Well, I Guess Falling Off a Cliff Could be Considered "Progress"

While Bush was making an ass of himself at yesterday's press "conference" (see The Rude Pundit for a poetic interpretation), reality intervened in its usual way: The ACLU, as many of y'all probably know already, released a chilling statement about the "interrogation techniques" employed by the United States at various overseas facilites--not just Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Seems that Bush might not be as out of the loop as he'd like to claim:

NEW YORK -- A document released for the first time today by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that President Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing the use of inhumane interrogation methods against detainees in Iraq.

As of now, the Executive Order itself, if it exists, is still under wraps, although a two page email references it and states that "the President directly authorized interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and 'sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.'"

The press has noted the allegations of abuse, but hasn't focused on the charge that Bush may have signed off on this. If he did, though, it could make future travel plans a bit difficult, as Augusto Pinochet found out a few years back.

Speaking of travel plans: Tony Blair may have been able to skulk around parts of Baghdad and Basra on a surprise visit, but I doubt he'll check out Mosul, where either a mortar or rocket attack at a US mess hall killed over twenty people. A few days ago, Patrick Cockburn noted the instability in this major northern town--a fact lost in the glare of the "great victory" in Fallujah that didn't turn out to be so great after all...

Bush, by the way, finally admitted yesterday that bombs don't equal kisses and flowers, and even went on to note that some of the "Iraqi troops" are, um, about as useful as salt in a fresh wound. Of course, the lapdog press didn't bother to follow up on that, and instead nodded dutifully, in their best impersonation of East Bloc journalism, when the pResident made the bizarre announcement that he "wouldn't negotiate with himself in public" about Social Security. Huh?

Well, at least the public is finally beginning to awaken from whatever sort of narcotic they were on prior to November 4th--support for the war and for the war's chief strategist--Rummy--is fading faster than a cheap tie-dye. Hmmm. What did these folks think? That a vote would scare off the insurgents? Geez. I mean, hell, it's nice to see them shake off the cobwebs, but it'd have been a hell of a lot nice if they'd done so before they handed the keys away for another four years.

And if you liked how much he screwed up Iraq--you'll LOVE what he wants to do to Social Security...