JaBbA's Hut

That's what I keep hearing from Conservatives. "The humiliation isn't a big deal. Saddam was doign worse".

Sure. but that's not the point.

During WWII, German fathers would tell their sons "Find an American Unit to surrender to". They remembered that during WWI, POWs held by Americans were treated well. When the battle was clearly lost, Germans would throw down their guns and surrender. On the Eastern Front, they fought to the death, killing many more Russian soldiers.

During the First Gulf War, Iraqi soldiers would surrender as soon as the Americans showed up. They knew that they would be treated with professionalism, by the Geneva Convention. Food and cigarrettes were a bonus.

The images of abuse of prisoner have one effect - enemy soldiers will now fight to the death rather than being subjected to that kind of abuse.

It's getting worse. Senator Inhofe is just about showing why is is the biggest asshole in the Senate:

Sen. Inhofe (R-OK): First of all, I regret I wasn't here on Friday. I was unable to be here. But maybe it's better that I wasn't because as I watch this outrage that everyone seems to have about the treatment of these prisoners I have to say and I'm probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment.

The idea that these prisoners, they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in cell block 1A or 1B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents, and many of them probably have American blood probably on their hands and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.

He also claimed that the news reports of abuse of citizens were obviously fake because the reports say the soldiers were 'carrying AK-47s'. Of course, it didn't take much digging to find out that some American soldiers are being allowed to carry AK-47s when they have problems supplying the standard issue M16s.

And one final point. The prisoners aren't there for traffic violations. According to the Red Cross and other reports, 90% of them are there for DWI - Driving While Iraqi:

Certain CF military intelligence officers told the ICRC that in their estimate between 70% and 90% of the persons deprived of their liberty in Iraq had been arrested by mistake.