I was shocked and saddened to see and hear evidence of what looks like atrocities performed by US guards of Iraqi prisoners. Its also disturbing to have defense lawyers refer to one of the accused soldiers as a woman who was an assistant manager at a pizza parlor, and was thrust into the roll as a prison guard with no real training. I hope this statement can be proven to be a bald faced lie, that she actually was thoroughly trained, but I don't hold out hopes that everything that seems to be systematically wrong with this situation will be shown to be an illusion.
Let me say now that no discussion of systematic problems should be taken as any indication that the individuals involved are not personally culpable, and that there should be any amelioration of their responsibility or punishment. There can both be individual responsibility and institutional responsibility. I would have expected the US to have anticipated potential problems and to have institutionalized checks to minimize the chance of this happening. >From reports, it is not just a bad apple or two doing things when no one is looking; it was a group of folks who thought it was acceptable. The letters home indicating pride in getting people to talk quickly seem to indicate this. I've heard disgust expressed by senior commanders; and I fully believe that this disgust is real and heartfelt. Not only does it go against their ethics and professionalism, but it makes the mission in Iraq all that much more difficult, as public opinion appears to be turning as it is. So, I've got a few questions on this, that I hope someone has some answer for. 1) How strong was the emphasis on getting information vs. keeping professional and humane standards? 2) What training did the guards have? 3) What was the role of the private contractor? 4) How much supervision did the guards have? 5) How easy was it to report abuses? 6) How were the guards regularly reminded of the absolute need to continue humane treatment? I'm not asking anything about the morality of the guards actions because I cannot imagine that there will be a wide range of opinions on that. I heard senior commanders speak about it on TV and found myself agreeing fully with their depiction of it. They gave every impression of being disgusted and angry, and that fit my feeling pretty well. I would guess that everyone from Tom Beck to JDG in the political spectrum here would agree to within nit picking on this. But, I think the other questions could generate some worthwhile discussion. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
