House of Horrors

 by Paul Balles

 Assassinations, kidnappings, torture–the actions of uncivilized pirates, barbaric criminals and rogue governments.

The entire litany of vicious crimes against humanity, fitting for horrid, inhuman terrorist groups or third world mongrels, now belongs to America.

Every day another violation of human dignity is exposed in the medium of the internet and ignored by most mainstream media.

The leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney exemplifies the brutish attitude of leading Americans. Said Romney:

“American strength is the only guarantee of liberty, American strength turned the Cuban missiles around, American strength caused the collapse of the Soviet Union, American strength yanked Saddam out of his spider hole.”

William Blum, writing in the Information Clearing House refers to the US, NATO and the European Union as “The Holy triumvirate” who share the self-righteous attitudes that blithely ignore any right of others to live in peace.

Blum says “it recognizes no higher power and believes, literally, that it can do whatever it wants in the world, to whomever it wants, for as long as it wants, and call it whatever it wants, like ‘humanitarian’.”

The idea of “strike from the skies but keep Western boots off the ground, [as a way of] doing the right thing and ridding the world of a horrible dictator,” voiced by Andrew Rawnsley in the Guardian informs the favour seen in the use of drones.

The object of homespun hate might be able to shoot down an expensive aircraft, but that’s only money; and, after all, it’s China’s money.

The perceived enemy only has to endure collateral damage, which translates into the missile murders of women, children and elderly who have nothing to do with ongoing political adventures.

On August 31st Ian Cobain and Ben Quinn, writing in the Guardian revealed that US firms profited from torture flights.

In a rendition programme, America hired private firms who “flew terrorism suspects to locations around the world, where they were often tortured,” the article reports.

Nadeem Sarwar writing for Monsters and Critics, Islamabad, records how “Beatings, deprivation of food and sleep, and cultural shocks were part of the daily routine for Ghairat Bahir during six years spent in US detention centres in Afghanistan.”

Truthout editor William Rivers Pitt refers to “the rancid reality of a free and un-convicted Dick Cheney appearing in the public eye once again” following the publication of Cheney’s memoir.

Says Pitt, “If there were any justice to be found in this deranged country, Dick Cheney would have penned his pestiferous, self-serving little memoir by the light of a bare bulb inside the cell of a federal prison.”

According to Pitt, Cheney’s “actions directly caused deaths and injuries that number in the hundreds of thousands. The deaths he is responsible for are ongoing to this day….”

In several appearances on televised interviews, Cheney consistently attempted to defend his actions while in office, including the use of torture in interrogations.

In these interviews, Cheney proudly admitted that he authorized torture, secret prisons, and illegal wiretapping. All are crimes under US and international laws.

Observes Robert Kaiser in the Washington Post, the memoir attempts “to make clear how right Cheney always was, and how wrongheaded were his critics and bureaucratic rivals.

More than once Cheney tells us he would do again exactly what he did the first time, “in a heartbeat”. He acknowledges no serious regrets about anything.

Under any universally acceptable code of justice, narcissists who serve nothing but themselves, deserve to be arrested and prosecuted for their crimes. Failure to do so makes the public complicit in their crimes.

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Paul Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. He’s a weekly Op-Ed columnist for the GULF DAILY NEWS . Dr. Balles is also Editorial Consultant for Red House Marketing and a regular contributor to Bahrain This Month.

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