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Yesterday, I heard Don Rumsfeld in his so-called news conference quibbling that what happened in Iraq was not torture but abuse. Condoleezza Rice promised a more just future:
"I want to assure people in the Arab world, Iraq, around the world, and the American people, that the president is determined to get to the bottom of it, to know who is responsible and to make sure that whoever is responsible is punished for it and held accountable."
Colin Powell sounded a little better, but not much:
"What they did was illegal, against all regulation, against all standards. It was immoral."
Did anyone apologize? The president took the time to speak on Arab television, but he did not apologize. Unbelievably, he said:
"The America I know has sent troops into Iraq to promote freedom -- good, honorable citizens that are helping the Iraqis every day."
The president is incapable of apologizing for anything. I wouldn't be surprised if he instructed senior officials to not apologize. This is part of his competitive view of the world. He "knows" his decision to go to war with Iraq was right. He "knows" that our military will bring freedom to Iraq. He "knows" that his policies will bring a new peaceful era to the Middle East.
At the same time, to make sure his policies "win," he indulges in a few "abuses."
He comes up with a Patriot Act that removes normal human rights from those he designates as "enemy combatants." After all, we cannot allow our enemies to undermine the "good" we are doing. Is this not an "abuse" of Americans?
He lies to Congress and to the American people in order to go to fight to "liberate" Iraq. Of course, his lies are in service to the great cause of "freedom." Is not war the biggest "abuse"?
He tells the military that prisoners must be "interrogated" in order to get information about the enemy. Getting information is necessary in order that we the good people be able to get rid of the evil people in Al Qaeda. Never mind the details. Just get the information. The military follows orders, keeps mum about it, and when it needs serious torture, it relies on "contractors" or foreign "friends." Suddenly, all official Washington is surprised about the dastardly "abuse"!
The administration is promising investigations. A few scapegoats will be found. However, nothing will change, because of this idea of exceptionalism that is possessed, not only by the president, but by a majority of the American people. Exceptionalism is especially prevalent among the Republicans, who scream everytime someone finds a blemish on America.
It's time we abandoned the idea that we are better than any one else. It's time to realize that we may get along better with other countries if we stopped preaching to them and started working with them as equals in the eradication of terrorism and in the pursuit of a more harmonious Earth.
