Donald Rumsfeld Faces Suit Over Torturing Whistle Blowers
Funny how this hasn't shown up on any American news show--not one mention on the Sunday shows--isn't that interesting?
According to the complaint filed against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as summarized by Judge Anderson in his order refusing to dismiss the case, two men employed in Iraq by Shield Group Security (SGS) allege that their employer bribed Iraqi Sheiks and trafficked in weapons, activities they worried were illegal. The men allege that on a visit back home, one (with the knowledge and cooperation of the other) contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and became informants, giving regular reports and copying computer files as directed. SGS started questioning their loyalty and took away the identification cards that allowed them to access Baghdad's Green Zone. As a result, their lives were placed at risk; the only safe place to be was the SGS compound. When the men contacted their law enforcement handlers, they claim they were told to barricade themselves in an SGS room and await rescue by the U.S. military. They were in fact rescued and brought to the U.S. embassy, where allegedly they explained their undercover corruption- exposing work, and turned over their laptops, which corroborated what they said.
So far, so good. What happened next is when this made-for-TV patriotic movie goes off-message.
According to the complaint, after the men slept for a couple of hours, several armed guards woke, arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded them, put into a Humvee, and brought them to Camp Prosperity and ultimately Camp Cropper for detention and interrogation. The men were labeled "security internees" affiliated with SGS, a status that enabled the men to be detained indefinitely, incommunicado, without access to due process or an attorney, and interrogated with torturous techniques. This status was a direct result of policies enacted by Rumsfeld and others, and the interrogation techniques used were specifically authorized by Rumsfeld, the men allege.[..]
Based on this alleged treatment and Rumsfeld's alleged involvement, the men sued Rumsfeld in part for depriving them of their well established Constitutional Right to be free from torture.
What kind of torture you ask? The contractors allege that they were subjected to extremes of temperature, sleep deprivation, denial of food, water and medical care, prolonged solitary confinement and threats of violence as well as actual violence.
As would be expected, Rumsfeld's attorneys argued that he should be granted immunity since he was acting as the Secretary of Defense, but the judge surprisingly ruled against that motion.
If this case continues to trial, this may offer us the fullest account of the kind of crimes the Bush administration took so casually and set precedent for other similar cases.
The question is, will the media take notice?
Only when forced to. Otherwise, Not Bloody Likely.
Maybe this will bring up Wilson/Plame?
doubt it.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
... when the Bush Administration pulled their 'we never said imminent' stunt.
and they are too horrific for them to remain concealed forever.
Since they are all interconnected, and were originated and coordinated by the President, VP, plus many of our Country's senior political administrators, and military, legal (FBI, CIA) Higher-Up's, a huge amount of their hideous crimes will slowly but surely, become public.
The Criminals –Cheney, Rummy, the Military & complicit Media- know this.
Whether the American people will demand Justice, or our terrorist criminals will be held accountable in our Courts is currently unlikely, for our entire Media -TV, Newspapers, Radio, and a lot of internet blogs, are doing their best to desensitize Americans to the ideas of Kidnapping, Torture, Rape and Murder, and those idea/actions are now being accepted and defended (!) as correct, conventional Government Policy.
Example: the Media has prompted and promoted the recent spate of home grown terrorism -the IRS hating plane crasher, the shooter at the Pentagon, Dr. Tiller's murder, and the many terrorist crimes Americans have committed in the last year or so. (Of course they deny it, but their complicity is evidenced by their refusal to admit those actions are terrorism, or even acknowledge they are serious (contagious) crimes!
I think this is deliberate. The Powerful persons and corporations are trying to deaden the American People's reaction to these crimes, and the same crimes/actions are used to terrorize us, and to terrorize authorities who try to legally prosecute the crimes as terrorism.
"They" are not some mysterious cabal; we see "them" every day on TV: Cheney & daugher, and their henchmen, most of the Fox bloviators -especially Beck- Most Republican Politicians, those serving currently and those who were serving during the Bush era, and of course the Businesses that own them.
HOW do we get enough People to WAKE UP and realize that corporate controlled mainstream media is HIDING this type of information from them and other information about similar crimes, that it's time to stop ignoring, whining or complaining and start cleaning out our blackwater corporate style government? There is a way if we choose to look, think and act differently.
When are "We the People" going to start "EXERCISING our RIGHT to CONSENT" instead of whining, complaining & petitioning? www.RIGHTtoCONSENT.com
It is in Mike's Roundup: http://sensen-no-sen.blogspot.com/2010/03/puckering-mr-cheney.html
"Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given." --Unknown author, found in Guide to Texas Etiquette by Kinky Friedman
It states it is published every five or so days. By a guy who goes by the initals PBI in St. Louis.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
... but that's because I publish it! : )
Seriously, however, I do everything I can to be a trustworthy blog. Not only have my posts been featured in numerous Crooks & Liars Blog Round-Ups, but everything I write about is meticulously sourced.
Please feel free to follow any of the links in my post to the original sources, which in this case include the AP, the Blog of Legal Times and others.
Just asking. Links to AOL news do not inspire confidence.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
......the worst for Rummy! May he rot in hell. Too bad there is no such place.
MZ
Move along, nothing to see here.
a Federal judge has already passed it to the next level. See my link above.
"Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given." --Unknown author, found in Guide to Texas Etiquette by Kinky Friedman
If Rumsfeld falls, then it leads to Cheney, then Bush etc... I don't see anything much coming of this.
... to be quite happy to keep trotting out the 'be scared' parade and ignoring the war crimes of the previous office-holder, it's defnitely a case of 'move along, nothing to see here.'
just the first of many lawsuits against those who authorized torture, pre-emptive invasion and killing of civilians in the Bush years.
and I hope one of those lawsuits presents itself in Vermont because I believe that state will arrest Cheney, Rumsfeld et al, for war crimes on the spot.
(I'm not a resident, but I think I read that somewhere...)
I know many fellow citizens are quite all right with making a few presumed guilty terrorists "uncomfortable". Are we so far gone that we will assume that whistleblowers are unpatriotic and "deserve" to be tortured too?
When we will say "enough"?
Standard conservative thought: that which is not consistent with our views MUST BE PUNISHED.
Admitting error means accepting responsibility. They'll never do that. It's like admitting human pollution is a contributory factor in climate change. Climate change is a hoax. Doesn't exist. The invisible sky daddy will fix it all.
However, I would love to poke Cheney in the eye with his own words about the detainees who are not entitled to the same protections as US civilians.
Therefore, it must follow that these plaintiffs DO have protections afforded them under US law. So where did those protections go under Cheney's BFF, Rumsfeld?
..having said it, I'm amazed on a daily basis at the speed with which the current administation has moved to look into the allegations of torture of the previous administration. In other words, don't hold your breath. We all thought we said, "Enough" when we elected the Senator from Illinois.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
need immunity, seem like the HATE and FEAR Mongering right are real good at posturing but none of these Spineless,Gutlaess TRASH and Garbage have intestinal Fortitude or BackBone to standup for their wrongs.
If this piece of Scum Falls will they go after the Spineless, Gutless American TRAITOR cheney and give him a DEATH sentence as well as the Supreme Court Appointed president and War Criminal bush.
..you know the scenario where you are told that one of your loved ones has been kidnapped and you are asked, "How far will you go to find your loved one? Will you torture?" You answer YES and then you are asked, "If you torture, you're breaking the law. Will you go to jail to find your loved one." and you say YES. Now, seeing as torture is so effective (not) in garnering information, what if you tortured someone only to get wrong or mis-leading information, how do you feel about being in prison now? I ask this regularly of torture and w supporters. Not one of them is able to give me a cogent answer. I wonder why.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
How the fuck come when there's a story this big, one news show can't beat all the others to air, and all the executives of all the other stations end up looking for a new job, outside of the news business?
How do they conspire to not fuck each other over, in that special way that fucks over all their audiences?
in a suit that supposedly has been filed for enough time for Rumsfeld to make a motion to dismiss and the judge to rule on it. At the only
site where I have sseen the complaint, the PDF is undated, and it was posted by an anonymous employee of the plaintiff's law firm.
Yet nobody heard of it before?
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
that same day.
"Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given." --Unknown author, found in Guide to Texas Etiquette by Kinky Friedman
confidence here. If this suit has been around a while, why has it never gotten any attention?
I went to a site with a PDF of the Judge's ruling and the amended complaint brought by the plaintiffs. These were supposedly posted by an anonymous employee of the plaitiffs law firm. The complaint is not dated.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
I just went and did a little research. Today's story is hitting the WaPo, Business Week, and many many legal journals.
Also, back in 2005, many suits against Rumsfeld were getting dismissed for various reasons and the story du jour was ABU GHRAIB.
:)
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
my kingdom for a comma.
ROFL!
from NYT in 2006.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/world/middl...
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
an honest broker out there that is documenting all of what has and is happening to the world now, so the uneducated now and those who don't read will be able to see on DVD how they got where they are and why they won't be able to get further in life will at least be able to watch how it haqppened. With educaation going downhill, there is no other way they will figure it out. With a MSM and propagaanda that they produce, there will not be any other way they can learn about the real history of the USA in future generations.
... future generations to be able to read and think critically/independently instead of being consumers of the 'All News is FOX News' brand and being obedient little serfs to religious tyrants.
to be produced in a series like the Sopranos but with facts instead of fiction.
Excuse me while I laugh.
Ill. Judge Won't Toss Torture Suit Naming Rumsfeld
This time it's going to be very difficult for Rumsfeld to wiggle loose because this time they tortured Americans with "American-sounding-names".
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
and, not to be racist, but are the plaintiffs also white? Egregious treatment of white americans seems to get more play. sad but true.
.. white guy ..
Donald Vance
2007 recipient of the Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize
Wiki Page: Donald Vance
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
nothing like being on the receiving end of US foreign policy to change one's mind about US foreign policy.
.. we can hope ..
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
Scroll down .. it's not the first story on the page ..
Iraqi Fraud Whistleblowers Say, "It's Just Not Worth It!"
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
Thanks for the link-I remember the Bunny greenhouse story and her refusal to sign off on no bid contracts.It is actually quite instructive to go back and recall the level of corruption in play during the height of the Iraq war.The amount of money that went missing is an absolute disgrace and no one has ever had to answer for it.It gets my blood boiling all over again.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
Concerning Vance and Ertel I can't help wondering how many more stories like theirs exist.Remember that the decision to be a whistle blower is one that cannot be taken lightly and demands a huge amount of personal courage.How many other Americans have been victimized if not out right tortured because of concerns surrounding the actions of their own government?
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
There was that British Army Captain, head of the investigation into corruption, he suicided in his tent. There was a contractor who got ambushed by unknown forces, its suspected he was whistle blowing on corruption.
I'm guessing Rachel will have it on her show tonight ..
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
It is very strange that a suit filed in 2006 against Rumsfeld has flown under the radar this long-media incompetence aside.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
it's necessary to hold the previous administration accountable, and when our Supreme Court is packed with neocons (where it eventually would end up if Rumsfeld were found guilty), I think our only true hope is they get tried (somehow, someway) overseas.
Can't they be tried in absentia? I'd love those sick f*** from the last administration to be found guilty somewhere - even if we don't have the will to do it here.
"...armed guards woke, arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded them, put into a Humvee, and brought them to Camp Prosperity and ultimately Camp Cropper for detention and interrogation."
I saw that scene in 'Seven Days In May'.
This asshole deserves to be in prison, from stuff he did all the way back to the 70's.
Aspertame.
"Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given." --Unknown author, found in Guide to Texas Etiquette by Kinky Friedman
The media is a propaganda tool, it has been purchased by the same corporations that have bought Congress. IT IS NO LONGER THE JOB OF THE MEDIA TO MONITOR GOVERNMENT. So we should stop expecting it to do so. The mainstream media is a propaganda tool for supporting the government. If you want that to be otherwise, get to work. But stop pretending to be disappointed or surprised.
"The Good and Great Must Ever Shun, That Reckless and Abandoned One
Who Stoops to Perpetrate a Pun," Lewis Carroll, 'The Three Voices.'
on the incident from NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/world/middl...
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
"A Dallas shooting took place at an office building this morning, March 8, 2010, according to multiple media reports."
Not TX again :-/
You elitist... be safe ♥
Study the symptoms not the virus...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUTqW32gx9k
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
√
Study the symptoms not the virus...
DALLAS (AP) -- Witnesses and authorities say a shootout outside a
Dallas bank has left at least two people wounded and customers and
employees locked in the bank's vault.
The shooting happened just before 11 a.m. outside the United
Texas Bank. The bank is located on the first floor of the Four
Forest high-rise office building, near the intersection of U.S. 75
and Interstate 635.
A witness tells KRLD-AM of Dallas that a bank customer went
outside, then came back inside and said, "You'd better lock your
doors." Another witness reported seeing a man sitting in a chair
with blood all over his chest.
There's still no word on precisely how many people were wounded
and their conditions were not known. But police say the building is
now secure.
Shadowgm ♥
Study the symptoms not the virus...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Wasn't paying off the sheikhs with money and arms official U.S. policy? That's what the Awakening was all about and that's what actually diminished the violence, not the "Surge".
the media -- that is the Important Media -- won't take notice and second it won't make it to try. Bet on it.
Very unlikely, in America we like to protect our official criminals. And a little later, give them a radio show.
he was alerted and whisked away from that breakfast in that French hotel, taken by US officials to Germany then back to the US on a military plane.
Nice when you are a private citizen to have gov friends like that to help you avoid arrest.
Plus it was said he kept his office in the Pentagon (for some strange reason) after he was fired.
<sarcasm>
Don't you know that the US prosecutes war criminals, it doesn't commit war crimes? Who do you think it was that armed the Taliban or supporting brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein? It couldn't have been anyone but Iran. 9_9
</sarcasm>
Get this to Olbermann. HE'LL talk about it.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
HOW do we get enough People to WAKE UP and realize that corporate controlled mainstream media is HIDING this type of information from them and other information about similar crimes, that it's time to stop ignoring, whining or complaining and start cleaning out our blackwater corporate style government? There is a way if we choose to look, think and act differently.
When are "We the People" going to start "EXERCISING our RIGHT to CONSENT" instead of whining, complaining & petitioning? www.RIGHTtoCONSENT.com
Why don't people in every state secure GRAND JURY indictments of all the crooks and liars so they have nowhere to go, but leave the country or get arrested.
When are "We the People" going to start "EXERCISING our RIGHT to CONSENT" instead of whining, complaining & petitioning? www.RIGHTtoCONSENT.com
... is when the Executive branch is going to crash this thing with Bush's "state secrets" excuse. Wait for it.
If CNN runs with this story it might upset people, and it might unravel the truth about the last ten years of Ignorant reporting from CNN. All the other media corporations have the same problem, except PBS, but then PBS is not a Republican run profit driven corporation, so it should be doing news.
TV is not our friend.
TV is not a source of accurate information.
TV is loyal to it's profits.
Newspapers are not our friend.
Newspapers are not a source of accurate information.
Newspapers are loyal to their profits.
The good people will have to get together on this, network and form an accurate picture what the "news" of this world really is.
These forums are a start. Thanks C&L. [the blog that 0'LIElie will not mention].
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
n/t
Only when CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS news overcome their disbelief and denial, and face the fact that they have been duped by the Bush Republicans for ten long years, will they begin to admit the truth, and begin to braodcast the truth again. Not before.
Give them time. They idolized these people. They idolized Rumsfeld. This is going to be a turbulent time for the MSM.
I'll give them three days.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
The media is part of their plan, the media knows that they are printing lies and they don't give a shit, they just want to get paid. - just like most Ameicans, that is the problem with our country, you can buy anybodies loyalty.
Too many people in the MSM are on a retainer with the CIA as part time employees or paid informers.
Not funny really, it's just that the owners of American don't want us to see that kind of news so they don't allow it to be played.
America has not been the Home of the Free for a long long time now.
Shouldn't he be sweating a bit?
Of course not. the media is owned and controlled by the 1% ruling class. the only time the media and its masters will "take notice" is when they find the bayonets of patriotic Americans at their threats--and then it will be too late.
They clearly unambiguously state that being a government official does NOT offer any immunity or restrictions against prosecution and liability for those crimes. They also clearly state a life in prison sentence for the use of torture and the death penalty if a death results from torture. There is NO exception nor are there any loopholes. That ALL those involved have not yet been arrested and prosecuted is in itself a crime against the United States and against humanity! But YOU WILL get a fine for driving while not wearing your seatbelt!!
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