Deep Blade Journal

Sadly, the most-read Deep Blade post of all time has been Domination by detention from last July. But I just have not followed up on this properly–especially given the recent news.

Fortunately Body & Soul has. Jeanne’s post strikes just the sour note I have been feeling myself about all this. It seems so damn impossible that my country can be doing this, despite the fact that I have protested US torture policies and torture training schools for over twenty-five years. Will any amount of exposure and protest do any good? The Body & Soul post also draws the same line around the usefulness of the military JAG Corps in stopping this stuff that I did in Domination by detention–the JAGS have complained but after all seem to accept that the premises of the terror war include US presidential power to rip up the rules.

Curious how the media florish over the Lynndie England conviction came down right on top of the story about the letter Captain Ian Fishback wrote to Senator John McCain. The letter describes ongoing, unimaginable American atrocities against Iraqis.

Tashkent can’t stand human rights critique

The always-valuable Rodger Payne notes a new development in US relations with the internal terror state of Uzbekistan:

Washington confirmed on Tuesday it would leave an Uzbek airbase. Tashkent asked it to quit after the United States criticized Uzbekistan’s human rights record.

Evidently worked out by this disengagement is the hushed battle between the US Department of State and the Pentagon over the proper response to the May slaughter by US-trained Uzbek security forces of perhaps 500 unarmed protesters in the city of Andijan.