Frank Rich asks in 2009: American War Crimes, How Did They Happen?

[NYTimes OpEd]. Frank Rich reviews the fact that American TV news is iignoring the obvious stories of torture and murder committeed by American troops and agents -- even ones which are printed in papers. Part is due to TV branding: like Fox News network's rightwing slant. Part, due to the FCC's obscenity crackdown -- which makes TV squeemish to anything which might upset viewers. Part due to the US government's own lack of forthcoming.

The result is that when Specialist Charles Graner is convicted of abuses at Abu Ghraib, it barely breaks on TV, and the fact that the judge supressed discussion of knowledge of the abuses at higher levels doesn't even come up. TV News portrays the US Government of acting against torture, even though the US government's policy permits torture -- a prime example being "waterboarding", where someone held indefinitely without charge in Guantanamo, for example, is tied to a board and submerged, underwater to simulate drowning.

Rich is predicting a news show five years hence: "How Did This Happen?" The answer is, nobody cared.

There's the simple fact: George Bush tortures people. But he sees his "accountability moment" as past, and now he's going to move forward. Without accountability in his future.