Blasphemous 'hood' comes to Pakistan... may Allah guide us n destroy him

Hood comes to Pakistan

By Shireen M Mazari

ISLAMABAD: According to the US Department of Defence News Release of March 13, 2008, Major General Jay W. Hood has been posted as the Chief, Office of the Defence Representative, Pakistan.

General Hood is a former commanding general of Guantanamo Bay prison and according to US National Public Radio (NPR), General Hood's tenure at Guantanamo was marred by a series of scandals and growing controversies relating to policies on detention and interrogation. While controversy has always surrounded Guantanamo, it reached new heights when Hood was there - especially in the aftermath of the scandal breaking out publicly on detentions in Iraq at Abu Ghraib. Interestingly, it was General Miller, Hood's predecessor at Guantanamo, who was implicated in Iraq.

Hood came under intense criticism when he decided to force feed prisoners with the use of a restraining chair. The gruesome means of force feeding have compelled the US to censor a drawing by a Guantanamo Bay detainee where he depicted himself as a skeleton with his head double-strapped down, a tube in his nose, a black mask over his mouth, no eyes visible only giant cheekbones. The detainee, Sami Al Haj is a Sudanese cameraman who worked for Al Jazeera television and the self-sketch was to mark his 431st day on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay.

It was also during Hood's service at Guantanamo Bay that the Pentagon released details of five confirmed cases of US personnel abusing the holy Quran. In a story published in the Washington Post on 4 June 2005, the US military admitted that soldiers and interrogators had kicked the holy Quran, got copies wet and stood on the holy Book during an interrogation and also sprayed urine on another copy. This was well established by the Pentagon after General Hood, as Commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo completed an inquiry into these cases of abuse of the holy Quran. Yet Hood chose to describe these incidents as "largely inadvertent".

The inquiry tried to cover up deliberate abuses of the holy Book that detainees had been reporting to their lawyers, including lawyer Tom Wilner who was representing 11 Kuwaiti detainees. He declared that the number and persistence of reports of the Quran abuse from detainees revealed a much broader problem than indicated by the Hood inquiry. Clearly Hood's main intent was to cover up as much as could be done in the wake of increasing revelations on the issue of Quran abuse.

It is unfortunate that the US Army Chief of Staff has chosen to appoint such a controversial officer to Pakistan, especially given his record and linkage to abuse of prisoners and the Holy Quran at Guantanamo. Guantanamo Bay itself has become a symbol of injustice, torture and abuse of Islam and sending a commanding officer from there to Islamabad begs the question: What is the message coming out of the Pentagon for Pakistanis by this insensitive act?

Equally important, given that host governments always have a choice of refusing a nominee - and many Western countries have exercised that right in the diplomatic nominees of the Pakistan Government - why has the Pakistan government chosen to silently accept what the US military dishes out, with no thought to the sensitivities of its own people?

When asked, a US Embassy spokesperson said:

"Major General Hood was nominated by the US Army and approved through the highest levels of the Department of Defense. His assignment to Pakistan is not related to his previous assignment but rather is a reflection of his standing as a senior military officer.

He was chosen for the assignment to Pakistan because he is a highly qualified officer at the Major General level. Assigning an officer at this level to this position reflects the continued US goal of cooperation with the Armed Forces of Pakistan. He is the second consecutive Major General assigned as Chief of the Office of the Defense Representative Pakistan."

Hood comes to Pakistan :: Dictatorship Watch :: Putting Pakistani Dictatorship in Global & Regional Context

our govt. shld have protested and rejected his appointment in pakistan... the govt shld not give him any protocol... i think he must not be granted visa (if it is required for american citizens)... but our selfish dictator has been promoting moderate islam i.e. besharmi n beghairti ki zindagi... hum aisay gustaakhon ko aram se mulk mein aanay detay hain n unko protocol bhi detay hain... lanat hai hum sab per... hum isi tarah zaleel hongay jab tak hamein deen se pyar nahi hoga n yeh hamari first priority nahi hogi... hum deserve kertay hain k hum zaleel hon, so hum ho rahay hain...

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