Another Friday Night Admission

This White House is (in)famous for releasing bad news on Fridays, preferably after 5 PM when they know the nation (not exactly known for its tenacity in political issues) is busy finishing the work week and tearing ass for home.

Tonight's was Gitmo: yes, apparently our troops and interrogators-for-hire (the latter completely eludes me: out-sourcing essential - at least in theory - national security) DID desecrate the Koran. Yes, maybe one of our officers peed on a detainee.

Now, when Bush decided he could get mileage for blaming Newsweek's article on the Koran-toilet story, they sure as hell didn't do it Friday after 5. And, of course, Mr. Bush - off on one of his two-three times a month long weekends, the poor overworked dear - wasn't around to say, "Gosh, I guess we were wrong that Newsweek alone makes us hated in Muslim countries!"

And sure, there are many Americans - and they'd tell you they're fine Christian moralists, too - who love the idea of detainees being tortured and humiliated and their religions book defiled. But very few of these detainees have ever been found to be guilty of anything. We keep them in Gitmo - or Syria or Uzbekistan or Abu Ghraib or any other hellhole of our choosing - for 18 months, two years, four years and feed them food that is against their diet, subject them to hell, ridicule their masculinity, their humanity, their God, deny them any legal representation and then - if those detainees are very, very fortunate, we let 'em go with no more explanation than when they were grabbed. Anytime we wish, we revisit these people and threaten them some more. If we deem necessary, we grab their wives, children and imprison and torture them, too.

But all of that's fine to our moralist rightwing Christians who would do anything to "protect" the word of God while happy to desecrate anyone else's sacred beliefs. Who whine if their cable TV is out for five minutes but happily accept the idea of detainees being kept under brutal conditions when so few of them are guilty of any charge.