did anyone see the Frontline program on Pub TV

[ihelpu2see]

It was about the Abu Ghrab prison and the GITMO torture......
Very well done and very sad that our military only punished those who followed orders....

[patrice]

1. Yes! What is the name of that series PBS is doing?

Their Viet Nam piece the night before was also very valid.

[cornermouse]

6. American Experience, I think.

[file83]

2. Yes, it was another excellent report. The interogator that came forward...

...really shed a lot of new light on the issue.

[MnFats]

3. that book is not yet closed, goddamnit!

those people -- the officers and def. dept. planners who authorized torture, must still pay the price for turning our country into a nation that countenances torture.
God help us.....I have always been pissed off when someone said they were 'ashamed to be an american.' The country's done enough it can be proud of to offset the foolishness of corrupt and venal leaders.
but this is something else all together.
the pbs doc left me humiliated and outraged at the course our nation has taken.
they put a curse on the country that may remain there for decades. Those Iraqis who suffered, terrorists, insurgents or innocent civilians, and it appears that there were huge numbers of the latter, will leave that complex with their highest priority to kill as many Americans as they possibly can.

[joemurphy]

4. Yes, I watched it last night. It represented to me what

television journalism can and should be about -- not the horrific tripe we typically see from the cable stations. It bespeaks the continued importance of preserving the funding and independence of NPR and PBS. These outlets are too important to the country to allow the Republicans to terminate them.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Watched it last night. Excellent job as always. Very sad to think

that our government not only allowed, but encouraged this behavior, and then prosecutes the lower ranks who actually carried it out. The punishment for this needs to start at the very top.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

7. Real good show - puts the blame where it belongs - Rumsfield, etc

Well done program. Highly recommended. Talks about
- climate of fear after 9/11
- pressure to find WMDs & Saddam lead to escalation of torture
- prisoners in Afghan & iraq tortured by the troops that captured them
- how general from gitmo went to iraq & brought same techniques
- had Kiprinski (sp) comment on how she was scapegoated & that other generals knew about it but were not charged
- had quotes from McCain denouncing the torture & was up to date about the torture amendment added to the defense bill
- not only were Iraq's tortured in prison they were also mutilated by the troops in their homes during raids - broken bones, etc.
- torture techniques get prisoners to talk but info is often bad
- MPs were made part of the torture process - softening up prisoners & use of dogs
- SEALS - would put prisoners in ice to create a hypothermia reaction(reminded me of Nazi 'scientific' research done at concentration camps)
- use of civilian contractors to torture prisoners & how unaccountable they were. (wonder if they wore black hoods like in the medieval days)
- how the torture Czar Gonzalez wrote the rules & covered the admins ass.
- Geneva convention rules were considered a joke.