Corzine Doesn't Get It
Washington – U.S. Senator Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ), who attended the Presidential Inauguration and swearing in ceremony today, released the following statement following President Bush’s address to the nation.
“We all join the President in fighting for the cause of freedom, human rights and liberty both at home and abroad. Freedom is our most fiercely held value as a nation, and I agree with the President that it is the cause of our time. The President’s philosophical framing of America’s fundamental embrace of freedom was important. The President failed, however, to lay out the specific sacrifices Americans will face in the days and years ahead.
“In fact, in a seventeen minute address that ran more than 2,000 words, the President used the word sacrifice but once.
“After the loss of almost 1,400 soldiers in Iraq and with the cost of war soon to exceed $200 billion, the people of New Jersey and the nation want to know what more is expected of them and what sacrifices they will have to make. The families of New Jersey’s active duty service members, National Guard and Reserves want to know how much more sacrifice is expected of them and their loved ones serving overseas. The brave men and women defending our freedoms are serving selflessly and are owed our highest admiration and support. They are also owed a realistic assessment from the President of the road and sacrifices ahead.
“Americans want to know how the President will repair relations with our allies so they can share the burden of rebuilding Iraq and advancing freedom around the globe. They expected to hear a commitment to our homeland security and to our firefighters, cops and other first responders who defend us every day. And they want to know that the intelligence failures of 9/11 and the war in Iraq will be corrected. The President was silent on these issues today.
“I stand ready to work with President Bush to achieve great things for our nation and New Jersey. We confront great challenges both at home and abroad. The President had an opportunity today to be straight with the American people about the long road ahead and the sacrifices they will be asked to make. In that respect, his remarks fell short of the mark.
“We all join the President in fighting for the cause of freedom, human rights and liberty both at home and abroad. Freedom is our most fiercely held value as a nation, and I agree with the President that it is the cause of our time. The President’s philosophical framing of America’s fundamental embrace of freedom was important. The President failed, however, to lay out the specific sacrifices Americans will face in the days and years ahead.
“In fact, in a seventeen minute address that ran more than 2,000 words, the President used the word sacrifice but once.
“After the loss of almost 1,400 soldiers in Iraq and with the cost of war soon to exceed $200 billion, the people of New Jersey and the nation want to know what more is expected of them and what sacrifices they will have to make. The families of New Jersey’s active duty service members, National Guard and Reserves want to know how much more sacrifice is expected of them and their loved ones serving overseas. The brave men and women defending our freedoms are serving selflessly and are owed our highest admiration and support. They are also owed a realistic assessment from the President of the road and sacrifices ahead.
“Americans want to know how the President will repair relations with our allies so they can share the burden of rebuilding Iraq and advancing freedom around the globe. They expected to hear a commitment to our homeland security and to our firefighters, cops and other first responders who defend us every day. And they want to know that the intelligence failures of 9/11 and the war in Iraq will be corrected. The President was silent on these issues today.
“I stand ready to work with President Bush to achieve great things for our nation and New Jersey. We confront great challenges both at home and abroad. The President had an opportunity today to be straight with the American people about the long road ahead and the sacrifices they will be asked to make. In that respect, his remarks fell short of the mark.
Posted by Enlighten-NewJersey @ 3:40 PM
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10 Comments:
The views you express are not shared with the rest the world. While I recognise that there are many ills in our world, new world Americam imperialism will not solve the worlds problems. Please recognise the variety of world cultures and the US inawarness that not everyone in the world may want to share your McDonald's culture nor your democracy. Civilisations have continued to exist witout your interference. You are destroying the world with your consumption of organic fossil fuels and complete loss of reality. Stay away with your Cola and dollars..... pleeeze !!
My views are mine. I don’t presume to speak for the rest of the world as you did in your post. However, the views concerning President Bush’s speech, about which you commented,are of one U.S. Senator – Jon Corzine and are not mine.
You speak of new world American imperialism as if this were the polciy or the intention of the United States. If that is your point, I dissagree. Can you provide some examples that lead you to this belief? Is there anything in Prsident Bush’s address that indicates that imperialism is our intention?
I believe the United States does recognize the variety of world cultures and celebrates them. Examples of every culture can be found flurishing in our country. Walk the streets of any American city and you will hear the languages, see the dress, smell the food and see the art from vitually every country in the world.
You say that civilisations have continued to exist witout your interference. I not sure I understand what you mean by civilisations or interfenence. But if you mean Europe, I seem to remember from history, that we helped to free that part of the world, uopn request, from fascism and communisim. I also don’t remember the U.S. setting up colonies througout the world. Perhaps you can provide some of examples of U.S. interference that is unwanted. Maybe something has happened in your country that makes you feel the U.S. harmed you or your country, let me know.
I don’t believe our government wishes to impose our culture or our style of government on any country. Can you provide an example of past acts or statements by our government that has lead you to believe this is the case? I don’t know where in the world you live or if you have ever been to the U.S., but there is a bit more to our culture than McDonalds and cola. If you are reading American blogs, I think you know that It would seem you resorted to sarcasm in place of an argument based upon examples or facts.
You say that “you are destroying the world with your consumption of organic fossil fuels and complete loss of reality.” By "you" I suppose you mean the U.S. Tell me what fuels are used in your country to power vehicles and generate electricity? I do wish our country would make greater use of nuclear power. We have a number of envirnmental groups (forgein and domestic) that have made it almost impossible for the country to build any new nuclear power plants. Perhaps we can help these groups see the light in the future. I don’t know what you mean by complete loss of reality, again no examples or facts – just an accusation.
You ask that we stay away with our cola and dollars. Again you didn’t say where you live. Do the majority of your countrymen feel this way, or do you presume to speak for them as well? If you are sure you have the facts in regards to American dollars being unwelcome in your country, let me know and I will do all I can to keep our money from flowing into your country.
Hey Man, maybe you should ask the citizens of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Nicuargra, Columbia, Kenya, Somalia, Mexico, Canada, Korea and most of the countries in Europe for their views on American Imperialism and Human Rights. On reflection ask anyone in any country or corner of the world. Get real!
Two words. 'Guantanamo Bay'
It's taken you more than a month to respond and still you provide no facts to back up your comments.
Perhaps because you have no facts, otherwise we're sure you would have presented them, you've had more than enough time.
Then again maybe you were conducting polls in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Nicuargra, Columbia, Kenya, Somalia, Mexico, Canada, Korea and most of the countries in Europe for their views on American Imperialism and Human Rights and just haven't gotten around to publishing your findings.
We'll look forward to reading the results.
Two final observations. I don't think you know the meaning of the world "imperialism" unless under your definition it means the world is adopting American expressions.
Hey Man, wadda think?
Enlighten,
you presumed that it was I who posted the original comment. Not so. I came on you blog site quite by accident. I rather regret that I did so! However, I do not think it is wise or constructive to descend into sarcasms. It does not do you justice and destroys your contentions. I can empathise with some of the posts made by contributors to your blog site. I am a supporter of the US and UK policies of defence. Nevertheless I remain very uneasy with the policies of the US, most especially with regard to Guantanamo Bay. Sir, such was my post.
Regards,
L.O.
London
L.O. are you the "Two words. 'Guantanamo Bay'" commentor or are you the "Hey Man" commentor?
I was responding to the Hey Man commnetor that had previously spoken for the entire world in the first post.
If you are the 'Guantanamo Bay' comments poster, perhaps you can expalin your concerns about this location in Cuba and U.S. policy.
Welcome to the real world. Do you people know what is being done in your name ?
US detained children in Abu Ghraib
Friday 11 March 2005, 3:55 Makka Time, 0:55 GMT
The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib outraged the world
Related:
US abuse inquiry clears leaders
Video shows more US Iraq abuse
US releases Iraq abuse documents
An eight-year-old was among the children detained by US soldiers at Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib jail, a former prison commander has said.
Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski told officials investigating prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib that the child was crying and wanted to see his mother.
Karpinski's statement is among hundreds of pages of US army records about Abu Ghraib the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released on Thursday.
The ACLU got the documents under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records about abuse of detainees in Iraq.
Karpinski did not say what happened to the boy in her interview with Major-General George Fay. Military officials have previously acknowledged that some juvenile prisoners had been held at Abu Ghraib, a massive prison built by Saddam Hussein's government outside Baghdad.
More dirt
On another subject, Karpinski said she had seen written orders to hold a prisoner that the CIA had captured without keeping records. The records also quote an unnamed army officer at Abu Ghraib as saying military intelligence officers and the CIA worked out a written agreement on how to handle unreported detainees, known as "ghosts".
A US army report issued last September said investigators could not find any copies of any such written agreements.
Karpinski (L) was the prison
commander at Abu Ghraib
The Pentagon has acknowledged holding up to 100 "ghost detainees", keeping the prisoners off the books and away from humanitarian investigators from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has defended the practice, saying he authorised it because the prisoners were enemy combatants not entitled to prisoner of war protections.
Rumsfeld suit
The ACLU sued Rumsfeld earlier this month on behalf of four Iraqis and four Afghans who say they were tortured at US military facilities. Rumsfeld and his spokesmen have repeatedly said he and his aides never authorised or condoned any abuses.
Six enlisted soldiers have pleaded guilty to military charges for their roles in abuses at Abu Ghraib, and Private Charles Graner Jr was convicted at a court martial earlier this year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Karpinski, one of the few generals to be criticised in army detainee reports for poor leadership, quoted several senior generals in Iraq as making callous statements about prisoners.
Karpinski said Major-General Walter Wodjakowski, then the second highest ranking army general in Iraq, told her in the summer of 2003 not to release more prisoners, even if they were innocent.
"I don't care if we're holding 15,000 innocent civilians. We're winning the war," Karpinski said Wodjakowski told her.
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Mr. Enlighten in New Jersey, you need to realise all is not as it should be.
L.O.
London
The New York Times said reports tell of abuse in Afghanistan
Rumsfeld sued over prisoner abuse
Documents detail US abuse inquiries
Rights group says US killed detainees
US Afghan prisoner treatment decried
UN: Afghanistan rights record poor
Troops in Afghan abuse probe
Two Afghan prisoners in US custody in Afghanistan in 2002 died after being chained up, kicked and beaten by American soldiers, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper on Saturday cited army criminal investigative reports obtained by Human Rights Watch that have not been made public.
They follow revelations of abuse of prisoners by US forces in Iraq and allegations of torture at the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that have drawn widespread international criticism.
One soldier, Private First Class Willie Brand, was charged with manslaughter in a closed hearing last month in Texas in connection with one of the deaths in Afghanistan, another army document showed.
Brand, who acknowledged striking a detainee named Dilawar 37 times, was accused of killing him after maiming him over a five-day period by "destroying his leg muscle tissue with repeated unlawful knee strikes", according to the Times.
The reports provide the first official account of events that led to the death of Dilawar and another detainee, Mullah Habibullah, at the Bagram Control Point near Kabul.
The deaths happened nearly a year before the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The reports, from the Army Criminal Investigation Command, also make clear that the abuse at Bagram went far beyond the two killings, the newspaper said.
Among those recommended for prosecution is an army military interrogator who is said to have "placed his penis along the face" of one Afghan detainee and later to have "simulated anally sodomising him".
The treatment of prisoners at the
US base in Cuba has been criticised
The army reports cited "credible information" that four military interrogators assaulted Dilawar and another Afghan prisoner with "kicks to the groin and leg, shoving or slamming him into walls/table, forcing the detainee to maintain painful, contorted body positions during interview and forcing water into his mouth until he could not breathe".
US military officials in Afghanistan initially said the deaths of Habibullah, in an isolation cell on 4 December 2002, and Dilawar, in another such cell six days later, were from natural causes.
But after an investigation, the army acknowledged the deaths were murders, The New York Times said.
I fully match with whatever thing you have written.
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