Home > Campaign of propaganda, lies, cover-up can’t be ignored

Campaign of propaganda, lies, cover-up can’t be ignored

by Open-Publishing - Saturday 14 May 2005
5 comments

Wars and conflicts International USA


What do an Army Pfc., a well-known volunteer Army Ranger and a National Guard Brigadier General have in common?

All three are victims of the Bush administration’s campaign of propaganda, lies and cover-up about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and about the mismanagement by generals and civilian Pentagon officials.

You probably know all about Pfc. Lynndie England, the National Guard soldier from West Virginia who went to Iraq to fight Saddam’s army. She was photographed humiliating prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison and those photos are icons of the Bush administration’s immoral and ineffective use of torture.

The photos of England pulling a naked prisoner on a dog leash and pointing her finger at other naked prisoners’ genitals are the worst symbols of the Bush administration’s damage to our country’s world leadership and moral standing.

The details of England’s treatment are almost as disturbing as the Bush administration’s response to the incompetent and ill-advised management of interrogations at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Afghanistan prisons, where inmates have died as a result of their treatment.

England was called before a Court Marshal for her alleged offenses in Iraq, including conspiracy to maltreat Abu Ghraib detainees. After questioning by the judge about whether she believed she was guilty and understood her guilty plea, the judge let the charges and plea stand and her trial began.

When the guy who got her to pose for those photographs --- a friend from back home who also got her pregnant --- testified that he used Lynndie for the photos for a manual on how to soften up prisoners for interrogation. He said he was directed to do so by his superiors and that he mislead Lynndie about the purpose.

That contradicted England’s guilty plea and the judge threw out all charges against her.

Janis Karpinski was a National Guard Brigadier General (one star). In June 2003 she was given command of the 800th Military Police Brigade. She was in charge of 15 detention centers in Iraq but neither she nor her troops had any training in running prisons or interrogations. Karpinski also had command of National Guard and Army units in Mosul, Iraq, some distance away.

In April 2005 Karpinski was relieved of her command and in May 2005 president Bush approved her demotion to colonel. Her demotion was not officially related to the abuse at Abu Ghraib, but was for dereliction of duty, making a material misrepresentation to investigators, failure to obey a lawful order and shoplifting. She had taken less than $50 in cosmetics from an Air Force base commissary some years earlier.

Karpinski, who was probably over her head as a commander, was effectively usurped at Abu Ghraib after Major General (two star) Geoffrey Miller arrived in Fall 2003. He was sent from the Guantanamo prison to write a plan to improve intelligence gathering and interrogations in Iraq.

While Karpinski’s command may have been a shambles, there is little evidence to indicate that the torture and abuse happened under her command. Higher-ups moved military intelligence personnel into control of the two cell blocks where the worst offenses occurred and the activities there were initiated after General Miller’s visit.

Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez (three stars), was the commanding officer of all troops in Iraq. He asked for Miller’s evaluation and he authorized the changes that resulted.

With Karpinski’s demotion based as it was, on issues of dereliction of duties and shoplifting, it seems reasonable to suspect that her superiors had to be protected from further disclosure of actions which may have contributed to the torture and other embarrassments at Abu Ghraib.

Pat Tillman was an outstanding young man and a dedicated American. He was also a gifted athlete who gave up a career in professional football to volunteer with his brother for service in the Army Rangers. His sacrifice cost him a career worth as much as $3.6 million dollars and his life, which was priceless.

Pat Tillman was killed in April 2004 in Afghanistan and the Army reported that he had been killed by enemy fire. But the Army knew different from the beginning. Tillman was killed by bullets from his fellow American soldiers who erred tragically in the haze of battle.

Pentagon officials were told the truth a few days after Tillman’s death but they persisted in lying to his family and the American people. The Army burned Tillman’s uniform and body armor the day after he was killed, presumably to hide the truth, and now Tillman will be remembered as the guy whose death was lied about.

The Tillman family was understandably upset and wanted to know why their son’s uniform had been destroyed. They were told that the materials represented a bio-hazard.

General Gary Jones of the Army Special Operations Command, recently released a report on Tillman’s death and the Army’s follow-up investigation. He said that there was no official desire to hide the truth. But why would the Pentagon persist in lying about the death of a well-known and highly admired soldier, sticking to that lie for a full year?

Is it for the same reason that they have singled out enlisted men and women for punishment as scapegoats for their own failures in preparing for and executing much of the Iraqi War’s aftermath? Why would they focus on a National Guard Brigadier General as the cause of the torture at Abu Ghraib if not to protect her superiors from potentially devastating disclosures? Why would they lie about the death of a celebrity soldier except to limit criticism of the war that cost his life?

The Bush administration knows the answers to these questions just as it believes that you and I will forget their lies. The tragedy is that they think they can get away with it. Do you think they should?

About the author: Gerald Plessner is a Southern California businessman who writes regularly on issues of politics and culture. As a young man he enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in military intelligence and he has retained an interest in the subject. He would be pleased to hear from you and may be contacted at geraldATgeraldplessnerDOTcom.

http://www.geraldplessner.com/articles/article.cgi?doc=20050512174559

http://mparent7777.blog-city.com/read/1276851.htm

Forum posts

  • Hell no! The Bush Administration should be held accountable! They always blame it on the little guy!

    Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, Rice, Wolfowitz, Ashcroft, and others should be on trial.

    • One of the most horrifying things is nothing’s going to happen.

      This is much bigger than the average citisen or millionaire for that fact.

      They may throw up a scapegoat every now and than to keep the masses quiet and make it look like they are on your side, but it’s all an illusion.

      There are very few in power fighting for justice and truth that haven’t been bought in one way or another. And they are having a hard time being heard in keeping their credibility. Support those that seek the truth and are trying to expose it. Keep from bringing this down to dem or rep, right or left, we THE PEOPLE lose the moment you go there because you have believed the lie and are divided from those also who want only the truth and justice.

      We are in a new era of more deception than ever before, this is on a global scale. Like minded people need to stick together and forget their politics.

  • The judge didn’t throw out the charges against Lynndie English. He rejected the plea bargain and told the military prosecutors to start their case all over again. By law, a judge cannot accept a guilty plea from a person who believes they are innocent. In this case, the judge apparently felt English was accepting a plea deal only because she feared harsher punishment is she allowed the case to go to trial. In her mind, she was following orders. She apparently doesn’t believe she was guilty of willfully breaking the law.

  • Well shoot Gerald, why not throw in Jessica Lynch too...remember that "war story". The rescue, the helicopter, oh my goodness the video, the crack squad going in under enemy fire...bullshit.

    • The non US aligned middle east is a hotbed of contention not because of just the oil profits that could be reaped should they come under military and corporate control of the invading forces and their corporation backers. The age old class warfare trick card is again being played and as always the attacking corporation interests need an "excuse" and a reason that the lower and middle class citizens should "mobilize against the enemy" which in this case has been a "case of Islamist Suicide bombing "Terrorist" extreamist vs. The Boys with the A-Bombs"

      In the current corporate global control agenda for profitable investmest AT almost ANY COST WE have the largest most advanced military powers going up to dissolve the so called terrorist element and the NewSpeak plan as "always" is to "attack the Bad Guy, Batman" with a dwindling middle class economies, massive corporate fraud in many areas, and an unsatiable LUST for ever greater profits and CONTROL. If this was not the case then why is the entire controlling investor corporation constituency of these major well armed nations HEAVILY INVESTED INTO THE GEOPOLITICAL MILITARY MIND CONTROL MACHINE of middle and lower class death and debt? Why do they own or manage major media outlets and why are they on the attack in the US and abroad against orginizations and people that simply would like to dialog about other possible ways to socially interact and develop resources than to show up with your military forces and say "your leader is a terrorist- we are here to free YOU WITH OUR GUNS!" Long live Freedom and Democracy - Could you please indicate in the check box "Are you or have you ever been a member of ... this or that???" Yes supporting your government is important especially when they seek to cut education, teachers, child programs, and to leave no child behind, while at the same time asking for lower and middle class men and women of age to join the military, risk their lives, possibly die or become psychologically marginalized, all this in support of leaders that profit from the war, the oil, the propaganda, and do not and will never lift a finger to risk their own or their childrens life for the country they speak to you in supporting with your life in the military corporation establishment control structure.

      How many children of our leaders are actually fighting "risking their massive trust fund" in this war on terror? Not to many. Most are from neighborhoods of color and economic plight which is a "damn good reason son to join the military" and die for our leaders who will profit and their families will live comfortably while those of the middle and lower class will be asked to risk their lives, and for what?

      Yes we live in the Brave New World of 2005 and of Orwellian NewSpeak, which is driven from the seemingly psychopathic agenda that any agenda or social movement that does not follow "my corporation military investor ideals and worship my GOD is "evil" and as their great books of wisdom say it’s OK to KILL YOUR ENEMY if HE DOESN’T BELIEVE IN YOUR GOD --- is the only way. Or you will be marginalized - --- This is the Borg you will be assimulated... This corporation propaganda will as part of their startegy to "state that oh you", "misunderstood the reasons of the wars" mentality which is a nice word play for control of the discussed agenda away from the facts to bring up not the actual involved people and miltary personal and ask them what it is that they are actually doing --- BUT to HIDE like scared chickens behind the "TOP SECRET", thats "CLASSIFIED" which is the NewSpeak way of hiding your agenda publically and this mind control method is one of the oldest and tired methods of subverting the agenda through the chain of command control which must be in place for this type of propaganda control to work.

      This is then information profiling, and scope and range of discussion management by appealing to the IMORAL and ILLEGAL human mode of misinformation programming through secret agendas. - This message was brought to you by the concerned and the observant. Thank you and have pleasent day. Remember if they won’t discuss your facts or ideas they are spewing Self Serving Propaganda with possible little or no regard for those they will influence by it!