War within a war

Washington Times ^ | 5/13/04 | Thomas Sowell

[kattracks]

The American Civil War was not about conditions in Andersonville prison and the war in Iraq is not about conditions in Abu Ghraib prison. Terrible things happened in both military prisons but that was a small part of both these wars.

[Freesofar]

Excellent !

[Texasforever]

BRAVO!

[swilhelm73]

Is has gone beyond maturity. It has gone beyond even the barest notion of competence.

The mainstream media are trying every thing they can to help the Islamists win the war. And sadly, baring some unexpected uprising by the American people they will continue to do so until the war is over.

It is interesting to ponder that the most powerful weapon the Islamists have is a group of American television networks and newspapers.

[Travis McGee]

Sowell nails it.

[ladyinred]

Was this really in the Times? Wow, great.

[Squantos]

Sure glad SERE was just a training scenerio, wish all we had was a pair of nickers shoved on our noggin and get giggled and groped by the grinnin wimmin. ..............My shins can still feel that pipe.

Stay Safe !

[Jeff Chandler]

The WASHINGTON Times.

[bornintexas]

"It is interesting to ponder the most powerful weapon the Islamist have is a group of American television networks and newspapers."

You can add to that most Democratic senators and congressmen.

[beckett]

I thought of the Andersonville analogy myself the other day. It's nice to see a writer of Sowell's power put the analogy to good use.

[beckett]

Baby boomers, the childish generation. I like it.

[T'wit]

Andersonville was a death camp. It is not at all comparable with Abu Ghraib.

[T'wit]

Some 13,000 Union soldiers died at Andersonville of disease, malnutrition and exposure. I think it's a mistake to compare anything like that to the hazing at Abu Ghraib.

Here's an Andersonville scene in 1864:

[BfloGuy]

Andersonville was a death camp. It is not at all comparable with Abu Ghraib.

Well then it just strengthens the whole point of the essay, doesn't it?

[beckett]

I agree. A strict comparison doesn't work. But Sowell's use of it to give some historical perspective, which is what I think he meant to do, is effective.

[T'wit]

I can't see how it strengthens his point to build it on an untenable comparison.

[ThePythonicCow]

Andersonville Prison
February 1864 - April 1865

        Officially named Camp Sumter, the most notorious Civil War stockade was hastily constructed in early 1864 near the town of Andersonville in southwest Georgia. The number of Union soldiers held near Richmond had swelled with the breakdown of prisoner exchange agreements, posing a threat to the Confederate capital's security and taxing Virginia's already limited resources.
        In late February, Federal prisoners began to be transferred to the still-unfinished Georgia facility. By July, Andersonville, built to accommodate up to 10,000 captured soldiers, was jammed with over 32,000, almost all enlisted men. The open-air stockade, enclosed by 20 foot-high log walls, grew to 26 acres, but remained horribly overcrowded and conditions became more and more intolerable. Running in the middle of the camp was a stagnant, befouled stream, absurdly named Sweet Water Branch, used as a sewer as well as for drinking and bathing. There were no barracks; prisoners were forbidden to construct shelters, and while some did erect tents and flimsy lean-tos, most were left fully exposed to the elements. Medical treatment was virtually nonexistent.
        With the South barely able to feed its own men, the prisoners, who were supposed to get the same rations as Confederate soldiers, starved-receiving rancid grain and perhaps a few tablespoons a day of mealy beans or peas.
        The poor food and sanitation, the lack of shelter and health care, the crowding, and the hot Georgia sun all took their toll in the form of dysentery, scurvy, malaria, and exposure.
        During the summer months, more than 100 prisoners died every day. Others fell victim to thieves and marauders among their fellow captives. The desperate situation led a Confederate medical commission to recommend relocating those prisoners who were not too ill to move, and in September 1864, as William T. Sherman's advancing army approached, most of Andersonville's able-bodied inmates were sent to other camps.
        Remaining in operation until the end of the war, Andersonville held more captured Union soldiers than any other Confederate camp, a total of more than 45,000, nearly 30 percent of whom died in captivity. The North had learned of the camp's appalling conditions well before the emaciated survivors were released in 1865, and outraged citizens urged retribution on Southern prisoners of war. That was hardly necessary: the Union had its own wretched prison camps, including Elmira, New York, where the death rate approached Andersonville's, even though the North was far better equipped to cope with captured soldiers. Mismanagement and severe shortages were more to blame for the horrors of Andersonville than any deliberate attempt to mistreat prisoners.
        Nevertheless, many Northerners insisted that the abuse was deliberate and demanded vengeance. Consequently, after being tried by a U.S. military court and convicted of war crimes, the prison's commander, Captain Henry Wirz, was hanged in November 1865 for "impairing the health and destroying the lives of prisoners." Meanwhile, Clara Barton and other government workers compiled a list of 12,912 prisoners who had died at the camp. Andersonville's mass graves were replaced by a national cemetery, which is today still used as a burial ground for American veterans.
Source:  The Civil War Society's "Encyclopedia of the Civil War."

[T'wit]

>> But Sowell's use of it to give some historical perspective

But, but, but, it's way out of perspective, and that's what I was objecting to (much as I hate to disagree with Tom Sowell).

In another thread today, Freepers objected -- rightly -- to a comparison of Abu Ghraib to My Lai. Andersonville was vastly worse than My Lai.

[T'wit]

Yes. There are worse things than getting naked with Lynndie England.

[maica]

Thomas Sowell writes for as wide an audience as possible. It is possible that he used the example of Andersonville because it is the only prison name connected with an American war that most Americans have even heard of.