On Thu, 6 May 2004 21:23:50 +0200, "Emmanuel Gustin" wrote:

"Mike Williamson" wrote in message
...

Of the
officers at the camp, unless standard procedure there is for the
commanders at the camp to be absent, or they show that the incidents
were carried out by a very few with no knowledge outside the group,
then I'd say at least a command failure took place- whether it
is criminal or not is a question that I can't answer.

Yes. Legal liability aside, the comforting "a few bad apples"
theory misses the fact, from psychological study (the famous
Milgram experiment) and historical precedent, that the soldiers
who did this are probably quite normal, unexceptional people.
In situations like this, the conditions (position of power, opportunity,
confidence in the support of higher authority, feeling of immunity
from punishment) make the criminals --- out of people you wouldn't
expect to act like that all.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the perpetrators would not be
guilty; they still have a choice (although a surprisingly large
number of people would make the wrong choice). It does mean
that blame doesn't end here. The big question is how far the
rot has spread.

Well, it has obviously spread to you. Rendering your "judgement"
before the investigation is closed makes your hatred of all things
relating to the US even more obvious.

Al Minyard