We're No Better
Dear editor:
The New York Times today reported “The Iraqi Interior Ministry insisted Monday that none of the 625 prisoners discovered last week in an Iraqi detention center had been tortured or abused, despite assertions by American officials to the contrary. Sami al-Anbagi, director general of the Interior Ministry, said there had been "no mistreatment or torture. Only a few guys were slapped on their faces. The prisoners who were taken to the hospital didn't have any serious injuries. They suffered from headaches only."
This doesn’t match very well with the reports coming from American authorities and from our military that discovered the Iraqi torture prisons. On Nov. 15, American soldiers entered an Interior Ministry basement and found 169 malnourished prisoners, some of whom, the Americans said, had been tortured. Many were in such bad physical condition that they had to be hospitalized after on the scene treatment by American medical personnel.
Now I understand why Mr. Cheney, Ms. Rice, and Mr. Bush feel so confident about the future of Iraq. Evidently they share the same mindset as the Iraqi leadership about torture and the absolute denial of same. We are no better than they are.
Will someone now explain to me again why we are in Iraq? WMD? Democracy? Over 2,100 American troops killed and over 15,000 wounded? Nation building ala Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice? Who are we kidding?
The New York Times today reported “The Iraqi Interior Ministry insisted Monday that none of the 625 prisoners discovered last week in an Iraqi detention center had been tortured or abused, despite assertions by American officials to the contrary. Sami al-Anbagi, director general of the Interior Ministry, said there had been "no mistreatment or torture. Only a few guys were slapped on their faces. The prisoners who were taken to the hospital didn't have any serious injuries. They suffered from headaches only."
This doesn’t match very well with the reports coming from American authorities and from our military that discovered the Iraqi torture prisons. On Nov. 15, American soldiers entered an Interior Ministry basement and found 169 malnourished prisoners, some of whom, the Americans said, had been tortured. Many were in such bad physical condition that they had to be hospitalized after on the scene treatment by American medical personnel.
Now I understand why Mr. Cheney, Ms. Rice, and Mr. Bush feel so confident about the future of Iraq. Evidently they share the same mindset as the Iraqi leadership about torture and the absolute denial of same. We are no better than they are.
Will someone now explain to me again why we are in Iraq? WMD? Democracy? Over 2,100 American troops killed and over 15,000 wounded? Nation building ala Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice? Who are we kidding?
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 8:09 AM
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