Slate kicks ass.

[novapsyche]

[S]ome of his statements were false—appallingly so—and one can only hope not too many Iraqis noticed. For instance, he told Al Arabiya that the official investigation into the prison tortures would be "full" and "transparent." To Al Hurra, he added that even conducting an investigation "stands in stark contrast to life under Saddam Hussein. His trained torturers were not brought to justice under his regime."

And yet there was nothing "transparent" about this probe until the photographs and Gen. Taguba's report were leaked to CBS and The New Yorker. The report, though available on the Internet, is still classified Secret, even though, as Steven Aftergood reveals in today's edition of his Secrecy News newsletter, it is a violation of federal law to classify official probes of illegal conduct. There are many legitimate ways Bush might have contrasted America's open government with Saddam's dictatorship—but, alas, this was not one of them.

Why Bush Didn't Apologize

Comments

[niankhsekhmet.livejournal.com]

Bush needs to own that this happened on his watch. It doesn't matter that he called Rumsfeld into his office and tore him a new one. Bush needed to apologize. He NEEDED to say to the Iraqi people something along the lines of, "I am sorry that some of my people acted with as much brutality as you have known under Sadaam. It is shameful and appalling and I want to assure the Iraqi people that we wlll investigate and prosecute all involved parties to the fullest extent of international law." Nothing else, IMHO suffices.

I heard through the grapevine that Colin Powell is making noises of not being a part of the administration, and will most likely will not serve as Secretary of State if Bush is (God forbid) re-elected.