America is the Land of the Free as long as what you say, see, or hear is only what the government wants its citizens to say, see, or hear. This Orwellian bargain was highlighted this week by Congress' redlighting the release of 21 photographs of prisoner abuse by the US military. The Obama administration offered the excuse of conflicting interests as the publication of these incriminating photos would interfere with a ACLU lawsuit, but more importantly the decision up to this point has been made by the Secretary of Defense, who cites a provision in the freedom of Information Act, which prevents the release of any information that might cause a threat to the public safety..
The Defense Secretary is an appointed member of the government.
No one in America elected Robert Gates to this post.
He is a hold-over from the previous regime of GW Bush.
The photos are an indictment of torture and reveal the widespread system of detainee abuse condoned by GW Bush and Dick Cheney and their staffs.
Abu Ghabi was not an aberration.
And neither can the US public be certain that the Pentagon and CIA aren't using torture on detainees throughout their covert empire.
The freedom of speech means the freedom of speech.
There are no exceptions.
No comments:
Post a Comment