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Abuses at Abu Ghraib from the NYT  =
May 1, 2004 Abuses at Abu Ghraib President Bush spoke for all Americans of conscience yesterday when he expressed disgust at photographs showing United States soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners. The photos were first broadcast on Wednesday night on the CBS program "60 Minutes II" and have since been displayed throughout the Arab world. To imagine the outrage the incident has provoked, Americans need only imagine how they would feel if they saw pictures of American soldiers being treated in a similar way. The behavior depicted in the photos - which, among other things, show naked prisoners being subjected to sexual humiliation by American women - defies basic standards of human decency and the accepted conventions of war. It also hands America's enemies in and out of Iraq a gratuitous propaganda victory at the worst possible moment, as do the allegations of prisoner abuse by British soldiers. The abuses by Americans apparently occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison, a notorious center of torture and executions under Saddam Hussein. Mr. Bush rightly observed that the behavior of a few soldiers did not reflect the values of most troops or the American people. He also promised a full investigation and said the people responsible would be "taken care of." In March, the U.S. military announced that it had recommended disciplinary action against several officers who had helped run the prison, and brought criminal charges against six members of an Army Reserve unit who are accused of humiliating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. One of the six has said through his lawyer that he is being scapegoated for the failings of his superiors. Mr. Bush must make sure that any investigation is not only fair but thorough, examining culpability along the entire chain of command. |