Rob Kall
It was very predictable that the Bush slime administration would do everything they could to shut Saddam up. Categorizing him as a prisoner of war allows them to say that he has the right to remain silent. And that's exactly how they want him. Otherwise, he'd make it very clear how daddy Bush was his partner, how Rumsfield was his buddy and how the US was the enabler for so many of the nasty things Saddam perpetrated, that the Bushies, Limbaugh and his dittohead copycats like to cite as reasons for the war, after, of course, the other lying excuses were exposed as fraudulent.
So we have word from the British media that Saddam isn't talking. But, they add, the papers found with him are helping. Funny. Since the Kurds captured Saddam, threw him in the hole and delivered him to the US (which all the world's media, except the zombie-dead US faux media reported) those papers have to be seen as tainted, as set-ups aimed at supporting Kurd interests. And while we're at it, let's ask, why doesn't the administration toot the Saddam horn anymore? And when will we find out how much of a reward was paid? I'm betting it was way more that twenty-five million. Hell, it's not Bush's campaign money and it was a "great investment."
Here's what Reuters reported:
"The Geneva Convention requires that POWs receive humane treatment, including not being subjected to intimidation or insult and not being turned into a public curiosity. It requires that POWs be given proper food and freedom, be free to exercise their religion and receive monthly pay depending on rank.
Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers, a Pentagon spokesman, said Saddam was being given all the rights due him under the treaty.
"The bottom line is that Saddam Hussein was the leader of the old regime's military forces, and therefore he was a member of the military, and he was captured. That makes him an enemy prisoner of war," Shavers said.
"It's unusual that you have such a high-ranking enemy prisoner of war. So I think we just wanted to make sure that we had carefully thought through all the ramifications," Shavers said."
Now, it's interesting, that Saddam, who basically laid down for the US military and hardly put up a fight, is called a prisoner of war, while the Taliban prisoners who fought aggressively, are held in gitmo and are classified instead as enemy combatants who are eligible for torture and who have very limited rights. Very handy. If you're going to get in the habit of routine lying and fraud, little details like this don't bother you. Anyway, as former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill said, Bush was "led like a blind man." So, it's not really the president I'm calling a liar and fraud. No. He's a simpering, brain dead idiot, allowing himself to be advised by criminals, thugs, frauds, liars and corporate sycophants. And Bush is a sycophant himself. Do I sound disgusted? Well, I am. I am sick and tired of a lie-machine that echoes throughout the US via lying, distorting, hypocritical, right wing pundits and talk show propagandists for a regime that has done more to damage the US, its assets and its future than any previous president and administration.
Keeping Saddam shut up is going to be very important to the Bush team of idiots, liars and fat cat corporate whores. Saddam's mouth could be a regular Pandora's box of bad news to them and their goals for criminally, fraudulently taking over the US, using any and all means possible. If they can steal, defraud and rig the 2004 elections, that will give them time to appoint enough federal and supreme court judges so they won't have to worry about laws, or constitutional issues anymore. They'll just have their whore judges laugh at them. Imagine if the judges the Democrats' filibusters prevented from being appointed had been the ones ruling on Jose Padilla's rights. He'd be locked up in a hole with zero rights.
My guess is that with the proper friendly incentives, meaning, without torture, Saddam would be thrilled to spill the beans. This is what Bush and his gang will attempt to thwart at all costs. I wouldn't be surprised to find Saddam dead pretty soon. He's a very serious threat and liability to Bush now. At least, now that the rest of the world knows that the Kurds caught him, the Republicans aren't touting his capture so boastfully.
Oh, by the way, the Geneva convention says that Prisoners of war can only be held until the end of hostilities. The US is currently holding about 13,000 prisoners in Iraq. And I thought the end of the conflict was announced by George when he landed on the carrier wearing his dandy flight suit.
Rob Kall rob@opednews.com is editor/founder of OpEdNews.com, president of Futurehealth, Inc. and organizer of the Futurehealth Winter Brain, Optimal Functioning and StoryCon Meeting. This article is copyright Rob Kall and originally published by opednews.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog or web media so long as this credit paragraph is attached.
