In Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, demands justice for afghani detainees who were killed in prison. The news that the US treating their prisoners themselves with the same reverence they have to the holy book has carried over poorly. The UN is upset by the deaths and the abuses, and calls for punishment and justice. The report of the deaths:

The New York Times said U.S. army report centers on the death of a 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar and that of another detainee, Habibullah, who died at the U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul, in December 2002.

According to the report, Dilawar was chained by his wrists to the top of his cell for several days before he died and his legs had been pummeled by guards. "The file depicts young, poorly trained soldiers in repeated incidents of abuse. The harsh treatment, which has resulted in criminal charges against seven soldiers, went well beyond the two deaths," the newspaper said.

In sworn statements to army investigators, soldiers described mistreatment ranging from a female interrogator stepping on a detainee's neck and kicking another in the genitals to a shackled prisoner being made to kiss the boots of interrogators, according to the newspaper.

U.S. officials have characterized incidents of prisoner abuse at Bagram in 2002 as isolated problems that were thoroughly investigated, the newspaper said. Two army interrogators have been reprimanded and seven soldiers have been charged, it said.

How does The Administration respond to Karzai's demands for justice? By sending Secretary of State Rice a memo seeking to undermine his authority by calling him a weak leader on the efforts to slash poppy growth.

Switch blame to the other side, change the topic...