From the Guardian of London:
“The war on terror is not a war on Islam”; “The most recent occasions the United States has gone to war has been on behalf of Muslim interests”; “We believe Islam is a peace-loving faith that condemns violence”.
American government officials have said these and similar statements so often since September 11 2001 that in many Muslim countries – such as Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation – they have become diluted and lost much of their resonance.
So recently Washington has tried a fresh approach; namely to demonstrate America’s tolerance, respect and even love for Islam by showing what wonderful lives Muslims lead in the US.
The first instalment of this approach was a series of two-minute TV films and accompanying print advertisements focusing on five Muslims who live in America.
Think they’ll focus on this?
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hundreds of Muslim men and boys are being subjected to strip searches in freezing, standing room only detention centers in southern California after being arrested for routine visa irregularities, immigration lawyers said on Thursday.
They estimated that between 1,000 and 2,500 males, some as young as 16, were spending their fourth day locked up in what they called inhumane conditions after voluntarily presenting themselves at immigration offices to register under new anti-terrorism rules.
“The situation in the detention centers is absolutely horrifying. In one center, they were ordered to strip down and given a strip search. They were only given a prison jumpsuit, without any underwear, T-shirts, socks or shoes. They were not given blankets. They are freezing,” Iranian-American lawyer Sohelia Jonoubi told Reuters.
Update: Atrios, god bless ‘im, hits the nail on the head once again. (If his site isn’t on your blog shortlist, well — um, it should be, is all.)
Look folks – imagine you’re dealing with your DMV. Imagine Flunky #1 messes up your driver’s license application and tells you to come down to the office. Then, when you do go down to the office as requested Flunky #2 notices you drove there AND you don’t have your driver’s license (because, well, they screwed up your application). Flunky #2’s boss recently decided they now had a no-tolerance policy on such things and he has you arrested and thrown in jail.
Then, of course it doesn’t stop there. The special DMV judge operates his own special DMV court which has its own rules. Speedy trial? Nah. You could be there awhile. Who will support your family? Who knows. Chances for appeal? Not really.
The DMV judge deports you back to a country you haven’t lived in for 10-15 years. Your American children wave goodbye, as does your wife.