Here. These were, of course, kept secret from the public. Disgusting. Definitely NSFW. I’m ashamed to be American. And I think I’m going to roll into a ball. Because if these photos don’t get America horrified, I don’t know what will.
NPR, of course, is silent about these images this morning.
I’m looking at CNN’s website and there’s a tiny link to the right when this should be the top story.
Nothing at the Washington Post or the New York Times. Or even my hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle.
In short, the American media is thoroughly bought and paid for at a time when Americans absolutely need to bear witness to the inhumane and cruel actions that Americans — yes, that would be us — have inflicted upon the Iraqi people. They need to understand that these images were kept from them by a government all too determined to “protect” them from the knowledge that war is well beyond hell.
I can’t imagine what kind of atavistic asshole you have to be to turn away and ignore these images and walk into work with that bullshit skip in your stride, that Starbucks cup in your hand, and say to yourself just how great it is to be an American.
[UPDATE: Transcript from Australian news program containing more details on the video and link to video itself. Utterly atavistic. (Thanks for the lead, Tayari!)]
[UPDATE 2: Brian Sawyer writes in to note that the images are now the front-page story on CNN and Google News. The San Francisco Chronicle? A Valentine’s Day pillow fight at the Ferry Building is apparently more important than these new photos. See screenshot below.]
This is just absolutely insane. Unbelievable.
We are all going to have to pay the price for this kind of stuff at some point, and I hope that I am not still alive when the time comes…or my children, or grandchildren for that matter.
Thank you, Ed, for so perfectly describing exactly how I feel this morning. Albeit more eloquently and more spot on than I could have managed in my shaking “What will it take before Americans understand the gravity of the situation” state.
Did you see/hear the tapes on Democracy Now! yesterday. The video was of some Iraqi youngsters being beaten and you can hear the American-accented leader egging them on…
I think those were British troops. I couldn’t find the Audio Clip anywhere online after hearing it on Democracy Now. They were calling the protesters “naughty boys” and shouting “die”. It was horrifying sound footage (apparently from a video of the beating). I was surprised after hearing it on the radio, that it wasn’t top news. Something about it was even more deeply terrifying than the other news. They sounded clearly like they were getting off on the violence. Horrible. Unbelievable. Unbelievable that I’m still shocked by these stories.