Saturday, May 15
The New Yorker
Via John Robb's Weblog from: The New Yorker
The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Rumsfeld's decision embittered the American intelligence community, damaged the effectiveness of elite combat units, and hurt America's prospects in the war on terror.If this is true (and I certainly don't know, but I have a feeling we're going to find out, one way or another), then this is big stuff. If true, then Mr. Secretary is going to find himself in big doo-doo and is liable to lead to regime change right here in the ole US of A. Even if the truth isn't found out until after the election and Bush is elected King, er, President again (or for the first time as some people see it...) The soldiers that have been charged have kept repeating that they were only following orders. I don't know what I would do in their shoes. To me, they would be obviously illegal orders, but at the same time, I can also see myself getting caught up in it and going along. Being short of manpower and training, I might not even know at that age that they were illegal, and gone along with it. Hell, I might not even have just cared! Get me out of this damn hell hole! <shrug>
I'm just a stupid civilian half a world away, ashamed of what happened at that prison, wondering if the rest of the prisons outside (and inside?) the US are operating in the same circumstances, and wondering if and when I get to be ashamed for them. The people that call the Nick Berg beheading as truly gruesome (I agree with that part) and then try to downplay what happened at Abu Ghraib as insignificant, that's where they are dead wrong. What happened at the prison is not insignificant, even in the light of Nick Berg. Somebody decided to one up the US. Although I really believe that Abu Ghraib was an excuse for the beheading, not the cause. How many others have been beheaded? A few. Not on a daily basis, but it's not like this hasn't happened before.
I find it absolutely idiotic that Mr. Rumsfeld is furious because of digital cameras, and the soldiers that were sending them illegally (his term) before they (the Pentagon) got them. Welcome to the 21st century Mr. Secretary, where information wants to be instantaneous. It appears more likely that you've been caught with your pants down. And if the New Yorker article is true, having the photos leaked is the least of your problems. Obviously, censorship during wartime is now a thing of the past. Something that the planners for the next (major?) war are going to have to come to grips with. Relevant Link Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 5/15/2004 10:54:00 PM
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