It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them. - from The Man Upstairs, P. G. Wodehouse, 1914
I had a great week. My bride and I spent our 31st wedding anniversary at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Thanks to those of you that sent your condolences to my wife. We were unplugged for a week. No computers, no phones, no news and no concerns. The toughest decision we made all week was if we should get out of the hot tub before our skin permanently took on the prune look. We saw some country music shows and ate chicken with our fingers at the Dixie Stampede. The shows are great. Each had in it a tribute to America, a tribute to veterans and a gospel music segment. I love country music and country people. We rented a cabin, shopped, ate, saw shows and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Life is good. Then I got home and flipped on the TV and the computer. I'm certain now that somewhere out there someone wants me to apologize to the Arabs for being American and enjoying my decadent American vacation. Fat chance Usama, fat chance.
The President apologized. The Secretary of Defense apologized. Several Generals apologized. We're just all apologizing our hind-ends off to the Arabs on behalf of some poorly led meatheads. As we're prone to say over here in Wild Wonderful, time out Bubba. I demand that the leaders of all Islamic countries and Islamic religious leaders make a public apology to America for the atrocity committed in the name of their religion on September 11, 2001. …3 years and I'm still waiting. I want an apology from the Iraqis in Fallujah who killed, burned, mutilated, drug through the streets and hung Americans from a bridge. I want an apology from Syria for their support of terrorists fighting in Iraq. I want an apology from Iran for its interference in Iraq. I want apologies from France, Russia, Germany and the United Nations for the money they received from Saddam Hussein in the oil for food racket - their true reason for opposing the war. I want an apology from Saudi Arabia for financing bin Laden. Until I hear these apologies, I don't expect that I'll get my shorts in a bunch because a few miscreants stacked up some naked Arabs. Send me your hate mail. I don't care. All of this apology malarkey has practically spoiled a great week for me and I don't like it
I am sorry for a few things, however. Teddy Kennedy, Robert Byrd, the 9/11 Commission, losing Vietnam, Hollywood, and not being rich come to mind.
I'm sorry that a first level leadership failure allowed soldiers to abuse prisoners. Soldiers are human and often find themselves in inhumane situations. Being human, they perform within the parameters of behavior tolerated by their leaders. There are many PFC Englands out there. They're followers who want to belong to the group and perform to what they believe are the leader's expectations. There is virtually no chance that these soldiers can get a fair hearing. American public opinion - spurred by the "news" media and political hacks - has them tried, convicted and ready to hand over to the nearest lynch mob. Maybe we could burn them and hang them from a bridge too.
I'm sorry that I have not seen one single leader remind the world that we are obligated to look after the rights of these accused soldiers. Not one, none, nada, zip. All of these soldiers are ours good or bad. Instead of insisting on protection of their rights, we are busily telling the Arabs how we intend to hold public trials for them in Baghdad and how we are more concerned about the rights of the people who want to kill us. Hell, why don't we just turn them over to al-Sadr? Is there anyone out there who believes that a military jury is going to render an unbiased decision in this case now? Don't you think that each jurist will be thinking of the ramifications of their decision more so than the rightness of it? If you think these soldiers have a chance of getting a fair trial, please write me and let me know how you came to that conclusion.
I'm sorry for a "news" media that has staunchly refused to report on any of the successes our soldiers and none of the good things they've accomplished, but go to great lengths to portray a few meatheads as the majority. It's enough to make me want to puke. This is the same "news' media which portrayed the actions of an Army Lieutenant Colonel as heroic after he threatened a prisoner with a weapon and then fired it several times - one of those times near his head - in an attempt to get information. With the glorification by the media of this incident, it should be no surprise that PFC England was leading a naked Arab around by a leash. She wasn't, however, shooting at his head. The sensationalizing of this issue by the American press has done more harm to American soldiers and America than any other act I can think of. Al Jazeera must be proud of its American affiliates. This is the same media, by the way, that demands we protect the rights of an accused rapist who just happens to be a millionaire athlete, demands that we protect the rights of twice-accused child molester who is also a famous millionaire, but stands ready to run up the gallows some misguided, poorly led Army enlisted people. Yep, I'm sorry about that. I demand an apology from the American press.
I'm sorry for the incredible lack of knowledge displayed by the "news" media and politicians on the functioning of a military chain of command and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It just shows us how few of them have actually served.
I'm sorry for the soldiers in the field who as usual will bear the brunt of the idiocy of the "news" media and political hacks. We ("news" media and political hacks) have severely weakened their ability to gain intelligence from prisoners. Anything short of serving prisoners candlelight dinner on fine linen will now be considered abusive. I guess we could turn them loose. Killing them in the streets is apparently not abusive.
Do not misunderstand me. I do not support what happened to these prisoners. I do think we need to look at it as part of the picture not the whole. This is the conduct of a tiny fraction of our soldiers. This is one leadership failure in an environment offering thousands of chances to fail each day. There was a public demonstration outside this prison a couple of days ago. A year ago, there would not have been an Iraqi within a mile of this place for fear of being taken inside there and truly tortured. We didn't stuff any of them into wood chippers as their previous leadership did. We didn't chuck any of them from the tops of buildings as their previous leadership did. We didn't give any of them an acid bath as their previous leadership did. We didn't chop them up and have their body parts delivered to their families as their previous leadership did. We didn't collect up their daughters and have the prisoners watch while we raped them as their previous leadership did. We didn't line up hundreds of thousands of them in front of a ditch and shoot them in the head as their previous leadership did. We didn't gas 5,000 of them either. Excuse me if I think making a pyramid from naked Arabs pales in comparison and I'm not sorry for that.
What you have just read is an example of Hillbilly Rage. Well, now my weekend is ruined.
Copyright © JD Pendry, This article may be electronically shared, republished or reprinted in it's entirety with original credit given and inclusion of all material following the Copyright notification.
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J.D. Pendry is author of The Three Meter Zone, Random House/Ballantine.
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