Threats Lead to Event Cancellation at Library of Congress
Visit by soldier known for Abu Ghraib is denounced
Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 8/20/2009
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- All Iraq war-themed events cancelled
- Organizer laments end of free speech
- Opposition on blog is key component
An event scheduled August 14 at the Library of Congress (LC) featuring a controversial ex-soldier associated with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was cancelled after email and telephone threats were received by the event’s organizer, LC acquisitions specialist David Moore.
Angela Kinney, president of the Library of Congress Professional Association, confirmed to members that many staffers objected to the event, which was to feature Lynndie England.
The ex-soldier is promoting her book, Tortured: Lynndie England, Abu Ghraib and the Photographs That Shocked the World, (Bad Apple Books) by Gary Winkler. England was featured in photos that humiliated prisoners.
All Iraq war events cancelled
Moore, a Vietnam veteran who has organized veterans forums for the past eight years, is throwing in the towel. He had planned to balance England’s appearance with one that included her prosecutor.
He is concerned about future threats and has cancelled several other events dealing with the Iraq war, according to the AP. Free speech in America is pretty well dead," he asserted.
Criticism on blog
Moore also claimed that the threats were instigated by an unnamed "ringleader and four other employees" who voiced their opposition on blogs, according to the Washington Times.
The Small Wars Journal featured an opinion piece, "Torture at the Library of Congress," by retired Air Force Colonel Morris (Moe) Davis, who now apparently works at the Congressional Research Service. As former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, he resigned in protest, deeming the Guantanamo military tribunal an example of political interference in prison operations.
Davis wrote, "It's a disgrace that the dishonorable profit and that we use government property and resources to glorify the gutless." His entry garnered numerous responses, mostly supportive. Davis and others object to England’s unrepentant attitude, which is documented in the book, as well as in an NPR interview.
No direct connection, however, has been established between Davis's opposition to LC giving England a platform and the threats received.
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