Again and Again, Bush Blames the Messenger

In typical Bush administration fashion, the Pentagon released a report after the last news broadcast June 3 that the Newsweek story, while wrong about the example concerning the mishandling of the Quran, was correct about the practice. Also detailed were numerous incidents of abuse committed on prisoners as well as on the holy book of Islam. The report came as a result of an investigation conducted by Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, Guantanamo Bay detention center commander.It is not the first time this administration has chosen a late Friday, a weekend or even a congressional recess to release bad news, rescind an environmental regulation or even appoint a judge that could not be approved following the usual process. We now have another incident in which this administration has been proven to be less than forthcoming. White House spokesman Scott McClellan spoke for President Bush on the following day in an effort to control the damage from the previous day's release. According to McClellan, there were only a few incidents caused by a very few individuals. This flies in the face of a recent report by Amnesty International about rampant prisoner abuse in Guantanamo. The message always seems to be the same: Trash the messenger. We might accept that one messenger, maybe two, were in error, but there have been too many messengers to discount. It is very difficult to discount former prisoner accounts, photos of actual abuse, accounts by former guards and interpreters, news stories from reputable news media as well as reports from international agencies such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International. Are we supposed to believe that everyone is lying but President Bush? I think President Bush has asked us to trust him more than once too often.

NICK REINA

Milmay

Letter Published in Atlantic City Press, June 16, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/061605LETTERSJUN16.cfm