What I'm reading: Torture report highlights consequences of permanent war
By Fareed Zakaria
“Since at least 1940, when serious preparations for entry into World War II began, the United States has been more or less continually engaged in actual war or in semi-war, intensively girding itself for the next active engagement, assumed to lie just around the corner,” writes Andrew J. Bacevich in the Boston Globe. “The imperatives of national security, always said to be in peril, have taken precedence over all other considerations. In effect, war and the preparation for war have become perpetual. If doubts existed on that score, the response to 9/11, resulting in the declaration of an ambiguous and open-ended global war on terrorism, ought to have settled them.”
“One consequence of our engagement in permanent war has been to induce massive distortions, affecting apparatus of government, the nation, and the relationship between the two. The size, scope, and prerogatives accorded to the so-called intelligence community — along with the abuses detailed in the Senate report — provide only one example of the result. But so too is the popular deference accorded to those who claim to know exactly what national security requires, even as they evade responsibility for the last disaster to which expert advice gave rise.”
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“After 9/11 the CIA reached out to its European allies as it embarked on its detention and extraordinary rendition operation. The aim was to place detainees beyond the reach of law,” writes Natalie Nougayrède in The Guardian. “The active participation of dozens of foreign governments made both the renditions and interrogations possible. How many in Europe will now be pressed to disclose the full extent of their involvement in these operations?”
“To this day the exact scale of European complicity remains unknown. This is because of the secrecy maintained for years by the US and its partner governments. Washington has never confirmed the location of secret CIA prisons, nor named the governments that cooperated, and nor indeed does the material just published. A decade on, there is still no public comprehensive account.”
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“The doctors and scientists hunting for new cures and treatments work in a constant state of tension. They operate in a tremendously high-stakes environment, pouring years of their lives into research as the people who inspire them continue to suffer and even die. Drug hunters face failure after failure, almost never followed by success. Decades of work flame out. Promising ideas turn into dead ends,” writes Sam Baker for The National Journal. “For every 10,000 compounds they explore, scientists wind up with just one drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Even when medical science moves as fast as it can – and today, it's moving faster than ever before – it's still an agonizingly slow process.”
@fareedzakaria on Twitter
Sigh.
Bush is a bad guy because he let water torture happen. Immoral, illegal, criminal act. But what about Obama who still lets droning kill in the thousands. UN and EU has already said it to be illegal. What are we waiting for? Another epiphany in 10 years? American government is the most hypocritical terror machine around. It does not represent the majority of the people.
Yes, Obama continued what Bush started. And, make no mistake: Bush started a lot of what US practices currently.
The US, Britain, and Israel all use drones. It's not exactly an United States exclusive. It is only a matter if time before other nations use them.
Although I don't like excessive use of them, it is infinitely better than our US boots on the ground.
I'd like to get past the whole culture of war, myself. This include ALL nations.
Banasy it's good to see you here. Where are chrissy and dazzle.?
2 fur 1 are rectal rehydrating Modi. Ma bad.
Black Betsey, that is a non-sequitur answer that doesn't apply to me whatsoever.
KR, did you forget how to spell your name?
U GO GIRL!!!
Certainly does not represent me. I say fire the government.
I keep on circling back to Seven Days in May as a very distinct possibility in USA, NATO et al.
I can imagine the unifoms frolicking the Oval Office doing the cigar thing.
The American Government has even made a fool of the elective minority. Totally out of control. Police have taken over our streets. The politicians our money. Armed forces our skies, land and seas. And left us with quadrillion dollars of debt. Shame on us. Impeach the bums and dissolve the rest. We need to take back our country.
I CAN'T BREATHE
HANDS UP DON'T SHOOT
HANDS IN, DON'T PICK MY POCKET
BOTTOMS UP DON'T DRINK MY BOURBON
You propose to do this...how?
Repeat:
"Impeach the bums. Dissolve the rest."
I wasn't talking about Georgia peach and white horse.
Impeach who? Dissoke what?
Congress? The POTUS? The individual states/state governments? Local?
Replace them with what? What form of government do you favor?
Save your platitudes and quips and go into some depth.
S/B *Dissolve what?
In America you impeach elected officials.
Yes, I'm aware of that; I live in America. In America, you also have to have grounds to impeach officials on more than a disgruntled internet pseudo-pundit.
So, I'll repeat:
Impeach who? Dissolve what?
Congress? The POTUS? The individual states/state governments? Local? ALL of them? On every level?
Replace them with what? What form of government do you favor?
You no go to India to raipe? Where you from? Bombay? I from Chennai. You eat samosas?
Pundit ji @banasy in India we impeech goats and camel. You know that. Why you ashamed if someone tells the truth about who you are. Be proud of your hindu heritage.
Ram,
I am American, and I was asking questions about America
Why you not know how to read or answer direct questions and switch personalities/names? Why you pretend to be Indian?
You aren't. You know that.
The "hands up don't shoot" scenario is a lie, so for heaven's sake don't add to the disgraceful lie that Michael Brown put his hands up. He did not. Brown was low-life hood who robbed a store, assaulted an employee, then went out look for trouble, attacked an office in his car and eventually got shot dead. Brown was the architect of his own death.
We helped write the treaty on torture tactics. And we broke it. This is a war crime.
@blue saffron. So? No body cares about paki Islamic extremists terrrrorists.
@banasy. U tell em!
U go girl!!!
I was in a bus. A man sat next to me. He had bad curry bo. So I vomited. He was from Pakistan
I eats me a heap of fried chicken,ribs and water melon. Now I is a black man.
Scuse me. Gonna shuffle down the corner and play me some basketball
Im the man
sorry guys. My real girlfriend,chrissy told to post something funny about afro-americans. So I did.
Democracy is a failed concept in recent times and has produced the worst band of thugs imaginable. US Congress, British Parliament are good examples. See what it has produced. Clinton, Bush, Obama. I wanna throw up.
Also take the case of world's largest democracy (laughter) India. Modi, a murderer. Most of those elected have a criminal record.
Another guy just murdered his wife and got away. He is a minister.
Bock bock bock coward.
Modi should be rectal fed and kicked onto a plane headed to Hague.
Watch this go right up hindoo a zz. Watch the tirade. Watch !
rupert has been rectally dehydrated. He is all puckered up. That mother f ukkin hinddooo
B@st@rdz.
Wow, do you really EAT with that mouth??? And you think people in India are bad? Have you listened to yourself?
Lol. Do you really eat with that mouth. Lmao. Good one, Chrissy. 🙂
In India we s ukk linga ( d ikk) with our mouth. You from there? Not?
Why you speak about Indian peeple? You indian? We bhery bad. Indians raipe and raipe. So what?
I have many icons. Don't mess with me or I will hi-jack your name as well little miss chrissy with no where to go. LOL
Whaat is LOL? A pipe to rectal rehydrate Narinder Modi? You bhery bhery bade.
Chrissy. Don't bother posting anything. Nobody cares nor does anybody want to listen to your trashy opinion.
Gandhi no gud. He f ukky f ukky goats snd camel. And like Bill Cosby he raipy raipy his niece.
Hare krishna hare ram.
Untermensch Butcher of Gujarat Terrorist Narendra Modi of India was disinvited by Wharton Business School to attend an economic forum in USA. Hindus are furious but a terrorist is a terrorist and the world recognizes Modi as such.
He needs to be dragged to ICJ The Hague and face trial just like Milosevic.
But only after rectal feeding.
You should be ashamed of yourself ya fat belly yankee. We will impeach you.
We may have BO but we can sure raipe in Hindoostan. Namastay.
Not even a close approximation of a post I would author.
You are slipping badly.
Awwww chrissy don't go to Daddy's Joy house anymore. Come to papa. I make you feel like a woman should.
Leave her alone. I have been boehnering chrissy for ages. In Bombay.
John of Orange disapproves
@chrissy, that was fun raiping all the girls in New Delhi. Let's go have some pakoras for breakfast now.
So, I’ll repeat: but with answers.
Impeach who? Rectal feed Modi.
Dissolve what? My a zz
Congress? The POTUS? The individual states/state governments? Local? ALL of them? On every level? Yup them are all raipists.
Replace them with what? What form of government do you favor? Rehydrate all of them, stuff samosas up their a zz and put them on a boat to the caves in BangALoru.
Now, let us go raipe.
Om Om Om
Aw. Blue couldn't answer his posturing know-it-all post, so he has does this.
Transparent attempt. Grade F.
Ok hindoo boy, now f ukk off with an F.
You can steal my name you can abuse me for no reason..... that is between you and your conscience. This I will say. See you in hell from my perch in heaven. So long my well wishers. See you around on Main Street.
I feel exactly the same when mine is stolen.
Take the high road @Blue Saffron. No need to respond to these low level trolls.
I am pretty sure I read somewhere these t hugs are from India (Hindoostan?).
The thug(a) are actually American.
Perchance, are you a George Carlin fan?
Modi needs to be rectal fed. Whaddya say.
Impeach the adulterous Bill Clinton and the war mongering George Bush(s). And the gay muslim Obama.
You're so obvious, Philip.
Sure.
A post-Presidential impeachment.
And a bigoted untrue slur against our current POTUS, just for full rumor flavor.
Posted under a bastardizations of my name, because that's totally what Jesus would do. If Jesus were a coward, of course.
Clinton was impeached already, you dummy. And Obama is in fact a former drug dealing gang banger, self professed Muslim, and frequenter of gay bath houses.
Banotsi is MY s/n, not yours. I made it up just like you made up banasy. So stfu.
Hey you guys f ukkin each other? Take it to the men's room.
Anal hydration candidates
TERRORIST GROUPS IN INDIA WITH GLOBAL REACH: MULTINATIONALS
RASHTRIYA SWAYAM SEWAK SHANG (R.S.S.)
VISHWA HINDU PARISHAD (World Hindu Council)
HINDU MUNNANI
ARYA SAMAJ
SHIV SENA
BHARATIYA JANATA PARISHAD (BJP)
SANT SAMITI
HINDU MAHASABHA
BAAJRANG DAL
LEADERS: Narendra Modi/ L.K. Advani/ Ashok Singhal/ Bala Saheb Devaras/ Bal Thackeray(EXTERMINATED)/ A.B. Vajpayee/ Savarkar/ Baikunnth Lal Sharma “Prem”/ Balraj Madhok/ The Shankaracharya of Puri, Niranjan Dev Theerth/ Rama Gopalan/ Variyar – Vishwan Hindu Parishad/ Dharmalinga Nadar/ Cho Ramaswamy
A SAMPLING OF SOME 114 FREEDOM FIGHTING ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIA:
1. National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)
2. United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS)
3. Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO)
4. Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF)
5. Dima Halim Daogah (DHD)
6. Karbi National Volunteers (KNV)
7. Rabha National Security Force (RNSF)
8. Koch-Rajbongshi Liberation Organisation (KRLO)
9. Hmar People's Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
10. Karbi People's Front (KPF)
11. Tiwa National Revolutionary Force (TNRF)
12. Bircha Commando Force (BCF)
13. Bengali Tiger Force (BTF)
14. Adivasi Security Force (ASF)
15. All Assam Adivasi Suraksha Samiti (AAASS)
16. Gorkha Tiger Force (GTF)
17. Barak Valley Youth Liberation Front (BVYLF)
18. United Liberation Front of Barak Valley
19. United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
20. People's Liberation Army (PLA)
21. People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
22. The above mentioned three groups now operate from a unified platform,
23. the Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF)
24. Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)
25. Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)
26. Manipur Liberation Tiger Army (MLTA)
27. Iripak Kanba Lup (IKL)
28. People's Republican Army (PRA)
29. Kangleipak Kanba Kanglup (KKK)
30. Kangleipak Liberation Organisation (KLO)
31. Revolutionary Joint Committee (RJC)
32. National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
33. People's United Liberation Front (PULF)
34. Kuki National Army (KNA)
35. Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA)
36. Kuki National Organisation (KNO)
37. Kuki Independent Army (KIA)
38. Kuki Defence Force (KDF)
39. Kuki International Force (KIF)
40. Kuki National Volunteers (KNV)
41. Kuki Liberation Front (KLF)
42. Kuki Security Force (KSF)
43. Kuki Liberation Army (KLA)
44. Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF)
45. United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF)
46. Hmar People's Convention (HPC)
47. Hmar People's Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
48. Hmar Revolutionary Front (HRF)
49. Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA)
50. Zomi Revolutionary Volunteers (ZRV)
51. Indigenous People's Revolutionary Alliance(IRPA)
52. Kom Rem People's Convention (KRPC)
53. Chin Kuki Revolutionary Front (CKRF)
54. Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC)
55. Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC)
56. People's Liberation Front of Meghalaya (PLF-M)
57. Hajong United Liberation Army (HULA)
58. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) – NSCN(IM)
59. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) – NSCN (K)
60. Naga National Council (Adino) – NNC (Adino)
61. Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)
62. Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF)
63. International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)
64. Khalistan Commando Force (KCF)
65. All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF)
66. Bhindala Tigers Force of Khalistan (BTFK)
67. Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA)
68. Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF)
69. Khalistan Armed Force (KAF)
70. Dashmesh Regiment
71. Khalistan Liberation Organisation (KLO)
72. Khalistan National Army (KNA)
73. National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT)
74. All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF)
75. Tripura Liberation Organisation Front (TLOF)
76. United Bengali Liberation Front (UBLF)
77. Tripura Tribal Volunteer Force (TTVF)
78. Tripura Armed Tribal Commando Force (TATCF)
79. Tripura Tribal Democratic Force (TTDF)
80. Tripura Tribal Youth Force (TTYF)
81. Tripura Liberation Force (TLF)
82. Tripura Defence Force (TDF)
83. All Tripura Volunteer Force (ATVF)
84. Tribal Commando Force (TCF)
85. Tripura Tribal Youth Force (TTYF)
86. All Tripura Bharat Suraksha Force (ATBSF)
87. Tripura Tribal Action Committee Force (TTACF) Socialist Democratic
88. Front of Tripura (SDFT)
89. All Tripura National Force (ATNF)
90. Tripura Tribal Sengkrak Force (TTSF)
91. Tiger Commando Force (TCF)
92. Tripura Mukti Police (TMP)
93. Tripura Rajya Raksha Bahini (TRRB)
94. Tripura State Volunteers (TSV)
95. Tripura National Democratic Tribal Force (TNDTF)
96. National Militia of Tripura (NMT)
97. All Tripura Bengali Regiment (ATBR)
98. Bangla Mukti Sena (BMS)
99. All Tripura Liberation Organisation (ATLO)
100. Tripura National Army (TNA)
101. Tripura State Volunteers (TSV)
102. Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT)
103. Mizoram
104. Bru National Liberation Front
105. Hmar People's Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
106. Arunachal Pradesh
107. Arunachal Dragon Force (ADF)
108. Left-wing Extremist groups
109. People's Guerrilla Army
110. People's War Group
111. Maoist Communist Centre
112. Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
113. Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Janashaktih
114. Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT)
I am a member of the Communist party. Raipe your mama Rupert. It is culturally acceptable.
It is very interesting to note that if one writes a blog on here that doesn't support Fareed Zakarai's position and elaborates on one's reason's for not doing so, your comment does not see the light of day. So please, CNN, you are utter hypocrites in regard to censorship. This is Obama's America, isn't it? – where the talk is about 'transparency', but no real transparency exists. America is a rapidly fading democracy. You really have degenerated into a useless crowd of imbeciles. Pro-American most of my life, I'm saddened to see a once great country, through the foolishness of its electorate and unbridled corruption, degenerate into a heap of Obama pigs droppings.
Interesting insight about justice and morality.