THE KORAN AND CYO

KORAN AND CYO

By Peter Fredson

May 20, 2005

For the past several days an article in NEWSWEEK, regarding alleged desecration of the Koran by American Soldiers in Guantanamo, has aroused a great deal of comment. Events followed the usual pattern. The first defense of Administration and Pentagon people is to deny everything, vociferously, at length. Next come counter-charges, stating that everything is highly exaggerated and that all is running smoothly.

Anyone who has ever served in politics or the military, or industry, knows that CYO is a magnificent tactic. C.Y.O. means “cover your ass.” Whatever has happened avoid any responsibility, do it loudly, aggressively, or take a broom and shove it under a carpet of half-truths and irrelevant balderdash. Or have the entire cabinet go out and attack gays as a distraction.

Take Abu Ghraib as a good (horrible?) example. When news leaked out despite all efforts of the administration to squelch it, the Bush people leaped to defend their heroic war president. They alleged honor, Christian love, and American values for themselves, and stated that criticism would get American soldiers killed. They ignored the fact that their lies directly started an illicit preemptive war and that their neocon philosophy demanded that the U.S. dominate the world, with themselves at the controls. (Of course oil as a source of wealth for Millennium Corporation, and the motive for war, was never mentioned by them.)

Then the Republican senators weighed in on the fray. They defended brave Bush endlessly, talked about our brave soldiers, and mentioned casually that the whole affair was tantamount to fraternity hazing...no big deal, just a joke really.

When the photographs of Abu Ghraib came out, despite all the efforts of the Bush people to suppress the information, they professed to be shocked. But they got over their shock very quickly because weighty affairs of the nation concerning gays, nipples, and abortion issues came up suddenly. This demanded all their attention and diverted the public from deficits, environmental damage, and two dozen other national disgraces which had to be swept under the rug.

When the consultations of Bush with his lawyers, stating that Bush as War President was immune from ordinary law and could ignore the Geneva Convention, the Bush people and practically the entire Republican Party did their level best to contain the criticism behind a barrage of verbiage alleging honor, Christian love, American Values. Not one Republican confronted Bush. Instead the entire administration, Pentagon and the Republican party fixed all the blame on a couple of corporals, slapped several generals on the wrist, and then left completely self-satisfied in their moral virtue.

When the NEWSWEEK article accused American captors at Guantanamo of flushing a Koran down the toilet, to taunt their Muslim captives, the administration did exactly as CYO demanded.

They denied, then demanded that NEWSWEEK retract, stated that such incidents NEVER happened and would never happen and paraded their high moral dudgeon to the world.

However, today appeared a report from the International Red Cross. To quote:
“ISN SECURITY WATCH (20/05/05) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday that it had warned Washington about “credible” reports that interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay military prison were desecrating the Koran long before Newsweek published its controversial report, which was later retracted amid government pressure.”
“An ICRC spokesman told reporters on Thursday that the group had warned US officials of allegations made by detainees between 2002 and 2003 that US military personnel were desecrating the Koran to insult the Muslim prisoners there”.
“Spokesman Richard Boucher acknowledged on Thursday that the ICRC had warned the US State Department of the allegations, and that the Pentagon had responded to the warnings in 2003 by issuing strict guidelines on the treatment of the Muslim holy book by US military personnel, CNN reported. But ICRC spokesman Simon Schorno said the allegations had continued after the issuing of the guidelines.”
Sounds like déjà vu, all over again? Of course the Bush people will deny everything vociferously, then gradually admit a little bit of hazing, and then will probably punish a corporal, and, if we are lucky, even a colonel or general. But the War President will not be touched. He is saintly, sacred, inviolate, and Republicans will throw themselves on their swords gladly to preserve their growing neoconservative corporate theocracy. After all, he is the WAR PRESIDENT, with extra-legal trappings, and he will not declare an end to war so that he can continue to strut and swagger, while killing Muslims and American soldiers after attending his prayer meetings with Dick, and Condi and Karl.

What further atrocities, indecencies may we look forward to under the Bush administration? Is there anything they will not attempt? Incidentally, today also appeared a news report that a photograph of Saddam Hussein, a helpless prisoner of Bush, has been released showing him in his underwear. This is how Bush respects sovereignty, law, decency and morality?