Outrage and Shame

Something seemed familiar about the photos of the US abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. Images of naked and shamed Jews in Nazi concentration camps come to mind, as it probably does for many Europeans. We certainly aren't winning over friends in the Arab world either. When some of our forces, military or paramilitary contractors dehumanize the nationals of a country we occupy, they bring shame on our country, disgrace to their profession, and help to justify dehumanizing acts against us. If we behave like storm troopers, without regard for human rights and the rule of law, it will come back around to us in kind. When we stop being outraged, we're doomed.

Just do a web search on "Texas prison abuses" and it's clear that "Not in America" is just another Bush lie. This is common in the USA. Amnesty International has the stats to show we have more of our population in prison than any other country since Nazi Germany, and human rights are violated with impunity. It's gotten even worse since prisons were privatized on a large scale. The mentality is commonplace, and unfortunately, the US military is no moral training ground to improve the smug, sick and twisted mentality typical of American youth. Sadly those same 20-year old kids get guard duty. What do you think things are like in Guantanomo Bay?

It is inevitable in a conflict of this nature, and with language barriers, that a significant percentage of those prisoners are innocent. It would be virtually impossible for us to not make mistakes. How do you explain to the innocent prisoner or their family that this is a regrettable incident? For some devout Muslims, sexual humiliation is worse than death. Do we know for a fact that there are no other, worse incidents, with fatal outcomes? We just don't know, and the scary part is, the CINC and brass don't either. We must take care that there is military and civilian justice, or there will be many, many things swept under the carpet, or hidden in mass graves. It is foolhardy to delude ourselves into thinking it can't happen by American hands. In war, the standards of some in our ranks can drop very, very low. We have ample history to show this, and we must never forget it.

- The SpyMaster

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