Iraqi Prisoner Abuse

I’ve had just about all I can stand of this so called abuse of Iraqi prisoners in custody at the Abu Ghraib prison, located just outside Baghdad.

The abuse our soldiers are accused of amounts to little more than humiliation. Haven’t we all suffered a little humiliation in our lifetime? Were those that humiliated us ever really punished? No, of course not.

Taking a few pictures of nude prisoners in compromising positions is NOT abuse. Making a prisoner sit around naked for long periods of time isn’t abuse either. IF that sitting were to happen in an especially cold place, then MAYBE it would be abuse. But I don’t think we have to worry about that in Iraq.

Have the prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison that have supposedly been abused by our soldiers sustained any injuries from said abuse? Not that I’m aware of.

Meanwhile, an Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda showed video today of a man, identified as an American, being beheaded. His captors said the United States refused to exchange him for prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. So they beheaded him. THAT, my friends, is abuse.

Our soldiers were brutally beaten by the Iraqi military when they were unfortunate enough to become Prisoners of War in that godforsaken country during the Gulf War. Remember the pictures of their badly beaten, swollen faces in the news?

Also from the Gulf War, Army Flight Surgeon Rhonda Cornum was seriously injured when her Black Hawk was shot down during a search-and-rescue mission. Her captors wasted no time in sexually molesting her.

Jessica Lynch

EVERYONE knows what Iraqi militants do to their American prisoners, yet we continue to punish our Soldiers for making fun of – but never harming – Iraqi prisoners in our custody.

Abuse, as defined by Dictionary.com, is:

1. To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse alcohol; abuse a privilege.
2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
3. To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
4. To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
5. Obsolete. To deceive or trick.

Based on this definition, Iraqi soldiers and militants HAVE abused our troops. And, based on this definition, our soldiers are NOT GUILTY of having abused their prisoners.

So let’s knock off this absurdity of punishing our troops for finding ways to deal with the severity of the conditions they now find themselves in. Instead, let’s thank them for the job they do; lest you find yourself doing their job yourself.