Posted on 05/08/2004 6:49:37 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
President Bush wants you to know he's upset with Donald Rumsfeld. Though the president is standing by his man, he had his press aides put out the word that he called the defense secretary on the carpet last week over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.
Rumsfeld, it turns out, never told the president about the pictures. And that has Bush pretty doggone mad.
The photographs, after all, made the difference. Without them, the Bushites could still go around the country blithely declaring that things are going just fine in Iraq, despite some "rough patches" brought on by a "violent few." Without the photos, the president would never have been forced to give interviews on Arab TV or to apologize -- apologize, for heaven's sake! -- to Jordan's King Abdullah. Without the pictures, it would have been business as usual.
Darn those pesky images!
Let's be clear about what happened at the Abu Ghraib prison. This wasn't the sort of hazing to which Detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) routinely subjects criminal suspects on ABC's "NYPD Blue." This was abuse and torture that violate basic standards of human decency, much of it aimed at Iraqis who were not accused of terrorism.
The military investigation cited "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses," including forcing male detainees to masturbate for the cameras and sodomizing at least one detainee with a chemical light or a broomstick.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about the pictures is the smiling visages of American soldiers as they force naked Iraqi men into degrading sexual poses. They remind me of photographs of lynchings from the bitter days of Jim Crow, when white Southerners brought their families out to watch the torture and execution of black Southerners, as if they were going to the circus. In those photos, too, the torturers are all smiles.
The White House acknowledges that Rumsfeld alerted the president several weeks ago -- if not months ago -- to a sweeping investigation of complaints of abuse and torture of prisoners by U.S. soldiers, not just in Iraq but also in Afghanistan. But Bush never bothered to read the full report. For that matter, neither did Rumsfeld. He complained in a TV interview that the documents comprise "a mountain of paper."
So neither man had any deep and abiding concern over the fact that U.S. soldiers were emulating some of the torment employed by Saddam Hussein when he held prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Before the release of the photos, neither seemed to care that abusing Iraqi prisoners -- forcing them into just the sort of humiliating poses that are most offensive in the Islamic world -- would only set back the cause of establishing a pro-Western democracy in Iraq.
By last week, not just Democrats but also Republicans were beginning to suggest that Rumsfeld be fired. It is, admittedly, a prospect with a certain appeal: Who would mourn the sacking of the swaggering, cocksure defense secretary?
But it wouldn't change a thing. Rumsfeld is no errant incompetent in an administration full of hard-nosed realists, men and women dedicated to righting their policies when they discover that things have gone awry. No, indeed. The secretary of defense is a perfect representative of a group of people so convinced of their own righteousness that they are untroubled by even the most inconvenient facts.
Nor would Rumsfeld's resignation change this ugly truth, only now becoming visible to the American public: Inevitably, inexorably, occupation breeds barbarity and inhumanity in the occupier, like a virus that flourishes in dark places. As the French became ever more savage in their attempts to pacify the Algerians, as the Japanese brutalized the Chinese in World War II, so will more young American men and women become brutish in their treatment of Iraqis.
Bush and administration officials are working hard to portray the outrages at Abu Ghraib as isolated examples, just a few soldiers gone bad. Would that it were so. Under certain circumstances, many of us have the capacity for barbarity.
Whether Rumsfeld stays or goes, the U.S. occupation of Iraq is bound to grow uglier still.
I must really be stupid, cause I don't see anything worse suffered by the Prisoners than I saw (received) in Ranger School in 1978.
However, shame on the prison leadership for letting this happen, I've come to believe the unit reflects its commander. I'm heartbroken that Bush appologized for the Army's conduct. Regardless of the cause, circumstances or situation, the Army should have done better.
Of course the guys I associate with are all politically incorrect combat soldiers, REMF's not welcome.
Was the police commissioner forced out over Abner Louima? Was the mayor?
Gad, I hate our moveon.org media.
Personally I believe they filmed it and took pictures cause they're stupid. (and had a definate lack of leadership).
This is the sort of nonsense that is reminiscent of the "Phoenix Memo". Sure it is easy to see in hindsight what someone should have put more focus on but there is afterall a war going on. Maybe the President and secdef are a little busy, do ya think?
I'm going to say it.
Cynthia Tucker is a lying bitch.
The facts are that immediately upon learning of these allegations the investigations and corrections were set in motion.
Moreover, the press was informed and wrote of it.
"Not bothered to read"? Wrong again. The classified report was at the criminal division and was not given to the highest levels of the Pentagon (and the President) in order to protect the rights of the accused--however the gist was briefed. As was noted at the hearings yesterday, it is easy to imagine if the Pentagon had revealed the report and pictures *in detail* (remember, the press was aware of the situation, just not the grotesque details that they now revel in) that the cry would have been that the rights of the accused were being violated by the untouchable upper echelon.
Cynthia Tucker and others who continue to insinuate the administration approves of this conduct can just go (bleeeeeeeep).
Hmmmmmm. I wonder why darlin' Cindy didn't include Germany and Japan in her litany...
We're fighting two wars, dammit! One global war with radical Islam. Plus, a second internal war with the left and their lapdog media.
And America cannot afford to lose either.
IMHO: Bragging rights, trophies & stupidity.
".....What would have been the incentive for the perpetraitors to film all of this?......"
Here's what I wrote on another Thread when someone asked a similar question..................
Quick story: Many years ago at my place of employment we all got together for a batchelor party for one of our co-workers at another co-workers house. Someone had the bright idea of spicing the evening up by hiring a stripper. I won't go into the gory details except to say everyone got quite drunk and had a GREAT time!!!! During all this someone else had a camera and took pictures to document all the FUN everyone was having.
The next day at work some of the pictures were passed around to show other co-workers just what they had missed out on. A few had the stripper being fondled in a VERY compromising position by a married co-worker. The embarassed man ran around desperately (once he found out what all his co-workers were whooping-it-up about) trying to round up all the prints and asked for the negatives.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1130453/posts?page=373#373
I'm getting the impression that what's been unearthed is a ring of perverts. One of the guards (Cpl. Graner) has a history of domestic abuse. One of the female soldiers (Pvt. English) was his girlfriend and pregnant by him. Another (Sgt. Frederick) was a prison guard in real life -- which proves nothing by itself, but is suggestive, given subsequent events.
Interestingly, the perps that we know something of (and their families) all seem to be hard core Democrats, with a goodly reserve of hatred toward the Commander-in-Chief.
It may be a coincidence. But wouldn't it be interesting if all these perverts proved to be Democrats...???
I agree that the stakes are VERY high; but thats NOT whats on your mind in a seemingly benign situation among 'friends and comrades' as my previous post tried to illustrate. Like a stuffed mountain lions head on the wall, I'm sure they just wanted something to pass around in the future to show what bad-asses they were.
One thing my daddy taught me: "ALWAYS keep your name clean! In the end, your good name is the only thing you got......and thats something no one can take away from you".
FRegards
TheDoc
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