First off, before anything else, crack open a cold one for Tom's 21st birthday. Here's hoping his next one is safe at home.
Some folks on the Galva-Kewanee Armed Services Group (can I just call it GKASG or something from now on?) just plain disappoint me. The latest discussion, as with most people, concerns the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. While most have been shocked and remain fairly level-headed, we have some members who pretty much praise the stupid MPs who did this and assume these are regular interrogation practices. Yeah, but only in Oz.
Let me clear this up. Yes, I doubt most of the guys they captured are nice guys. I also doubt they've been very cooperative. However, humiliating them and getting photo proof of it will: a) not likely get them talking anyway, and b) will now only get our troops - and civilians apparently - into many more life-and-death situations. As much as I lay the blame for the 740+ dead at the feet of our current administration, they are now going to have to share the blame with those shameful MPs from here on out.
More importantly, the very acts alone ensure that our troops over there are more likely to get in harm's way. Sweeping the incidents under the rug and pooh-poohing it all away will increase that danger by another order of magnitude. Yes, it is not pleasant to think our troops - our side even - are capable of such cruel acts. But let's not lie and pretend it did not happen. Acknowledge it, actually apologize for it, try and charge those guilty of the criminal behavior, and do our best to be open and honest about never letting something like this happen again. When half the Arab world thinks that a beheading is a proper response to the way we treat our prisoners, that says a lot more about our practices than the imbecile criminals we're fighting. Let's worry more about regaining the moral high ground than on whether or not we can handle bad news.
I'm not talking about a witch hunt. I'm also not talking about having to see every piece of evidence on display on the evening news. Acknowledge the problem, deal with it fairly, and move on. Could we just do something without going to extremes for once?
And while we are at it, I agree with those naysayers on one thing at least: let us report the good we actually are achieving in Iraq and give us all a reason to be proud of our efforts there. Not for political gain, not to be portrayed as stooges of the government; merely because it should be newsworthy.
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