Curtis CCR wrote:

"The Todal" wrote in message ...


"Bystander" wrote in message
...


"= Vox Populi ©" wrote in message (snipped):


Six U.S. troops charged with Iraq torture


I have seen the photos and they are appalling.

The treatment of prisoners is utterly indefensible.

At least America is dealing with it, and has admitted it. Many countries
that use torture would never dream of allowing these reports.


Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say: now that it's in the public
domain the PR people in the White House and the Pentagon can see that it is
indefensible and they are duly blaming it all on renegade troops or (better
still) outside contractors. Meanwhile, all the other torture will not be
admitted until it has been discovered.



This incident was being investigated before it came out in the news.
The first news reports I saw of this (I think CBS was the network that
"broke" the story) said that dicipline was already being handed out to
those directly involved and to several officers, including a general,
in the responsible command.

Compare this to some "regimes" that would give the perps medals for
doing crap like this.


US military has a long tradition of being one of the least tolerant of
all military organizations of crimes committed by its personel and I am
proud of this tradtion.

However it is disturbing that for the first time:

1. The US government is actively keeping all disciplinary action secret,
and "bribing" most reporters with embedded positions to report only what
they want reported. So unless a reporter with less access than the
"embedded" reporters somehow manages to get access to the information,
the US government pretends like it doesn't happen and then suddenly
pretends they are shocked.

2. The US government allowed a civilian contractor who raped an Iraqi
prisoner to go free : The Military justifiably claims it has no
jurisdiction, but the US government, which rules Iraq, should have
stepped up to the plate and arrested the constractor under Iraqi law (I
am sure rape is illegal even in Iraq) and thrown him in an Iraqi jail to
face trail for rape in front of an Iraqi Judge. I doubt they are
allowing Iraqis civilians guilty of rape to escape punishment just
because they are not subject to US Court Martial.