Post by Thetaloops on May 17, 2004 9:59:03 GMT -5
Why Rumsfeld Must Go
Last week Nancy Pelosi stood up as the first Democratic leader to call for Secretary Rumsfeld's dismissal. The DCCC has initiated a petition calling for the same, and the Tom DeLay faction of the GOP has predictably attempted to shift the controversy from the abhorrent acts at Abu Ghraib to our "partisan" motives. You be the judge:
Army Times: "This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential - even if that means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war."
Tom Friedman: "This administration needs to undertake a total overhaul of its Iraq policy; otherwise, it is courting a total disaster for us all. That overhaul needs to begin with President Bush firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld -- today, not tomorrow or next month, today."
Washington Post: "The sickening abuse of Iraqi prisoners will do incalculable damage to American foreign policy no matter how the administration responds. But if President Bush and his senior officials would acknowledge their complicity in playing fast and loose with international law and would pledge to change course, they might begin to find a way out of the mess. Instead, they hope to escape from this scandal without altering or even admitting the improper and illegal policies that lie at its core. It is a vain hope, and Congress should insist on a different response."
Warnings:
International Red Cross: "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it had repeatedly urged the United States to take 'corrective action' at a Baghdad jail at the centre of a scandal over abuse of Iraqi prisoners."
Colin Powell: "It's something Powell has raised repeatedly -- to release as many detainees as possible -- and, second, to ensure that those in custody are properly cared for and treated,' said a senior State Department official familiar with the discussions."
David Kay: "I was there and I kept saying the interrogation process is broken. The prison process is broken. And no one wanted to deal with it. It was too, too distasteful. This is a known problem, and the military refuses to deal with it."
Paul Bremer: "Bremer repeatedly raised the issue of prison conditions as early as last fall - both in one-on-one meetings with Rumsfeld and other administration leaders, and in group meetings with the president's inner circle on national security. Officials described Bremer as 'kicking and screaming' about the need to release thousands of uncharged prisoners and improve conditions for those who remained."
Most Americans would agree with this statement: "Anybody responsible for the acts at Abu Ghraib should be fired."
Last week Rumsfeld said, "I take full responsibility."
Those words were welcome, but were they just words?
We believe Secretary Rumsfeld's dismissal is necessary to uphold our nation's system of accountability, and would serve to distance ourselves, our nation, and our troops from these heinous acts and the policies that, directly or indirectly, led to them.
Sign the petition, and help spread the word by forwarding it to your friends.
DCCC <dccc@dccc.org>
DCCC @stake - Rumsfeld Out: Sign the Petition
Last week Nancy Pelosi stood up as the first Democratic leader to call for Secretary Rumsfeld's dismissal. The DCCC has initiated a petition calling for the same, and the Tom DeLay faction of the GOP has predictably attempted to shift the controversy from the abhorrent acts at Abu Ghraib to our "partisan" motives. You be the judge:
Army Times: "This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential - even if that means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war."
Tom Friedman: "This administration needs to undertake a total overhaul of its Iraq policy; otherwise, it is courting a total disaster for us all. That overhaul needs to begin with President Bush firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld -- today, not tomorrow or next month, today."
Washington Post: "The sickening abuse of Iraqi prisoners will do incalculable damage to American foreign policy no matter how the administration responds. But if President Bush and his senior officials would acknowledge their complicity in playing fast and loose with international law and would pledge to change course, they might begin to find a way out of the mess. Instead, they hope to escape from this scandal without altering or even admitting the improper and illegal policies that lie at its core. It is a vain hope, and Congress should insist on a different response."
Warnings:
International Red Cross: "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it had repeatedly urged the United States to take 'corrective action' at a Baghdad jail at the centre of a scandal over abuse of Iraqi prisoners."
Colin Powell: "It's something Powell has raised repeatedly -- to release as many detainees as possible -- and, second, to ensure that those in custody are properly cared for and treated,' said a senior State Department official familiar with the discussions."
David Kay: "I was there and I kept saying the interrogation process is broken. The prison process is broken. And no one wanted to deal with it. It was too, too distasteful. This is a known problem, and the military refuses to deal with it."
Paul Bremer: "Bremer repeatedly raised the issue of prison conditions as early as last fall - both in one-on-one meetings with Rumsfeld and other administration leaders, and in group meetings with the president's inner circle on national security. Officials described Bremer as 'kicking and screaming' about the need to release thousands of uncharged prisoners and improve conditions for those who remained."
Most Americans would agree with this statement: "Anybody responsible for the acts at Abu Ghraib should be fired."
Last week Rumsfeld said, "I take full responsibility."
Those words were welcome, but were they just words?
We believe Secretary Rumsfeld's dismissal is necessary to uphold our nation's system of accountability, and would serve to distance ourselves, our nation, and our troops from these heinous acts and the policies that, directly or indirectly, led to them.
Sign the petition, and help spread the word by forwarding it to your friends.
DCCC <dccc@dccc.org>
DCCC @stake - Rumsfeld Out: Sign the Petition