Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Voted for Bush? Then pray for a merciful God.

Salon.com Politics
The two prisoners extradited from Sweeden to Egypt in December 2001, at least one of whom was later cleared, claimed they were beaten and tortured with electric shocks to their genitals. The report also notes a harrowing treatment that may have been used in Uzbekistan -- one country the Bush administration has aligned itself with under the banner of the global war on terror.

Among the countries where prisoners have been sent by America is Uzbekistan, a close ally and a dictatorship whose secret police are notorious for their interrogation methods, including the alleged boiling of prisoners. The Gulfstream made at least seven trips to the Uzbek capital.

The details bolster claims by Craig Murray, the former British ambassador, that America has sent terrorist suspects from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan to be interrogated by torture.

In a memo, whose disclosure last month contributed to Murray's removal, he told Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, that the CIA station chief in Tashkent had 'readily acknowledged torture was deployed in obtaining intelligence'.

We may never know the truth. Bush has surrounded himself by loyalists.

The allegations, however, are consistent with what has been admitted and with a series of allegations that came with supporting evidence.

Those who voted for Bush, voted for this. Many of them those voters believe in a vengeful God. They may have need of a merciful God.

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