Be honest: If I showed you those infamous pictures of goofing-off soldiers and naked men, what would you think?
Be honest. You’d think it was a fraternity hazing, soft-porn joking around – maybe “dirty French postcards.”
Does that offend you – that people can have fun in soft-porn activities? It shouldn’t. There are pictures equally as offensive in fashion magazines, in music videos, on cable television and certainly, in your friendly, neighborhood movie theatre.
It’s part of the culture – in fact, part of the world those young soldiers (male and female) inhabit. You inhabit it, too, even if you choose to pretend it doesn’t exist.
What was it the Bible said? “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”
Hang on, folks, it’s harvest time.
Like it or not, the people in today’s military are used to sex being a “game” – men and women involved in such activities, and making light of them, is not that far from “normal” on many campuses and in many cities across the country. It may not be right or moral, but it’s a fact.
When the popular culture encourages women to be “more like a man,” when she has the “freedom” of choice of every kind of action, why should it surprise anyone that women would be seen participating in such activities – hamming it up and having fun?
On the other hand, we don’t know what those soldiers saw over there. How many killings, suicide bombings, sniper victims, cheering at Americans tortured and killed, daily life as a walking target of the people you’re trying to liberate, seeing buddies maimed and killed, being stoned, cursed and worse. Do we really know the effect on them? It’s easy to judge.
As details of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners continue to be revealed, the howls from Congress rail about torture, inhumanity and worse. Donald Rumsfeld says more pictures will be revealed and even a video. He says those will be “a good deal more terrible.”
But, so far? Humiliation? Yes. Torture? Hardly. I don’t know which is dumber: getting all exercised about the pictures we’ve seen so far or not getting disgusted at the stupidity of those in the military who took the pictures.
How dumb are they? Did they really think what they were doing was OK and souvenir snapshots were in order? They may have thought their job was to “soften” the prisoners for interrogation, but clearly they didn’t know what that meant. And clearly, they thought it was a joke – the pictures prove it.
One of them, Army Reserve Pfc. Lynndie England – seen in photographs with naked Iraqis, laughing and smoking – faces four charges and court martial.
She’s also 5-months pregnant by one of the soldiers seen in some of those pictures.
Bust her. She gives women a bad name. She doesn’t deserve the uniform.
Bust ’em all.
The people involved are not people this country wants in the military. They do not represent our best and brightest. They’ve brought shame to their compatriots. It will surely lead to more injury and death for coalition forces, greater risk of real torture and death for Americans and further damage to the prestige of the United States around the world.
While President Bush apologizes and apologizes and apologizes without actually apologizing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did apologize and, in fact, said he takes “full responsibility” since these events took place on his watch.
When was the last time you heard any administration official say something like that? We’re so used to political buck passing, it’s almost worth the scandal to hear a man of honor speak honorably.
But then he spoiled it by saying the Iraqis who were mistreated “would be compensated.” Oh, they’ll accept money and jump at the opportunity to emigrate to the United States, too.
Throwing money at the men just gives Muslims more grist for their hate mill – as in, “there they go, throwing money around again.”
Giving them entrance to our country cheapens our immigration policies (whatever’s left of them) and our citizenship, to say nothing of the possibility of allowing terrorists on our turf.
It’s amazing though, how our prestige will never be so damaged that people around the world will refuse money or goods the U.S. might make available – through “compensation,” rewards or foreign aid.
But none of that satisfies the Washington jackals, licking their chops at the prospect of pulling down the Bush administration in an election year. That we’re at war eludes them.
Funny, they said nothing when Jessica Lynch was raped and sodomized by Iraqis when they held her prisoner.
Funny, they had no outrage when Americans were ambushed, burned, killed, mutilated and their bodies hung on a bridge.
Funny, the Iraqis didn’t apologize to us and never will.
Funny, no one is asking who leaked the pictures to CBS.
Trouble is … it’s not funny.
