The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest

Vol: 32 Issue: 5 - Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Handing the Enemy Another Victory
by Jack Kinsella

The considerable outrage generated by the revelations of abuse by US
troops of Iraqi prisoners is entirely justifiable, but not for any of the
reasons that are getting all the press attention.

The press smells blood in the water and has begun to circle. It makes no
difference that the blood is American;  blood is blood.

When it comes to the facts of the case itself, it is outrageous because it
is criminal and unAmerican. The soldiers who actually ARE responsible hurt
their cause and their country.  That is undeniable.   But at the same
time, a little perspective is necessary.

War is war, and generally involves the use of soldiers.  There are good
soldiers, bad soldiers, compassionate soldiers, sadistic soldiers; a
number of US soldiers had been tried and convicted for acts of espionage,
treason, rape, murder and even terrorism, long before the first American
soldier set foot in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Such criminals are as uncommon among US soldiers as they are among the US
general population. That's why nobody has suggested those abberations
constitute evidence that all soldiers are spies, or terrorists, or
traitors.

Not so with this case; suddenly, the headlines are calling this "US Abuse
of PoWs", or even blaming George Bush personally, or the Pentagon
collectively.

What was already being investigated as individual acts of unsanctioned
abuse is being systematically spun until it sounds like torturing Iraqi
prisoners was some secret administration Wannsee Conference-like policy.

The Wannsee Conference was the secret 1941 meeting among the Nazi
heirarchy to formulate the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question'.  The
implication is that some similar 'understanding' regarding torturing Iraqi
prisoners existed somewhere in the bowels of the administration.

Consider the context of the actual case so far.  The military had been
investigating allegations of abuse for months before the story broke on
CBS.  A preliminary report had already been submitted.

So far, seven senior officers have had their careers ended.  Another six
soldiers are facing criminal charges as well as the loss of their military
careers and veteran's benefits.

Let's add that up.  Seven plus six. .  umm,  thirteen? Dissatisifed with
the facts, the mainstream press has begun speculation about how
'wide-spread' and 'emdemic' such oppression really among our forces.

They suggest darkly that other examples may soon be uncovered.  No doubt.
War is seldom sanitary, and so finding cases of 'abuse' should be no
problem.

Without excusing the behavior in question,  it is important to remember
that we began stripping Iraqi prisoners naked and putting bags over their
heads when they started blowing up while surrendering.

Those pictures have begun showing up in the media pantheon of Iraqi
prisoner abuse that begins with the infamous photos of the female soldier
making obscene gestures at naked Iraqi prisoners.

Once inflamed by those photos, the next shots are of Iraqis at the time of
their capture, creating the false image of systematic prisoner abuse.  It
is textbook propaganda, but it is largely being disseminated FOR al-Qaeda,
courtesy of the Western media.

Here's how it works.  CBS publishes the inflammatory photos to engender
maximum public disgust.

Question: Is there any probative news value in those photos?  The military
investigation was well underway before CBS ever heard of it -- so what did
airing the details actually accomplish?

Well, let's check the headlines and see:

USAToday: "Furor over abuse expands at home and abroad"; BBC News: "US
tries to stem Iraq abuse row"; Arizona Republic: "Military prison crisis
widens"; and, the Toronto Globe and Mail's offering; "Bush faces storm
over abused Iraqi prisoners."
 
 

Assessment:

Within hours of the CBS airing of the story, liberal politicians like Tom
Daschle, Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy were promising to 'get to the bottom
of things' and to ensure 'there'd be no cover-up' -- subliminally
suggesting such a coverup would take place without their oversight.

Contrast that to the comments of equally shocked conservatives like Tom
Delay or Mitch McConnell, who merely expressed their shock at the events
themselves and their confidence in the military to conduct an honest
investigation.

The next step for the liberals is to widen the scope of the investigation
to include unidentified rumors of 'wide-spread' abuse and possible CIA
involvement (sound like an effort to reincarnate Vietnam again to you?) to
include the military hierarchy, the Pentagon and the administration.

Remember, thirteen soldiers have been identified as being involved, and of
them, only six were involved enough to be charged with criminal offenses.
Thirteen people, therefore, constitute a 'Military Prison Crisis'  that
requires the 'US' to 'Tried to Stem Iraqi Abuse' at the 'Furor at Home and
Abroad', according to the headlines, both in America and abroad.

One can thank our own politicians and reporters for the following story
which appeared today in al Bawaba.  I will reprint it verbatim.  You tell
me.
 
 

Headline: (al Bawaba)  "US doctor: Ex-hostage received good treatment from
Iraqi captors"

Text follows:

"While the world is shocked from the abuse of Iraqis in US and British
custody, an American military doctor stated Tuesday that former American
hostage Thomas Hamill, who was shot when he was abducted in Iraq, was
treated for his wounds and regularly received food during his three weeks
in captivity.

Hamill, who escaped his captors Sunday, has lost a few pounds but feels
"in generally good health," said Maj. Kerry Jepsen, a surgeon treating
Hamill at a U.S. military hospital in Germany where the ex-captive arrived
Monday.

Hamill, a 43-year-old truck driver for a Halliburton subsidiary, was shot
in the arm when his convoy was ambushed April 9. He recalls receiving
medication for the wound and being put under anesthesia after being
captured, though it's unclear whether he was taken to a clinic or a doctor
came to him, Jepsen said, according to The AP.

Military doctors have said Hamill is in good shape and would likely return
home this week." - (end of al Bawaba text)

Directly below this story is the reader message board.  The first reader
message was headlined; "The World Now Knows Who the Civilized Are".  The
next said, "US Had a Role in Taliban Prisoner Mass Killings."

Another noted; "Thomas Didn't Get Raped", while still another merely
asked, "Civilized?"

The soldiers who have been charged were directly responsible for their
actions, which in turn provided the propaganda cannonballs now being fired
at the US by the Arab world.

But the actions of the handful of soldiers involved only provided the raw
material for the cannonballs -- they weren't the ones who delivered them
on a silver platter to the enemy --  to then be loaded and fired back at
us.

For that, we can thank Tom Daschle, Nancy Pelosi, the USAToday, the New
York Times, and, most of all,  CBS News, for their tireless work in
uncovering American hypocrisy in Iraq and highlighting the reasons why we
deserve the hatred of the civilized world.

Details regarding the "bin-Laden Award for Best American Reporting"
ceremony will be forwarded once they've been announced by al-Bawaba's
staff. . .