terrorism [ter-uh-riz-uh-m] noun “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.”Terror and helplessness are the favored tools of evil. Together, they destroy any semblance of sanity you may think you have; they wreak havoc upon your ability to reason, while taking you to unimaginable realms of depression and confusion.
When people, so devoid of basic humanity they no longer resemble a human being themselves, learn to use these tools, the entire human race should tremble and piss in our shoes in fear.
We’ve seen them before; Hitler, Stalin, Khan, etc…. More creature than human, wielding tremendous power and using that power for pernicious, profoundly immoral objectives; men of nightmares without end; ethos from hell, manifest from a world beyond comprehension.
Characters whose legacy chills and reviles in the realm of terror.
Thankfully, we have the United States; where the rule of law, decency and humanity are strong; a nation which reveres human rights so strongly, we send our children to war in far away nations to fight and die for those basic rights; to defend the banners of freedom, democracy, and equality.
The sword of truth, the banner of righteousness: The US government is there for us; a safety net designed to shelter us all from aggression, both external and internal.
It is! Isn’t it? Isn’t that the US government’s focus; to reign in terror?
A voracious reader, I’ve read many stories. Some have been invigorating, sad, and inspiring. But, never have I read a more profound story than that of Mohamedou Ould Slahi.
An account, at the hands of terror, so vivid it penetrates one’s soul, and the perpetrators deserve as many adjectives one can conjure – despicable, shameful, inhumane.
And if it wasn’t for the work of those helping Mr. Slahi tell his story, it would still be hidden from us; tucked away in some dark, dank, fowl sewer by the cowards living in that sewer and who executed the plan to defile Mr. Slahi’s spirit.
Yes; the plan!
A de facto, verifiable document outlining the manner in which another human being was to be beaten, tortured, raped, and terrorized. To destroy the human being that is Mohamedou Ould Slahi.
The fact that these people had a written plan should speak volumes of their contempt for human rights.
The plan of the government of the United States to “reign in terror.”
“Guantanamo Diary.” is the horrific account of Mr. Slahi’s experience with our nation of righteousness, of ringing the sound of liberty and equality; the United States.
And, although it matters not, for such behavior defies all that the United States represents, be they guilty or innocent (I’m right about that; aren’t I?), Mr. Slahi is not only utterly innocent, he has yet to be charged by the government holding him captive in his dungeon of terror; denied all due process every human being deserves.
He has been kidnapped, has suffered “extraordinary rendition,” tortured by foreign governments, and “disappeared” to GTMO where he has suffered unspeakable crimes, at the hand of the US government.
All while reigning in terror?
And to make it perfectly clear; these crimes, while they have been committed against one man, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, they are crimes against all humanity by those in our government consumed with hate and revenge; actions disguised in a phrase – “the war on terror.”
And that is precisely what Mr. Slahi’s story is about – hate, revenge, and collateral damage.
However, Mohamedou Ould Slahi isn’t just collateral damage in some “war on terror,” as some would have you believe. Rather, he is the epitome of the war being waged against the very concept of equality and rights of all human beings.
He is indeed a martyr, fighting for us as much as himself.
The moment I began reading Guantanamo Diary, I knew precisely why Mr. Slahi was still being held in a box at GTMO; he has been consumed by the mother of all catch 22 scenarios, a catch 22 conceived and executed in hate. The men who hold him will not release him, simply because he is there, and he is there because; well because! He is a prisoner of terror who cannot be released for fear he will divulge the terror that has taken his life.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi is the ultimate “I can’t let you go because you’ve seen the real me.”
The ease with which the military and intelligence machine in this country can consume a human being the way Mr. Slahi has been consumed frightens the hell out me. And it should terrify you.
Make no mistake!!! We have been served! And, Mohamedou Ould Slahi is the process server.
The unbridled power given these “American” establishments through the verbiage of the Patriot Act and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorism has delivered to humanity pure evil.
The US government is obligated under international law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. Each Guantanamo detainee must either be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or be released to countries that will respect their human rights.
Yet, the cowards hide behind semantics created with twisted logic dismantle US and international law and spit on international treaties. They trample even the most basic human rights and have executed behavior that all but the most contemptible “human being” would consider repugnant.
Guantanamo is not about justice for the September 11 attacks; Guantanamo is about revenge, torture, indefinite detention – terror.
This nation wasn’t built around military might, riches, land, businesses, or even religion; it is principles that define who we were supposed to be; about standing up for something we hold dearly.
And, if we no longer wish to live by those standards; why in hell are our children still dying in foreign wars?
What is left to defend?
Similar to being underwater with a small pocket of air a nightmare for me. There is no one who will ever touch this like it needs to be and the masses could care fucking less.
ReplyDeleteThis one story speaks directly to the very essence of what this country and the people who live here are.
Would I show from CO in DC to stand in solidarity with a 1,000,000 or so others demanding the release of Slahi and the closer of Guantanamo?
Fucking a right!
I'll pick you up on the way from Nevada if there's ever a call to do such.
DeleteI had what was probably an uncommon thought in the immediate wake of 9/11:
ReplyDeleteI was afraid for America - not for what its enemies would do, but for what it would do to itself.
No-one I mentioned this to at the time really seemed to understand what I was getting at.
What I was saying is that the country could cease to be so much of a generous and decent country, and become a more brittle and darkened one. Its rage would consume its better qualities.
I'm not sure I was wrong.
I can vividly remember you saying that, Magpie; sadly, it has come home to roost, for us to mark another chapter in historical infamy.
DeleteOf course you're not wrong. It started immediately afterward with the passage of the Patriot Act. This nightmare and all the rest of it continue today. I think the military probably calls many of the shots. Don't pay to think much these days cuz it makes shit bit of difference.
ReplyDeleteAll of what you say is true, but I put that on Bush and his administration. These were his policies, lies, and orders. Obama has tried to close GITMO many times, but the Republican Congress won't let him. The mushroom cloud lie that allowed thousands to die with Americans cheering on their soldiers.
ReplyDeleteThe once thought of "light of freedom" in the world has become the imperialistic power and oppressor of the world. That was not all Bush's fault, it has been a slow trend. I compare it to the British empire that half the world fought against because of its atrocities and poor treatment of its concord subjects, including the American colonists that revolted. We aren't practicing the lesson we learned back then and have professed to uphold since then.
Bush, Cheney and other Bush administration officials have been declared war criminals by many countries around the world; and world organizations seeking peace and the end of oppressive, torturous treatment of people have spoken loudly against America's actions, but Americans are not listening. Another trait of imperialism.
I absolutely agree and I'll take it a step further - I think Bush, his cabinet, the military leaders who implemented this "era of terror" should all be punished for war crimes.
DeleteAnd that's not just some slam against the GOP and Bush. The world has punished many people before, for as much and less, and those of the Bush wars should not be an exception. Justice shouldn't be for all, except those wronged by US politicians. In fact, if the US is going to "lead the world in right," our leadership must be held to even higher standards.