/corpse_photos


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The growing specter of a full-scale civil war in Iraq - and the likelihood that such a conflict will draw in neighboring states - has intensified a summer-long debate here over whether and how to withdraw US troops.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092805J.shtml

Iraqis have reacted furiously to the three-year jail sentence imposed on Lynndie England, provoking outrage across the world. Last night she was jailed and dishonorably discharged from the US Army, but ordinary Iraqis said that it was not enough.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092805E.shtml



The invention of porno torture
CounterPunch
by Liaquat Ali Khan

09/28/05

Torture is by no means an exclusive American practice. Almost all states, including Muslim nations, practice atrocious forms of torture. Porno torture, however, is unique. It is unique not because it is harsher but because it is unusual. Very few states have been reported to practice porno torture. So a question arises: Why has the US Torture Establishment invented porno torture to degrade and torment Muslim men, women, and children? .... It is no surprise that the military court that convicted Lynddie England found no porno torture in the case. In fact, England was not even charged for committing any form of torture. She has been found guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating detainees, and one count of committing an indecent act. No Iraqi detainees were summoned as witnesses to tell their story of shame, degradation, pain and suffering that porno torture inflicted on their bodies, minds, and souls. Meanwhile, the Torture Establishment has buried thousands of pictures of porno torture in confidential files to avoid responsibility...

http://www.counterpunch.org/khan09282005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq, including increasing detention and accidental shootings of journalists, is preventing full coverage of the war reaching the American public, Reuters said on Wednesday.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10420.htm

Paul Craig Roberts: George W. Bush will go down in history as the president who fiddled while America lost its superpower status. Time is running out for Republicans and Democrats to escape from the distraction of a pointless war and to focus on the real threats that endanger the United States of America.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092705F.shtml