A Time To Torture

The Culture of Torture seems to be continuing in Iraq, according to a new article by the Washington Post online.

The issue goes to the heart of U.S. relations with the Iraqi government, which is led by Shiite religious parties. The Interior Ministry, whose forces are overwhelmingly Shiite, has been accused by Sunni Arabs and U.S. officials of operating death squads that target Sunni men. Increasingly, Interior Ministry forces are being accused of other crimes as well, including kidnapping for ransom. The Interior Ministry forces have also been accused of deferring to militias belonging to the Shiite religious parties, from whose ranks many of Iraq's police commandos and other ministry forces are drawn.
[...]
Curry added in a statement, "At one of the sites, thirteen detainees showed signs of abuse that required immediate medical care. The signs of abuse included broken bones, indications that they had been beaten with hoses and wires, signs that they had been hung from the ceiling, and cigarette burns. These individuals were transferred to a nearby Iraqi detention facility and provided medical care. Most of the abuse appeared to have occurred prior to arriving at that site.

The article also mentions how at many facilities, the U.S. has only removed detainees that required immediate medical attention, while the rest were left in the facility. Some were moved at another facility were removed to "alleviate overcrowding", not torture. This seems to be going against the instructions of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Pace's instructions during a press conference in which he said "If a soldier sees signs of abuse...take actions to stop it..."

My question is this: After we did what we did in Abu Graib and other sites, how can we "expect" to hold the Iraqi security forces to a higher standard then we held ourselves? The "do as we say, not as we do" mentality of Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld and others in this administration simply is not going to work in today's world. It's sort of like saying to Iran: "You can't build nukes, and to make sure of it, we're willing to nuke you." Oh yeah, we have said that to Iran.

You can read the whole article online here.

Tag:
Iraq Torture Iran Rumsfeld Pace JointCheifs War Nuke WashingtonPost