In the weeks to follow, I will be dedicating a part of my column to keep you all informed about the casualty situation in Iraq. As of last Saturday, 426 troops have been killed in Iraq. This is a higher number than the first couple of years of the Vietnam War. And at least 7,898 Iraqi civilians have been killed. It is the intention of the Pentagon to keep the dead as faceless as possible in order to generate apathy among Americans toward the war.

The president has refused to be seen with, salute, or even attend a funeral of a fallen soldier, and the Pentagon has banned the media from displaying their caskets coming off the planes. This has been done so the public can focus on the “good news” in Iraq. I only hope that by looking at names, people will begin to understand that although news on the war may make us feel strong, glorious and patriotic, there is no such thing as “good news.”

This week, keep a moment of silence for the following people:

Chief Warrant Officer Alexander S. Coulter, 35; Capt. Nathan S. Dalley, 27; Staff Sgt. Dale Panchot, 26; Capt. James A. Shull, 32; Sgt. Michael D. Acklin II, 25; Spc. Ryan T. Baker, 24; Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor, 37; Spc. Jeremy DiGiovanni, 21; Spc. William D. Dusenbery, ; Pfc. Rick Hafer, 21; Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36; Pfc. Sheldon R. Hawk Eagle, 21; Sgt. Timothy L. Hayslett, 26; Pfc. Damian L. Heidelberg, 21; Chief Warrant Officer Erik C. Kesterson, 29; 1st Lt. Pierre Piche, 28; Sgt. John W. Russell, 26; Chief Warrant Officer Scott A. Saboe, 33; Spc. John R. Sullivan, 26; Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III, 21; Army Pfc. Joey Whitener, 19; Army 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27. May they rest in peace.

“Every man and woman, who cares for freedom owes you a very special measure of gratitude,” said Dick Cheney, when he greeted the 21 Gulf War ex-POWs coming home in March of ’91. Out of those 21 POWs, 17 of them had been tortured. A lawsuit was filed against Iraq and almost $1 billion was rewarded in damages to the victims, which would come out of frozen Iraq assets. But just like the lip service they got 11 years earlier, the award turned out to be bogus, compliments of the deadbeat-decency of the Bush Administration.

Within the numerous Big Brother provisions of the USA Patriot Act, Bush and company have found a way to curb the compensation of tortured troops. The provision says that any money that is seized becomes government property per executive order, legally implying that it’s at the full discretion of Bush as to whether or not these troops get anything.

The troops were ready to settle for a little more than half of the compensation, but, as Bush would say, they’re getting “nada.” The money is gone. And all that is left is a primped-up excuse of “foreign policy interests in ensuring a safe and successful transition in Iraq.” But, in fact, that money is reserved for something very special and yet, very dark.

The $1 billion, like a lot of other money, has either been unaccounted for or placed into a “contingency budget” – Bushian for “slush-fund.” In the new $87 billion hike for Iraq, $9 billion of this money will actually be part of this “contingency budget.” The money is to be allocated “anywhere, anytime,” and is entirely at the discretion of Donald Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld, who has streamlined all the money, maintains it will be used to fund “indigenous forces,” as well as “rewards” for “cooperative nations.” As we are beginning to find out, many of these “cooperative nations,” for a price, are willing to carry out what Joseph Stalin used to call, “black work.”

For some time now, the US has been shipping “detainees” and “enemy combatants” over to places like Egypt, Jordan, and even Israel. One detainee, a Pakistani man, was reportedly forced by Mossad agents to swallow large quantities of water and even had his genitals burned with cigarettes. In Jordan and Egypt, teeth are ripped out of faces, fingernails are ripped out of fingers, and electric shocks are administered, sometimes to death. The “rewards” for this work come right from Rumsfeld’s office in the Pentagon, while America’s hands remain clean.

Even American bases like Guantanamo Bay are in the practice of torture-like techniques, which include being forced to stand, squat, or stay awake for days. Detainees are kept under bright lights, as guards bang on cell walls to keep them from dozing off. In Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan, detainees have already died of beatings from their “interrogations.” The Red Cross is also restricted from the base.

Recently, a Canadian-Syrian named Mahar Arar was picked up on suspicion of terrorist activity. In his Brooklyn detention center, Arar was injected with a substance that nobody would identify. He was shipped to Syria, where he would be tortured, under a “sub-contract” with the U.S. government. You see, Arar was an “enemy combatant.”

Back in 1943, the USSR used to arrest people on charges of being an

“enemy of the people.” Sixty years later, the Patriot Act gives us the “enemy combatant.” As an enemy combatant, you are not entitled to representation or contact with friends or family, you are held indefinitely, and there are no charges against you. In fact, outside of the Justice Department, nobody knows whether or not you’re still alive. Like Arar, there is no telling where they might send you. It’s amazing what slush-money and the Patriot Act can accomplish.

As of last week, the FBI has begun surveillance on anti-war protesters and “extremist elements.” They’ll be taking pictures, names and dossiers of ordinary citizens. Could this be the start down the long, dark road of oppression that every other nation imposing such laws has gone?

Many supporters still argue that the Patriot Act and all of its provisions still only apply to fighting terrorism. Believe it if you want to, but even the government laughs at this notion. As of a couple of weeks ago, Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo admitted, “The Patriot Act was not meant to be just for terrorism.” Everyone is fair game under the Patriot Act, and as both Bush’s and Rumsfeld’s slush funds have proven, they have ways of making you talk.

Information for this editorial was taken from the Moscow Times, New York Times and Amnesty International.

Mark Ostroff is a Collegian columnist.