News of the Day: Late Edition
Today it was revealed that Donald Rumsfeld was personally involved in a late 2002 interrogation of a high-value al-Qaida detainee known in intelligence circles as "the 20th hijacker." According to a report at Salon.com, On Dec. 2, 2002 Rumsfeld approved 16 interrogation strategies for use against the suspect including the use of forced nudity, stress positions and the removal of religious items. In public statements Rumsfeld has maintained that none of the policies at Guantánamo led to "inhumane" treatment of detainees.
Earlier in the day, President Bush said the Secretary of Defense still has his full support despite calls for Rumsfeld’s resignation by six senior military generals. The President’s statement was warranted because of the "type of voices" publicly criticizing Rumsfeld, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another stark warning about global warming came today, this time from the UK’s chief government scientist Professor David King. He told the BBC and the prestigious Hadley Centre that the world had to act now to tackle the global warming expected to happen over the next 100 years. His report noted that so far the US – which is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases – has been unwilling to debate a CO2 threshold.
As Americans debate immigration, newspapers are reminding readers that the number of Mexican migrants who died attempting to come work in the United States climbed to a record high of 516 last year, almost 40 percent more than in 2004, according to figures compiled by the Mexican government. The Mexican Foreign Ministry's death toll mirrors the tally maintained by the U.S. Border Patrol, which counted 473 dead. Record heat last summer and an American border control strategy that induced people to trek across more remote areas were largely to blame, Border Patrol officials and immigration analysts have said.
Since Pres. Bush made it clear once again today that he's unwilling to hold Rumsfeld accountable, we have to work harder to get this news out and also to work to transfer it to Democratic victories in Congress in 2006 so that we can finally hold Rumsfeld and others accountable for their incompetence!
As we've seen repeatedly in the past, nothing happens when this info becomes public b/c this admin has no sense of shame. On this Good Friday, we might also pause to remember the clear prohibition on torture in the Scripture and the sinfulness of this administration's policies in this regard.
April 14, 2006 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink