If Iraqis in photos weren't naked, would there be a firestorm? So, is firestorm about clothes?

[motife]

just asking...

[Argus]

Somebody should photo-shop the pix and put kiddie pajamas on them. Then release them to al Jazeera.

[pookie18]

Yeah, where's Victoria's Secret when you need them ;-)

[GottaLuvAkitas1]

Very good point. I would have to say no.

But if the rape reports are true (I pray they are not) then my answer does not cover this.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Of the few pictures I have seen, they would still be offensive.

[dead]

Naked prisoner thread:

Contrite US Soldiers Atone for Torture by Taking Iraqi Prisoners to Disney World

[CyberCowboy777]

No it is not about them being naked.

It is about MPs interacting with prisoners in an inappropriate manner and possibly some of them physically abusing them.

[Paul Atreides]

I have been wondering, if there had been no sexual aspect to all of this, whether there would be such "outrage" by so many.

[gitmo]

No, it's not about nudity. The press was in an uproar about the guy that had panties on his head, too.

[Bobby777]

I would not have wanted the American prisoners on Hanan Island (sp?) to have been held naked by the Chinese ...

I understand the need for interrogation, and possibly forceful ... nonetheless, these "hijinks" photographs were totally inappropriate ...

[spycatcher]

It's all about liberals being scared by those silly hoods.

[motife]

Sen. John (support Dem. Chuck Robb over Rep. Oliver North) Warner said today the "torture" at Abu Gharib was the worst in history.

[Mike4Freedom]

No, the firestorm is about war crimes. What happened in those pictures would be serious felonies in civilian life and could only be done by people that had decided that the victims were sub-human. This is a danger in war but it surely is the responsibility of the officers to keep things in check. If it turns out that some officers ordered the activity, then international war crime trials will be appropriate.

[Bobby777]

said today the "torture" at Abu Gharib was the worst in history.

ummm, please tell me there aren't more photographs that show something much, much worse ... as improper as it was, it hardly compares to Adolph Hitler, the PLO, Stalin or Saddam Hussein, just to name a few ...

[Paul Atreides]

The pirannha are circling.

[spycatcher]

It's only a war crime if Americans do it.

[seastay]

If these prisoners had been killed before incarceration, there perhaps would be less outrage than keeping them alive and abusing them. An analogy is abortion; if a fetus is killed that's the way it goes, but if a baby is abused, that is an outrage and a crime...

Nobody wants any innocent person abused, the question here is to what the level of innocence do prisoners have, weighted against the price of shame they have to suffer and are mere mortals able to make that decision?

To any casual observer this prisoner abuse was more than what fitted their crimes, at least by international standards. However, there are many injustice in this world, and with only a limited number of resources, it would seem that there should be a priority of injustices that need to be corrected with more effort than others. Why should alleged criminals of a foreign country whom we are at war with be the first place we start and take up so much energy and debate, how bout the unjustness that exist in our own country suffered by law biding citizens, where is the outrage and time spent on them compared to these prisoners?

What about the young US soldiers who have lost limbs, or families of solders who have lost loved ones? Where is the outrage that Iraq did not follow international law, by allowing full and complete inspections, and which resulted in these abuses of our own innocent citizens?

It seems then, the only people in the world who are worthy of having their plight brought to the attention of world opinion are those whose remedy will help elect or take down a politician or government.

[AntiGuv]

Well, the photos that have not been shown reportedly depict prisoners mauled by attack dogs, prisoners beaten to the verge of death, guards raping women, guards raping teenage boys, and guards engaging in "improprieties" with corpses...

[Bobby777]

OMG ... no offense (understand what I'm saying) but I hope that is wrong ... good grief ...

[AntiGuv]

I also hope that is wrong. I'm having a real tough time accepting all of this. The depth of depravity in the allegations is just stunning to me. I can't understand how it could have come to this if it did...