Quite Fascinating

I consider it big news: our president not only acknowledging, but flaunting a policy of kidnapping, secret prisons, incommunicado detention, and indefinite secretive interrogations--a policy which violates international laws and the very principles of our republic. Given the gravity of this kind of revelation I would expect any news organization to carefully analyze and scrutinize all public statements of the president. Take a look at Juan Cole's post today for a passionate, informed analysis of the story (note his reference to the WaPo story on Zubaida).

Instead NPR rebroadcasts as facts Bush's mix of statements, lies, and misinformation. On Morning Edition, Renee Montagne interviews NPR's Mary Louise Kelly who is breathless about the Bush statements: "interesting detail," "remarkable details," and "really quite fascinating." She then quotes unnamed sources who affirm that the secret detainees were "treated in a safe manner" and given regular medical treatment, Korans, dvds, and even gym equipment! This in spite of direct evidence that Zubaida was denied medical treatment for gunshots as a form of torture and years of corroborated testimony of torture and abuse from other captives in the "war on terror."