November 14, 2007

The Next Abu Ghraib Abuse Scandal: Laughing

If you read David Smith's embed journal today over at The Guardian, you really have to wonder if this guy is a moron or just a complete tool. In it he recounts how a patrol in Baghdad picks up some young men as potential terrorists. The young men are bound and blindfolded.

Why is Smith an asshat of an embed? Because he emphasizes over and over just how scary it must be to be one of the suspects, and the tone of the piece is that the "barely out of their teens" suspects are probably not guilty of anything.

He says:

there was something about the scene that made me uncomfortable
What made him uncomfortable was that a) the suspects were handcuffed b) the suspects were blindfolded c) the soldiers were laughing.

Laughing. I. Shit. You. Not.

The US soldiers stood around, chatting and laughing, which must have been a disconcerting sound to the suspects, who were eventually led away for questioning.
To set the context and tone just right, he even drops an Abu Ghraib reference.
Later I asked a major at Prosperity why it was necessary to physically compromise these young men - one of them injured - who had not been found guilty of any crime. He said that the Stryker vehicles don't have separate compartments so "it's best if we restrain them, it keeps everyone quiet". He added that this small detention centre had opened after the Abu Ghraib scandal and "all the lessons have been learned".
Wow, just wow.

Does this guy actually think soldiers ought to treat potential terrorists in the same manner that police treat suspects? Does he not realize these aren't police arresting criminals? These are soldiers in a war.

You know what else might make Smith uncomfortable? Getting blown up by an IED.

Hat tip: Paul

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 09:56 AM | |