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September 4^th, 2008	“War in Iraq is a task from God.” Republican candidate for the U.S. Vice-Presidency and current Governor for the State of Alaska, Sarah Palin during a speech at the graduation service of the school ministry of the “Wasilla Assembly of God Church” in June of 2007.
Prior entries: January 14^th, 2008 November 18^th, 2007 July 25^th, 2007 April 15^th, 2007 March 10^th, 2007 January 30^th, 2007 January 15^th, 2007 December 31^st, 2006 December 15^th, 2006 December 8^th, 2006 November 23^rd, 2006
	Left: During a speech in June 2007 before the “Wasilla Assembly of God”, Sarah Palin made the following remarks: “Pray for our military men and women, who are striving to do what is right also for this country - that our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure, that we are praying for. There is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan. So, bless them with your prayers. Your prayers are protection over our soldiers.” A video tape of Palin’s presentation can be watched here and here. A background press article from the Associated Press from September 4^th, 2008 can be found here. Right: An Iraqi woman with his child in an Iraqi refugee camp. Two out of 5 million displaced persons and refugees, who lost their home since the United States started the “holy war” against Iraq in 2003. Photo Credits (from left to right): 1) Sarah Palin, Governor of the State of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for the U.S. Vice-Presidency - 2006 - Official portrait from the State of Alaska/Jeff Schultz; 2) An Iraqi walks with her baby in front of tents in a refugee camp east of Baghdad. The continuing rise of sectarian violence is causing increasing numbers of Iraqis to leave the neighborhoods and towns where they live and to seek refuge areas. - May 21^st, 2007 - Karim Kadim/AP;
January 14^th, 2008	“I am deeply convinced: The patient promotion of the rule of law is one of the best methods to ensure that human rights and individual freedoms obtain worldwide acceptance.” Excerpt of a speech made by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the “Conference of Experts on the Promotion of the Rule of Law” on November 30^th, 2007 in Berlin.
	Left: Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been the Foreign Minister of Germany since November 22^nd, 2005. Since November 2007 he is also the Vice-Chancellor. Between 1998 and 1999 he was the State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery and the Commissioner for the Federal Intelligence Services. He became then the Head of the Federal Chancellery until he became Foreign Minister. The complete text of Steinmeier’s speech on November 30^th, 2007 can be read here (in German, external link). Right: Mohammed Haydar Zammar. Zammar was born in 1961 in Syria. At the age of 10 he moved with his family to Germany and became a German citizen. During the 1990s he joined radical islamic groups and apparently became a recruiter for Al-Qaida. During a trip to Morocco in December of 2001, he was arrested by the local authorities and handed over to the CIA, which transported him to Syria. There he was handed over to the Syrian authorities. He was imprisoned and sentenced on February 11^th, 2007 to 12 years in jail for having been or being a member of the Syrian branch of the “Muslim Brotherhood”. During a commission hearing of the German parliament, which investigates the activities of the German foreign intelligence service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), it was revealed that in 2002 the Federal Chancellery allowed the questioning of Zammar by members of the BND, the German Federal Police (BKA) and the Federal Domestic Intelligence Agency (Bundesverfassungsschutz) in his prison in Syria - although it was known to the Chancellery that Zammar most likely had been or was being tortured by the Syrian police. Around that time, the Chancellery negotiated a deal with the Syrian authorities and agreed not to prosecute Syrian spies, who operated in Germany, for the promise by Syria to refrain from activities against Syrian opposition members in Germany. During their dealings with Syria, it was well known to the German authorities, that “Syria is indeed a terrible dictatorship,” according to the former terrorism expert in the Chancellery Steinberg. The involvement of the Chancellery in the deportation of Zammar by the CIA is still not clear. A summary of Steinberg’s testimony before the commission can be read in an article of the German magazine “Der Spiegel”. Photo Credits (from left to right): 1) Frank-Walter Steinmeier - 2007 - File photo from the website of the German Foreign Ministry; 2) Mohammed Haydar Zammar - undated - Knut Müller/Associated Press;
November 18^th, 2007	“There was no ‘massacre’ and no ‘cover-up.’” Excerpt of a statement made by Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the “Thomas More Law Center” in connection with the arraignement of Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Chessani before a military court for the attempted cover-up of the killings in Haditha, Iraq on November 19^th, 2005.
	Left: Richard Thompson - President and Chief Counsel of the “Thomas More Law Center”. Thompson is the current defense attorney of Jeffrey Chessani, who is charged in connection with the Haditha killings from November 19^th, 2005 by a military court for “dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for failing to accurately report and investigate the incident.” Right: U.S. Marine and three dead Iraqi civilians, killed by U.S. Marines in the initial taxi cab killings at Haditha. A total of 24 Iraqi civilians, including 10 women and children and an elderly man in a wheelchair, were murdered on that day. More information about the Haditha massacre can be found here. The full statement of Thompson can be found on the website of the Thomas More Law Center: “Every patriotic American has a stake in the outcome of this case. A U.S. Army Colonel and an Army General conducted two separate investigations, and came to the same conclusion: there was no ‘massacre’ and no ‘cover-up.’ Yet the government still pursued a multi-million dollar investigation in order to appease an anti-war politician and the ‘blame America first’ media. Now, we have the absurd situation of Lt. Colonel Chessani being charged with failing to report and investigate a crime that never occurred. Every American should be outraged at the way this dedicated Marine and his family are being treated by the nation he so loyally defended.” According to its own mission statement, “the Thomas More Law Center is a not-for-profit public interest law firm dedicated to the defense and promotion of the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. Our purpose is to be the sword and shield for people of faith, providing legal representation without charge to defend and protect Christians and their religious beliefs in the public square. We achieve this goal principally through litigation, seeking out significant cases, consistent with our mission, where our expertise can be of service to others. We also defend and promote faith and family through media and educational efforts. Above all, the lawyers of the Thomas More Center seek to meet the highest moral and ethical standards of our Christian faith and our legal profession […]” Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Richard Thompson - undated - Internet site of the Thomas More Law Center; (2) U.S. Marine and dead Iraqis - November 19^th/20^th, 2005 - U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service;
July 25^th, 2007	“We do not question the integrity of the Marine Corps or any other branch of the Military.” Excerpt of the Mission statement of the Massachusetts-based “Military Combat Defense Fund”, which operates as a private fundraising organization for individual defendants in the Hamdaniya and Haditha military trials.
	Left: President and Member of the Board for the “Military Combat Defense Fund”, Mark O’Reilly. Reilly was the former Chief Staff to the Mayor City of Brockton and the former executive director of the organization “South Shore Habitat for Humanity”. Right: Dead Haditha children on the way to the morgue, after having been killed by U.S. Marines on November 19^th, 2005. The Mission Statement of the “Military Combat Defense Fund” further states: “The ‘Military Combat Defense Fund’ is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We believe in the fundamental decency of our armed forces. We believe that our fighting men and woman deserve nothing less than our undying gratitude and unwavering support. If the need arises, we also believe that they deserve the best legal counsel available. We are raising funds to assist in the defense of U.S. Military Personnel, regardless of branch of service, charged with alleged crimes of violence arising from a combat situation while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. […] We do not question the integrity of the Marine Corps or any other branch of the Military. Nor do we condone or encourage violence against civilians. We do know that politics is likely to play a part in these prosecutions. Anyone that has been in combat knows how confusing things can get. Decisions have to be made in a split second and the harshest judge of those decisions is the combat Marine or Soldier who has made them. […]” According to its website, the organization is currently financially supporting one of the defendants in the Hamdaniya military trial (Lawrence Hutchins) and four defendants in the Haditha trial: Frank Wuterich, Stephen Tatum, Justin Sharratt & Andrew Grayson. With regards to the actions of the above mentioned defendants, the military proceedings and documents have established so far the following: Lawrence Hutchins (Hamdaniya) - excerpt from an Associated Press article from October 16^th, 2006: “The leader of a Marine squad suspected of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man appeared in military court Monday, but a judge delayed a ruling on whether to order a court-martial while he reviews evidence. Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins headed the eight-man squad that prosecutors said took Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, from his home in Hamdania and shot him without provocation after they failed to catch a known insurgent. […] During previous proceedings, prosecutors said much of the information comes from statements given by the seven Marines and a Navy corpsman assigned to the squad. On Oct. 6, the corpsman, Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy under a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to testify at his court-martial and during upcoming proceedings about what he witnessed in Iraq. Bacos has testified that Hutchins fired three rounds into Awad’s head after checking to see if he was dead. […]” Frank Wuterich (Haditha) - excerpt from North County Times article from December 27^th, 2006: “The man at the center of accusations that Marines under his control murdered 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year ordered his troops to ‘shoot first and ask questions later,’ according to a prosecution document. The document known as a ‘Charge Sheet’ alleges that Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich issued those orders ‘or words to that effect’ during the incident that took place on Nov. 19, 2005. In doing so, Marine Corps prosecutors further allege, the 26-year-old Connecticut native disregarded so-called rules of engagement directives that required he ‘have positive identification prior to engaging a target.’ The four-page document obtained this week by the North County Times also accuses Wuterich of directing a corporal charged in the case to lie by telling investigators that Iraqi army members shot and killed four men who emerged from a taxi that happened upon the scene. The corporal also was directed to falsely state that he had ordered the men to stop running. […]” Steven Tatum (Haditha) - excerpt from a North County Times article from July 17^th, 2007: “A Marine lance corporal accused of killing Iraqi civilians told a buddy to shoot women and children cowering in the back bedroom of a Haditha home, his squad mate testified in a rapt courtroom Tuesday. ‘I told him that there’s womens and kids in that room," Lance Cpl. Humberto Mendoza said. ‘He replied, ‘Well, shoot them,’’ continued Mendoza, whose native language is not English. ‘I replied, ‘There’s just womens and kids. There’s no males, no threat, no hostile situation.’’ Mendoza said that when he refused the order, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum brushed past him and headed into the room himself. ‘Next thing I know, I hear a lot of noise in the house,’ Mendoza said. […]” Justin Sharratt (Haditha) - excerpt from a Los Angeles Times article from June 14^th, 2007: “A Marine lance corporal accused of executing three unarmed Iraqi brothers in Haditha told a hearing officer Thursday that he killed them after two of them pointed AK-47s at him while he searched their home for insurgents. […] ‘We did not execute any Iraqi males,’ Sharratt said in a strong, clear voice. ‘I am a disciplined Marine. … On Nov. 19, I did exactly as I was trained to do.’ Prosecutors assert that the three Iraqi men were unarmed and that Sharratt and Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich killed them at close range without provocation. Sharratt said he gave the AK-47s to a Marine the day of the incident. But testimony indicated that there was no clear record of the weapons being recovered at the house, although records do show two AK-47s being recovered somewhere in the neighborhood that day. Prosecutors also assert that because the Iraqis were slain with a handgun, the killings were ‘execution-style,’ because troops rarely use handguns when assaulting houses. But a military pathologist said pictures of the dead men did not suggest that the fatal bullets were fired at close enough range to show the powder burns consistent with such a mode of killing. […]” Andrew Grayson (Haditha) - excerpt from a San Diego Union-Tribune article from June 8^th, 2007: “A Marine who took pictures of 24 Iraqis killed by U.S. forces testified yesterday that one of his commanders later ordered him to erase the photos, including those showing dead women and children. ‘I just kind of looked at him with shock,’ Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner said about the instructions from 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson. ‘It just didn't seem right. ... To me, it looked like destroying evidence,’ Laughner testified in a Camp Pendleton courtroom. He said Grayson told him in February 2006 to delete the images from his computer and that he promptly did so. By then, a journalist’s inquiry had prompted top military brass to start investigating the killings, which occurred Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha. […] Grayson [is] accused of failing to properly investigate the 24 deaths. […]” Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Mark O’Reilly - published March 2007 - Internet site of “South Shore Habitat For Humanity”; (2) Dead victims of Haditha massacre/video still - November 19^th/20^th, 2005 - Taher Thabet/Iraq;
April 15^th, 2007	“Hans Filbinger was not a National Socialist. On the contrary: He was an opponent of the NS regime.” Public remarks by German state governor Günther Oettinger during the memorial service for Hans Filbinger, Oettinger’s predecessor, former navy judge during the 3^rd Reich and member of the German Nazi party from 1937 until the end of the second world war.
	Left: Current governor for the German state of Baden-Württemberg Günther Oettinger. He is a member of the conservative ruling party Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Oettinger’s speech at the memorial service for Filbinger can be read here (in German). Right: Hans Filbinger in his later years. Background article on the Oettinger/Filbinger scandal by Judy Dempsey for the International Herald Tribune, dated April 15^th, 2007: “Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing a rebellion inside her conservative party after Günther Oettinger, premier of the conservative southern German state of Baden-Württemberg, refused to retract a funeral eulogy in which he praised a disgraced Nazi judge. Merkel, who until now has managed to maintain some discipline in her Christian Democratic Union party since being elected chancellor in late 2005, will meet senior party leaders Monday in an attempt to prevent the crisis from growing. “The German Jewish community has already asked for the resignation of Oettinger, and the Social Democrats and Greens have also called upon him to retract his praise of Hans Filbinger, a former Nazi judge who issued death sentences during World War II but who concealed the fact for decades. In 1966, Filbinger was elected premier of Baden-Württemberg; he resigned in 1978, only after it was revealed that he had worked as a military judge and had been a member of the Nazi Party. “Merkel said she wished that ‘beyond honoring the great life’s works of Premier Hans Filbinger, critical questions about the Nazi era had also been posed.’ This, she added, was particularly important ‘out of respect for the feelings of the victims’ of the Third Reich. Despite the growing outrage, even from the conservative media, Oettinger stood by his original remarks Sunday. ‘I believe Filbinger was an opponent of the dictatorship,’ he said in a radio interview. ‘My comments were justifiable.’ “During the funeral Wednesday, Oettinger uncritically praised Filbinger. He said that there had been ‘no verdict that Hans Filbinger handed down that led to someone's losing his life,’ adding that Filbinger had not been a real Nazi but, like millions of other Germans, had been forced to bow to the pressure of the time. […]” Background information on Hans Filbinger - from the Obituary notes by David Childs for the Independent (April 9^th, 2007): “Hans Karl Filbinger, politician and judge: born Mannheim, Germany 15 September 1913; married Ingeborg Breuer (one son, four daughters); died Freiburg, Germany 1 April 2007. “Hans Filbinger’s life revealed how Hitler’s Third Reich has continued to haunt the German political scene. A highly popular Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, he was forced out of office in 1978 because of his wartime activities and was still under fire in 2004. “A Catholic, born in Mannheim in 1913, Filbinger studied law in Freiburg, Munich and Paris. Having joined the Catholic youth organisation at school, he remained a member until it was banned by the Nazis. According to the news magazine Der Spiegel, Filbinger also joined the Nazi student organisation, the SA stormtroopers and, in 1937, the Nazi party. In 1940 he passed his state law exam and a few months later was called up for service in the navy. He was posted to the naval legal service. “In 1946, Filbinger returned to academic work at Freiburg University and also worked as a lawyer. He joined the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in 1951 and in 1960 was elected to the regional parliament. Weeks later Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, invited him to take over as Minister of Interior of the state. When in 1966 Kiesinger was elected Chancellor of Germany, Filbinger succeeded him as Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister. “In 1969, when Willy Brandt became West German Chancellor, Filbinger took up a position as a strong opponent of Brandt’s Social-Liberal coalition. He increased the CDU vote in Baden- Württemberg in the regional elections of 1972, and again in 1976, campaigning under the slogan ‘Freedom instead of Socialism’. Some saw Filbinger as a possible future Chancellor of West Germany. […] “In 1978, Filbinger’s career was finally torpedoed by the dramatist Rolf Hochhuth who denounced him for his wartime activities. Hochhuth wrote in the weekly Die Zeit that in January 1945 Filbinger was part of the team that condemned the 22-year-old sailor Walter Gröger to death. Later, Filbinger admitted that he had been involved with two other death sentences, in January and April 1945, only days before the war’s end. “He made the mistake of first attempting to deny the facts, and then not expressing regret for his activities. He argued that death sentences for desertion were common in armies in wartime. Few accused him of being a fanatical Nazi and it was revealed that he had attempted to get lesser sentences in some cases. Filbinger resigned on 7 August 1978, although he remained honorary chairman of the Baden- Württemberg CDU until 1997. […]” [End of article] Filbinger applied for membership in the German Nazy party (“NSDAP”) on May 20^th, 1937. Shortly after, the application Filbinger’s was granted and he became an official member (No. 4026789). Membership within the NSDAp required the following oath, which Filbinger signed on his application card: “As a faithful follower to the Führer, I promise to support the party to the best of my ability.” After his resignation as state governor, Filbinger founded the conservative/right-wing think tank “Studienzentrum Weikersheim” in 1979. During the 1980s and 1990s the institute was involved in several scandals, as it repeatedly invited speakers of the ultra-conservaitve/right-wing political spectrum or its board members maintained contacts to right-wing extremists. Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Günther Oettinger - April 2007 - Financial Times Deutschland/Associated Press; (2) Hans Filbinger - undated - ARD Television;
March 10^th, 2007	“With the release of this year’s [human rights] reports […] we are recommitting ourselves to call every government to account that still treats the basic rights of its citizens as options rather than, in President Bush’s words, the non-negotiable demands of human dignity.” Public remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the occasion of the relase of the U.S. State Department’s human rights report for the year 2006 on March 6^th, 2007.
	Left: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the presentation of this year’s human rights report by the U.S. State Department on March 6^th, 2007. Her full remarks on the release of the report can be read here. Right: A killed Iraqi boy from Jalameda, deprived of his most basic human right - the right to live - by an U.S. airstrike on December 8^th, 2006. More about the Jalameda massacre can be found here. Background: “On Tuesday - to ritualized hoots of derision from around the globe - the U.S. Department of State released its 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The annual reports detail ‘the status of internationally recognized human rights’ in virtually every country in the world - except, of course, the U.S. itself. “At first glance, this year's reports contain few surprises. The State Department laments the genocide in Darfur, notes that Russia has experienced a ‘further erosion of government accountability’ and reminds us that Cuba denies its citizens ‘the fundamental right to change their government peacefully.’ The reports also document rights abuses in China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea - in fact, pretty much all over the place. Even tiny Monaco is rebuked for denying its citizens ‘the right to change their government or denounce the royal family.’ “Although the State Department announces the annual reports with fanfare, the rest of the world rarely responds with enthusiasm. This year is no exception. China, a perennial target, declared that ‘the United States has lorded it over other countries by condemning other countries' human rights practices while ignoring its own problems.’ Other foreign commentators also complained about U.S. hypocrisy. After Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Haditha and other highly publicized human rights controversies, they wondered, where does the U.S. get off casting stones at others? […]” Excerpt of a Los Angeles Times article from March 9^th, 2007. Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Condoleezza Rice - March 6^th, 2007 - State Department photo by Michael Gross; (2) Killed Iraqi boy from Jalameda - December 8^th, 2006 - Al Jazeera;
January 30^th, 2007	“I observe with great concern that abuse of human rights still takes place in numerous countries, and that torture, the death penalty and the denial of elementary fundamental liberties are everyday occurrences in many places. A crucial task of German foreign policy, therefore, is and will remain to promote the observance of human rights.” Public statement by Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the occasion of the upcoming Human Rights Day, on December 9^th, 2006.
	Left: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, since 2005 Foreign minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and former Head of the Federal Chancellery from 1999 until 2005. The full statement of Steinmeier on the occasion of Human Rights day can be read here (external link). Right: Murat Kurnaz, “[…] a German-born Turk, was arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of being a militant. He was transferred to Afghanistan, where he says American interrogators hung him from chains. He was sent to Guantanamo and held there until last August, when he was released. He was never charged with a crime. Intelligence documents cited by German media suggest Kurnaz, a 24-year-old shipbuilder, could have been freed years earlier. The files indicate that the CIA offered to release Kurnaz and return him to Germany in 2002. […] At the time Kurnaz’s fate was being decided, Steinmeier oversaw German spy agencies as chief of staff to then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Documents being examined by a special committee of Parliament allege that Steinmeier and former foreign intelligence director August Hanning rejected the U.S. offer. […]” Excerpt of a Los Angeles Times article from January 26^th, 2007. Steinmeier still defends his decision to stop the release of the innocent Kurnaz from Guantanamo and his return to Germany, although he was already informed in 2002 by the U.S. government and the German foreign intelligence service (BND) that Kurnaz had no ties to Al Qaeda or the Taliban. He stated publicly that he would decide exactly the same way today, that his decisions of 2002 were perfectly correct and the criticism of his actions “shameless”. (link to German article). Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Frank-Walter Steinmeier - 2006 - file photo from the website of the German embassy in Washington, D.C.; (2) Murat Kurnaz attends an interview with Radio Bremen TV in Bremen, Germany. - August 31^st, 2006 - Radio Bremen TV/Handout/Reuters;
January 15^th, 2007	“We have to prevent the return to warlordism and so we need to get some type of neutral force in there now. Some people would like the United States to lead on this issue of Somalia.” Press statement of Jendayi Frazer, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, in reaction to several U.S. air strikes in South Somalia on January 9^th, 2007.
	Left: Frazer heads the Bureau of African Affairs since September 29^th, 2005. According to her official biography, “[s]ecurity issues remain of interest to Dr. Frazer, who regularly speaks to military audiences and about military-related issues in Africa.” Her statement to the U.S. bombings can be read in an BBC News article from January 10^th, 2007. Right: Three members of a U.S. supported Somali warlord coalition. A Reuters article from June 5^th, 2006 describes that at least until 2006 the United States has funneled money and equipment to Somali warlords: “The United States has been funnelling more than $100,000 a month to warlords battling Islamist militia in Somalia, according to a Somalia expert who has conferred with the groups in the country. […] U.S. government officials refused to discuss any possible secret U.S. involvement in the strategically placed Horn of Africa state, which has been wrecked by years of fighting. But former U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said an operation to support the warlords’ alliance appeared to involve both the CIA and U.S. military. John Prendergast, who monitors Somalia for the think-tank International Crisis Group, said he learnt during meetings with alliance members in Somalia that the CIA was financing the warlords with cash payments. Prendergast estimated that CIA-operated flights into Somalia have been bringing in $100,000 to $150,000 per month for the warlords. […]” Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) Jendayi Frazer - 2005/2006 - file photo from the website of the U.S. State Department; (2) Three Somali members of the anti-terrorism warlord coalition that has been battling forces loyal to Islamic courts are seen heavy armed in Balad. - 2006 - Reuters;
December 31^st, 2006	“Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice […] is an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy […]” President Bush's Statement on the execution of Saddam Hussein from December 29^th, 2006.
	Left: U.S. President Bush on December 27^th, 2006. The full statement by Bush on Saddam Hussein’s execution can be read here. Right: The executed Saddam Hussein hanging from the gallows. Photo Credits (from left to right): (1) U.S. President George Bush delivers a statement on the passing of former President Gerald R. Ford from Crawford, Texas. - December 27^th, 2006 - White House photo by Paul Morse; (2) Screenshot from a video filmed with a cellphone camera featuring the dead Saddam Hussein, a few seconds after his execution - December 30^th, 2006 - unknown source;
December 15^th, 2006	“Most importantly, he worked to establish a culture in the Pentagon that rewards innovation and intelligent risk taking, and encourages our military and civilian leaders to challenge established ways of thinking.” U.S. President George W. Bush at the “Full Honor Review” for parting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on December 15^th, 2006.
	Left photo: President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shake hands following President Bush’s remarks honoring outgoing Secretary Rumsfeld during an Armed Forces Full Honor Review at the Pentagon Friday, Dec. 15, 2006, as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace applauds. (external link to the official White House presentation) Right photo: “U.S. intelligence personnel ordered military dog handlers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to use unmuzzled dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees during interrogations late last year, a plan approved by the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the facility, according to sworn statements the handlers provided to military investigators. A military intelligence interrogator also told investigators that two dog handlers at Abu Ghraib were ‘having a contest’ to see how many detainees they could make involuntarily urinate out of fear of the dogs, according to the previously undisclosed statements obtained by The Washington Post. The statements by the dog handlers provide the clearest indication yet that military intelligence personnel were deeply involved in tactics later deemed by a U.S. Army general to be ‘sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses.’ […]” Excerpt of an article by the Washington Post from June 11^th, 2004. Photo Credits (from left to right) (1) Donald Rumsfeld, Peter Pace & George W. Bush - December 15^th, 2006 - White House photo by Paul Morse; (2) An unmuzzled dog appears to be used to frighten a detainee at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Two military dog handlers told investigators that intelligence personnel ordered them to use dogs to intimidate prisoners. - undated photo from fall of 2003;
December 8^th, 2006	“America’s belief in human dignity and human rights will guide our policy.” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the presentation of the annual U.S. Human Rights report on March 28^th, 2005.
	José Padilla (left), blindfolded, deafened and shackled, on the way from his cell to his dentist. Padilla, a so-called “enemy combattant”, is incarcerated without trial for more than four years at the U.S. Navy military facility in Charleston, South Carolina. Condoleezza Rice (right), U.S. Secretary of State since January 26^th, 2005, regularly propagates the human rights policy of the United States of America. For more details about the circumstances of Padilla’s detention read the affidavit of Angela Hegarty, a medical doctor who treated Padilla in 2006. Photo credits (from left to right): (1) & (2) Still shots from an unclassified DoD video - Exhibit E, Docket No. 695, Filed December 1^st, 2006 - USA et al vs. Hassoun et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida; (3) Official portrait of Condoleezza Rice - February 2005 - U.S. Department of State;
November 23^rd, 2006	“He is the type of guy you would want dating your daughter.” Attorney Mark Zaid about his client Sgt. Frank Wuterich during an interview with the “National Public Radio” (NPR) on November 21^st, 2006.
	Frank Wuterich (left), former leader of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, who led an attack of U.S. marines against Iraqis on November 19^th, 2005, which left 24 civilians dead, including 15 women and children (right). Wuterich is now a defendant before a U.S. military tribunal because of the killings. More about the Haditha Massacre: link Photo credits (from left to right): (1) F. Wuterich - undated family photo; (2) & (3) Murder scene in Haditha - video provided to Reuters in March by Hamourabi, a human rights group - November 20^th, 2005 - bloodstained bedroom and covered dead Iraqi civlians;