Whoops... Political Again

[filkertom]

By way of Atrios, we get a magnificent commentary at The Light of Reason on (a) why exactly what's happened at Abu Ghraib is unequivocally, unspeakably wrong and (b) why Fox News is unequivocally, unspeakably wrong.

Comments

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

I'm not in the military, and I've never been. So I don't know how practical this would be.

That said, who actually manages these prisons? Shouldn't it be a disinterested party who can be trusted to adhere to the Geneva conventions?

Yes, I'm holding our troops to a higher standard than the Iraqi insurgents. But when I was a boy, I learned in school that America was a great and noble nation. To me, that means keeping to the moral high ground, and nowhere is this more important than in how America treats her enemies.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

What amazed me was seeing PVT English's lawyers on Countdown last night. Their entire explanation for her posing in those pictures?

She was only following orders.

kshandra can attest to the fact that I screamed at the screen, saying "THAT HASN'T BEEN AN EXCUSE SINCE 1945!!"

Bloody hell, the very first thing I learned in the Army, before haircuts and uniform issue even, was what constitutes a legal and illegal order. Following an illegal order makes you just as responsible for the acts.

That entire chain of command needs to be hung out to dry. No cover-ups.

[umbran.livejournal.com]

Hr. I hate what happened at that prison. And Fox news is often dumb. But the way to counter slanted reporting is not with reporting slanted in the other direction. Yellow journalism is not made clear by pouring more dye into the water...

"Precisely who is judging "all our servicemen and women by what happened in Abu Ghraib"? Were they having a sale on straw men, Mr. Moody, or were you already saving this one up for a rainy day?"

Well, I've already seen such words coming from the mouths of folks shouting to passers by on the streets of Boston. Crying out how this is an example of how our military is evil. Just as there are apologists, there are extremists on the other side. The author may feel it unnecessary, but that does not render the cautionary note a straw man.

"...our military itself admits that up to 90% of those arrested are innocent. They're not simply arresting "aggressors." They're arresting people at home, when they have been minding their own business, even when they're sick, elderly or handicapped."

A great many people in the US who are arrested are also innocent. Far fewer than 90%, of course, but still many. If we could prove guilt before arrest, we woudln't need trials.

Also, the author claims and/or implies that sick, elderly, and handicapped folks are being arrested. But no names are gien, and no numbers. No actual data behind that claim. The assertion doesn't make it fact, and you really do need ot back up such assertions.