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Iraqi prisoner stories: We wouldn't do it to a dog<snip> The release of film footage showing Americans inspecting Saddam Hussein for head lice is a classic study in how to dehumanize a man. And, even though Saddam is a very bad man, such imagery should have been avoided, I thought then and I believe now.
It doubtlessly inflamed old Baathist loyalists and resulted in the deaths of American soldiers, just as recent images of a few Americans abusing Iraqi prisoners will lead to more untold deaths. Most soldiers will tell you that attitudes of commanders trickle down to influence soldiers in the field. The horrible human rights record of Saddam's government is a case in point. The gassing of the Kurds, the torture chambers and mass graves couldn't have happened without Saddam's approval.
That's because respect for human dignity - or the lack thereof - begins at the top. One wishes our president - the current ruler of Iraq - had taken this lesson to heart when assessing the situation there.
Reports of American soldiers sodomizing Iraqis with brooms, hooking them up to electrodes, posing them in positions of sexual lewdness in front of American women, torturing some of the prisoners to death so that bodies had to be carried out of prisons packed in ice - all these might have been prevented with a simple strong presidential directive that torture and humiliation would not be tolerated. It'll be interesting to see whether coming inquiries reveal any such hands-on involvement by the president.
Don't hold your breath. Bush's lack of interest in prisoner abuse has been evident for some time. He's pointedly neglected the issue even though a report detailing such abuse has been floating around the Pentagon for weeks now, according to CBS, the New Yorker magazine and many others.http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/opinion_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_364_2866651,00.html
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