Charen: Shame

Townhall ^ | 5-7-04 | Mona Charen

[cgk]

Shame
Mona Charen (archive)

May 7, 2004 | Print | Send

 Today's picture on the front page of the newspaper shows a naked Iraqi prisoner on the floor. A leash is tied around his neck. Holding the leash is an American soldier.

 This is a disaster.

 These photographs are a dagger in the heart of our hopes for Iraq and the wider Middle East. It isn't yet clear whether the damage is reversible, but first let's be clear about what the damage is.

 Many have been at pains to object that what we have so far seen does not amount to torture. True. This is not pulling out fingernails. And yet, of all things to do to Arab men, to humiliate them sexually, particularly before female soldiers, is among the worst.

 The Arab culture is based upon shame and honor. Most Arab men would gladly endure physical pain or even death before such dishonor as we have caused. Modesty in their women is something they will defend to the death (usually the woman's death, but that's not the point right now). Modesty in men is prized, as well. To strip them naked and force them to pantomime sex acts is to deny them their most precious possession -- their dignity.

 The Americans who did this are idiots -- and one just doesn't know what to say about those who thought it would be good idea to snap photos.

 Yes, yes, the Iraqis in those pictures are probably bad actors who may have known where the next IED (improvised explosive device) was going to be planted that would kill Americans. But coercion doesn't necessarily elicit truthful information. And look at what this tactic has cost!

 Our hope in Iraq was not just to disarm Saddam, but to gain a foothold in the war of ideas. Our war against terror is founded on the notion that certain tactics are out of moral bounds no matter what the cause. The Muslim terrorists -- who happen to have a terrible cause and hateful tactics -- draw no such distinctions. We say that we do. We claim that democratic government, religious tolerance and the rule of law prevent abuses of the kind Arabs endure daily from their despotic, narrow rulers.

 But now any invocation of our values and our standards will be met with contempt and dismissal by the Middle East audience. Even the upcoming trials of Saddam Hussein and his lieutenants have lost some of their power to teach. Already awash in conspiracy theories and mistrust of us, Iraqis will now give even more credence to every crackpot and vicious explanation of our behavior handed to them by Al Jazeera or the local newspapers. Have no doubt that this episode, while it will be seen in America as a terrible aberration, will be viewed by Arabs across the Middle East as merely the tip of the iceberg. They know what goes on in their own prisons, and now it will be nearly impossible to convince them that we are different.

 Meanwhile, every Iraqi who is pro-U.S. and pro-democracy will have to explain himself to his countrymen. He is siding with the private who held a naked Iraqi by a leash.

 It goes without saying that most American military personnel are honorable and decent, and would never commit such acts. And if this war were being waged in a pre-media age, a few episodes of this kind would not matter. But those pictures have been burned into the eyes of the whole world.

 Is it possible to repair this? Burning down the Abu Ghraib prison might be a good symbolic act. Highly photogenic. Well-placed stories about the thousands of Americans -- military and civilian -- who are risking their lives to help the Iraqis build a better future (I know one -- Simone Ledeen) will help balance the ledger, too. But most of all, Iraqis will have to see that someone is punished.

 One does not want to railroad any American soldier to satisfy the lust for revenge in the Iraqi street. But they must see that our system of justice really does function as advertised. It may be our last chance at the hearts and minds of a critical audience.

©2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

[Wu]

Hey Mona..........shut up.

[cgk]

Pinging Mona's list...

[John Lenin]

bump

[Argus]

Charen's usually more sensible than this. Chalk it up to cultural dissonance. The fact that it's females humiliating Arab males is indeed what has them screaming. They'd better get used to it if they want to join the civilized world.

Obligatory caveat: Of course I'm outraged at the lack of discipline that allowed perverted hijinks among a few of our prison guards in Iraq. It looks like a slave auction at a gay bathhouse, not the kind of image we want for our Army in any case. The solution is to keep the creeps out of the ranks, not to trash the 99.99% who are not creeps.

[Rutles4Ever]

What sets conservatives apart from liberals is the ability of conservatives to admit when things need to be fixed. Liberals would rather drive the world into the ground instead of admitting fault and correcting the problem.

Question: Would this be acceptable behavior towards American prisoners?

[don'tbedenied]

oh no its all over we're doomed, doomed.

Jeezuz H. Keerist I am getting tired of this crap.

By the time the perps are court-martialed we'll be off on the next crisis du jour. Anyone even remember the Joe Wilson scandal?

BTW the law of unintended consequnces may have kicked in again, notice that all of the pictures feature US women humiliating Arab men. The Jihadist may not be in such a hurry to encounter the US military.

[gcruse]

That's the best you can do, Wu?

[philosofy123]

I am proud of the foaming at the mouth conservative columnist Mona. I am not as foaming at the mouth, but I am a conservative, and I am also very upset at this picture. Only heartless godless idiots would think of defending such action or even reduce its severity. I have been screaming about the barbaric Moslems and their uncivilized behaviors, and now I am stunt.

[Rutles4Ever]

The solution is to keep the creeps out of the ranks, not to trash the 99.99% who are not creeps.

That's not the point. The object is to bring democracy to Iraq. The object is to WIN the war. No one on the Arab Street gives a crap about the 99.99% of our military who serve honorably. Everyone can crow about how unjust it is to paint the military with these broad strokes, but the fact remains, without the support of the Arab Street, we can't democratize Iraq.

They'd better get used to it if they want to join the civilized world.

I wouldn't put these pictures in a brochure about democracy and "civilization".

[philosofy123]

You need to tell that to the idiots on this forum who are defending this barbaric action of a lesbian looking bitch. To strip naked a bunch of guys and pile them on top of each others like dead animals, and drag them from a leash is undefencable except by heartless godless idiots.

[VOA]

bump

[philosofy123]

Just take a deep breath. It is alright to say and think that this barbaric action by this lesbian looking bitch was a big big mistake. If you find nothing wrong with draging a naked man by a leash, you need your head examined, or simply go and join the other hate filled Moslem fanatics. Any one who defend this barbaric behavior is a barbarian himself and not too far from the idiotic Islamic fanatics.

[gcruse]

a lesbian looking bitch.

Wow.  The foam runs freely in this one.   The girl looks like every other female soldier.  Was Demi Moore a dyke in GI Jane?
This girl's fiance might disagree with her being a lesbian, and you need to get your eyes, at the very least, checked.

[Mr. Bird]

Mona's comments are right on the money. I don't give a crap, personally, if some Iraqi bad guy was humiliated. Indeed, when I ponder the fact that these people were in military detention (as opposed to some random Iraqi off the street), I can only assume that the "victims" had done their share of evil in this world.

The problem is exactly as Mona states it: in a war for hearts and minds, it does us no good to appear just as bad as any alternative. I say whoever took the pictures is guilty of a greater crime than the chick holding the leash.

[Mr. Bird]

You need to tell that to the idiots on this forum who are defending this barbaric action

Can I ask a legitimate question? What about those of us who are apathetic about the actual events? My concern about the incident is primarily political (in a global sense). I have no reason to believe such activities are widespread in the U.S. armed forces and have every reason to believe it is unlikely to occur again.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

And yet, of all things to do to Arab men, to humiliate them sexually, particularly before female soldiers, is among the worst

I dunno. Given that Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli has just issued a ruling that the Koran permits Iraqis to keep as slaves any female British or American soldiers they capture, I think we need a lot more pictures of Iraqi fighters being sexually humiliated by western women.

[fr_freak]

Most Arab men would gladly endure physical pain or even death before such dishonor as we have caused.

This obviously isn't true, at least not in the case of the guys in the pile. If it were, the Iraqi prisoners would have refused to do it and there would have been no way to force them other than pain and death which, according to Maona and conventional wisdom, they would rather accept anyway. Since they are not dead and don't look beaten, one can only conclude that it was actually rather easy to convince them to do this. So much for the whole death before dishonor BS.

[hopespringseternal]

The problem is exactly as Mona states it: in a war for hearts and minds, it does us no good to appear just as bad as any alternative.

Anyone, Iraqis included, says we are as bad as the alternative they cannot be taken seriously. In fact, if he has half a brain cell your average Iraqi knows all to well just how much of an improvement we are over the alternative.

[don'tbedenied]

I do not remember defending this behaviour. I am just tired of the continuous self flagelation. BTW "lesbian bitch" what's up with that?