Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Bush, Abramoff, and Photo Opportunities
White House blocking release of photographs
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Back to Outsourcing of Torture
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Worried about something ? Guilt by association ! The president who never said no to a photo opportunity session to earn some points has become skittish about photographs that show him with Jack Abramoff in the good old days when Abramoff was a welcome visitor. "Several White House officials have been briefed about pictures of President Bush and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff taken since 2001 but will not release them on grounds that they are not relevant to the ongoing money-for-favors investigation, aides said yesterday."
European Nations were aware and cooperated. The Guardian (UK) reported details of Swiss Senator Dick Marty's presentation of findings to the Council of Europe. The news did not come as a surprise. For some days, bits and pieces have been emerging to indicate that major European countries were aware of CIA's "rendition" program and complicit. Shameful. One can understand Poland, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgizstan among other countries being paid and pressured by the United States to set up detention centers. There was no excuse for leading European nations to participate in human rights abuse.
- "The entire continent is involved. It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware."
- His report said that "there is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture".
