The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Iraqis living in the US are generally not as "shocked" about the abuses as are our concerned citizens. While the abuses should not have happened and are not to be tolerated, they are generally nothing compared to the kinds of things that were regular occurrences under Saddam. Iraqis here generally feel the more pressing issue is the future of Iraq. Imagine that.
Don't get me wrong, those responsible for violating prisoners' rights in Iraq need to be held responsible and the abuses have to stop. The US military should be, as much as is possible, above reproach on this issue. However, there are a few offsetting considerations:
- These were bad guys. Not innocents. These are the kind of people that, given the chance, would be out there burning our people to a crisp, hanging them from bridges and playing soccer with their heads. We HUMILIATED them. I don't have much sympathy.
- There are reports that some of the abuse may have risen to the level of sodomy and in some cases, murder. Well, punish those responsible. They are thugs and cretins and deserve what they get.
- Too many people are wringing their hands over what "we" are doing in Iraq to poor defenseless prisoners. "We" are not doing this. This was done by a group of out-of-control creeps. The "we" garbage is being trumpeted by those who have no respect for the war or the Bush administration in the first place. It's self-bigotry and anti-American. "We" didn't do this, but "we" ARE doing something about it, which is more than Saddam (and left-wing apologists for dictators everywhere) can say.
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