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George W. Bush

America’s Imperial Misadventure in Iraq

I have nothing more to say about the war in Iraq that I haven’t said many times over the years. On the eve of the invasion I wrote a piece comparing the invasion to past imperial misadventures by the very powers who sought to divide and conquer the nation.

Now that the US occupation of Iraq is kind of, sort of, almost over, what is there to cheer about? Nothing. We shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

This BBC piece sums it up pretty well.

BBC: Assessing America’s ‘imperial adventure’ in Iraq

“This,” a leading American supporter of President George W Bush wrote in a British newspaper back in February 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq, “is our imperial moment”.

He went on to argue that the British had no right to criticise America for doing what they themselves had done so enthusiastically a century before.

But America’s imperial moment did not last long. And now, seven years later, the US is criticised for just about everything that happens here.

Opinion is evenly divided between those who are glad to see the Americans go, and those who criticise them for leaving too soon and potentially laying Iraq open to fresh sectarian violence.

It is a pattern that every occupying power becomes used to. America, it seems, cannot do anything right – not even getting out.

Read the full article HERE

Drowning in the Politics of Torture

Now playing:
Guantanamo by Nadir’s Distorted Soul

Let’s make this torture debate absolutely clear:  I’ve got cousins, a good friend and a nephew who are all in the military.  If any of them was captured on the battlefield and tortured, I would want the lower level interrogators who committed the act to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.  I would want the high level officials who authorized the use of illegal methods (not enhanced interrogation – TORTURE) to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.

This is not politics.  This is justice.

As mainstream media talking heads like Joe Scarborough and John Meachum do their best to dissuade the public from demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder do the right thing, the rest of us should not lose sight of the principles that are supposed to be  the foundation of this nation: that all men – including alleged Islamic radicals, prisoners of war, members of Congress and US presidents – are ALL created equal, should enjoy the same rights and deserve the same punishment for their crimes.

How is this debatable?  The law is the law, right?

Well, apparently not in the United States. Continue reading

Drowning in the Politics of Torture

Now playing:
Guantanamo by Nadir’s Distorted Soul

Let’s make this torture debate absolutely clear:  I’ve got cousins, a good friend and a nephew who are all in the military.  If any of them was captured on the battlefield and tortured, I would want the lower level interrogators who committed the act to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.  I would want the high level officials who authorized the use of illegal methods (not enhanced interrogation – TORTURE) to be prosecuted and convicted of war crimes.

This is not politics.  This is justice.

As mainstream media talking heads like Joe Scarborough and John Meachum do their best to dissuade the public from demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder do the right thing, the rest of us should not lose sight of the principles that are supposed to be  the foundation of this nation: that all men – including alleged Islamic radicals, prisoners of war, members of Congress and US presidents – are ALL created equal, should enjoy the same rights and deserve the same punishment for their crimes.

How is this debatable?  The law is the law, right?

Well, apparently not in the United States. Continue reading

Investigate Bush War Crimes Next

NOW PLAYING:

Nadir & Rev – Is That What You Wanted?!
DJ Butterface Casio Funk Radio Edit

With the International Criminal Court’s unprecedented warrant for sitting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the stage is set for the indictment of George W. Bush for war crimes.  The Bush administration is unapologetic about their violations of US and international laws.   But according to the Associated Press:

The prospect of the court ever trying Bush is considered extremely remote, however.

The US Government does not recognise the court and the only other way Bush could be investigated is if the Security Council were to order it, something unlikely to happen with Washington a veto-wielding permanent member.  – AP

Senator Patrick Leahy has called for a Truth & Reconciliation Commission so we can learn exactly what happened during the eight years of Bush’s presidency.

I couldn’t agree more.  The president has admitted to spying on U.S. citizens, and torturing prisoners who are being held without charge.  If those are the crimes they will confess, can you imagine what they AREN’T telling us about?

Continue reading

Investigate Bush War Crimes Next

NOW PLAYING:

Nadir & Rev – Is That What You Wanted?!
DJ Butterface Casio Funk Radio Edit

With the International Criminal Court’s unprecedented warrant for sitting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the stage is set for the indictment of George W. Bush for war crimes.  The Bush administration is unapologetic about their violations of US and international laws.   But according to the Associated Press:

The prospect of the court ever trying Bush is considered extremely remote, however.

The US Government does not recognise the court and the only other way Bush could be investigated is if the Security Council were to order it, something unlikely to happen with Washington a veto-wielding permanent member.  – AP

Senator Patrick Leahy has called for a Truth & Reconciliation Commission so we can learn exactly what happened during the eight years of Bush’s presidency.

I couldn’t agree more.  The president has admitted to spying on U.S. citizens, and torturing prisoners who are being held without charge.  If those are the crimes they will confess, can you imagine what they AREN’T telling us about?

Continue reading

A Funk Indictment of Bush/Cheney – Is That What You Wanted?!

While others look back on the Bush/Cheney administration with nervous laughter we’d like to remind everyone of the crimes committed over the last eight years.

Click the links below to listen

Impeach The President
(feat. Dennis Kucinich)

Is That What You Wanted?
DJ Butterface
Casio Funk Radio Edit

Is That What You Wanted?
Rev & Nadir’s Explicitly Pissed Off Mix

If you’d like to sing along, the lyrics are below…

Collage by Chris Land of Landmine Design Continue reading

Secret Service on Vacation?

What is lost in all the hoopla over paparazzi pics of Barack Obama’s physique is this question:

If a photographer got to within 150 feet  of the president-elect to snap this photo, he was close enough to fire a rifle.  Where was the Secret Service??

This photo essay of the Obama family’s vacation and G.W.’s reliance on his cat-like reflexes when dodging Muntadhir Al-Zaidi’s size 10s make us wonder whether the Secret Service’s presidential details have themselves been on vacation over the past couple of weeks.

The photo agency who snapped the shots says security was well aware of the photographer’s presence, and assumes that the Obamas were in the know as well: Continue reading

Secret Service on Vacation?

What is lost in all the hoopla over paparazzi pics of Barack Obama’s physique is this question:

If a photographer got to within 150 feet  of the president-elect to snap this photo, he was close enough to fire a rifle.  Where was the Secret Service??

This photo essay of the Obama family’s vacation and G.W.’s reliance on his cat-like reflexes when dodging Muntadhir Al-Zaidi’s size 10s make us wonder whether the Secret Service’s presidential details have themselves been on vacation over the past couple of weeks.

The photo agency who snapped the shots says security was well aware of the photographer’s presence, and assumes that the Obamas were in the know as well: Continue reading

Can You Say ‘War Crime’?

Can they really get away with this?

In an interview with ABC News, Dick Cheney admitted that he authorized and supported the practice of waterboarding on Guantanamo detainees.

The world has condemned  this form of torture for centuries.  After World War II, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who used the technique, and convicted them as war criminals.

How can the people of the United States allow Dick Cheney and George W. Bush to arrogantly flaunt their crimes in our faces?

We should be embarrassed and ashamed, and we are accessories to the crime if we don’t do something about it. Continue reading

Can You Say ‘War Crime’?

Can they really get away with this?

In an interview with ABC News, Dick Cheney admitted that he authorized and supported the practice of waterboarding on Guantanamo detainees.

The world has condemned  this form of torture for centuries.  After World War II, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who used the technique, and convicted them as war criminals.

How can the people of the United States allow Dick Cheney and George W. Bush to arrogantly flaunt their crimes in our faces?

We should be embarrassed and ashamed, and we are accessories to the crime if we don’t do something about it. Continue reading

© Nadir Omowale