Top story of 2004 is the worst

Through its torture practices, the George W. Bush Administration in 2004 has redefined America in the eyes of the world

No doubt, 2004 has been a terrible year. How can I even presume to name the worst news event of the year? After all, the Tsunami of the Indian Ocean has devastated an incredible swath of the world.

And what about the US invasion and conquest of Iraq that has evolved into a costly colonial war? America has responded to anti-colonial resistance in Iraq by smashing cites. There is no end in sight. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died as have over 1000 Americans. But to me this is not by itself the worst story of the year. In my mind a story connected to the attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan is the top story and the worst story -- the development of the United States as a torture state the likes of which the world has never known.

Members of the Associated Press named their top 2004 stories last week (prior to the tsunami). The Abu Ghraib photographs made the list. But here is how they phrase the story: "U.S. military guards at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad forcing naked Iraqi detainees to pose in humiliating positions. Prosecutions ensued...."

Clearly, this represents the cleaning-up-the-bad-apples media posture the Pentagon has used to deflect deeper examination of what is going on here. And use of this posture is bringing the public along the road to dictatorship with hardly a whisper of dissent.

Steps towards dictatorship
The Center for Constitutional Rights describes in a recent release the facilities and practices now employed worldwide on the mere authority of the president alone:

the CIA has been secretly operating a holding and interrogation center within the larger American military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...the CIA Center at Guantanamo is "related to a network of holding centers operated by the CIA at undisclosed locations around the world"..."The use of secret detentions centers not only violates international and U.S. law", said CCR deputy legal director, Barbara Olshansky, "it undermines the critical pillars of our Democracy -- justice and liberty -- and tosses aside the Framers concerns about the dangers of an overreaching executive. How can we hold ourselves up as an example as the world's preeminent democracy when we are violating the founding principles of our own?"

We must act in 2005 to stop these Bush practices, as the soul and spirit of America will soon become unredeemable.