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The Politicized Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners

Leaders on both sides of the political aisle have expressed outrage over the shocking abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Sen. John Kerry recently he told the Hannity and Colmes, “I will fight a more effective war on terror, because I would never have thrown out of the door or window the obligations of the Geneva Conventions. Why? Because I know, as a former combatant, that, had I been captured, I would have wanted our moral high ground with respect to those Geneva Conventions to be in place.” He has also called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the basis of the “atrocities” committed by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi prisoners. This despite most Americans want Rumsfeld to stay.

On April 18, 1971, John Kerry appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to allege widespread atrocities by the U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. Kerry indicated he participated in these acts by stating, "There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones.”

Of course Sen. Kerry was just following orders when he shot Vietnamese in free-fire zones. This is the same argument given by one of the soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners. Others admit that their superiors had no knowledge of their actions and would have disapproved.

The problem, as I see it, is there is significant failure on both sides of the aisle, which has become fodder in the election battle. Bush’s war against Iraq is riddled with problems, not the least of which is widespread mistreatment of prisoners. Sen. Kerry, the opportunist, is using this and other failures to his political advantage despite his own moral blunders. Meanwhile, our brave fighting men and women continue to give their lives for the people of Iraq and the security of the United States.

Posted by tim at May 14, 2004 12:22 PM

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