The Lynndie Shuffle

Can't stay quiet any longer.

This story bugs me: Iraqis Call Lynndie England Sentence Travesty

Now, I know that a lot of folks find what was done to prisoners at Abu Ghraib to be reprehensible, and a low point in American history. Personally, I find it merely silly, or at worst, mildly embarrassing.

The name Abu Ghraib is apparently supposed to evoke universal shudders. Television shows like "Law & Order" mention Abu Ghraib for dramatic effect, as though it's in the same class as Auschwitz or Treblinka.

Let me make this one perfectly clear: Compared to the way the Nazis treated non-Aryans, what Lynndie England did was a college prank.

Now, did she break the law? Absolutely. Was what they did at Abu Ghraib really an atrocity? Yeah, I'm embarrassed to admit that it was. Unfortunately, Lynndie England is the tip of the iceberg, and knowing something about young service people, she was also trying to survive in the environment created by her superiors. I did a search this morning for reports on Abu Ghraib, and the infamous pictures of her look to me like she was showing off for her immediate chain of command. She was clearly in over her head.

Not that I'm condoning what she did. I just think the sentence is appropriate.

And it pisses me off that Iraqis disagree.

Captured Americans (and citizens of other nations helping to rebuild Iraq) are being beheaded, and so far, not one of those butchers has even been caught. Are Iraqis demanding that the world know how embarrassed they are about the mistreatment of American (mostly noncombatant) prisoners?

Perhaps the lesson the Iraqis have for us today is that if you're going to be photographed committing an atrocity, it's best to wear a hood.