The recently released gruesome photos of American soldiers torturing and humiliating Iraqi POWs at the Abu Ghraib prison provide fresh evidence to be skeptical of the Bush istration’s pledge to make life better for the Iraqi people.
One photo shows an Iraqi under the threat of electrocution. Another shows an American soldier holding a naked Iraqi by a leash. A third shows a pile of naked Iraqi men forced to lie on one another while American soldiers smile in the background.
The actions of these American soldiers are entirely indefensible. The Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibit such dehumanizing treatment of prisoners of war.
President Bush’s response was unsatisfactory as he has tried to evade personal responsibility. In one of his interviews on Arab television, he stopped short of offering a direct apology and his effort to speak directly to the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people might have seemed more sincere had it not been broadcast on an Arabic-language channel funded by the U.S. government.
Although the actions of these few American soldiers do not represent the American people as a whole, they highlight serious problems within the organizational structure of the military. Some of the soldiers have claimed they were merely following orders from their commanding officer, but if that is true, then the behaviours seem even more disgusting to those outside the military.
These photos show a terrible reality in U.S.-occupied Iraq. The Bush istration must accept responsibility for the actions of its soldiers and ensure that international law is upheld in Iraq.
The photos of the Abu Ghraib prison aren’t the only photos from Iraq to make headlines recently.
An employee working for a private American firm in Iraq was fired after taking several photos of closed caskets containing the bodies of American soldiers. In a misguided effort to protect the dignity of the deceased, the Bush istration had tried to prevent the public release of these photos.
However, showing the photos to the public was an appropriate way to pay tribute to the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives. The photos were done tastefully and firing the photographer appears to be a political move designed to conceal unpleasant images of war rather than a genuine attempt to pay tribute to the deceased.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but the reaction to the pictures of tortured Iraqis and deceased American soldiers speaks volumes about the Bush istration. After seeing the photos from the Abu Ghraib prison, the public should be very wary about the Bush istration’s attempts to conceal the truth in the name of patriotism and the war on terror.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].