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May 9, 2004 It is nothing short of astounding to see that the Abu Ghraib Prison, made so infamous by Saddam Hussein’s endless rounds of Torture Me Elmo, has become a torture stronghold under the United States occupation. It’s a bit sad to think that soldiers of this country would act in such a barbaric and hate-inspiring way. For all its political and partisan uses, it is fair to say that these are the men and women whom we may call unpatriotic. The acts of these troops serves only to give terrorist training facilities lovely new pictures and videos to show those men (and more recently women) who are on the fence about whether to give their lives in order to destroy the Great Satan. I wonder if it ever occurred to them that perhaps beating and humiliating Iraqis isn’t the best thing to do to win over the hearts and minds of those who we now enlist the help of. President Bush has twice apologized for the actions, and has admonished Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in private. Now it comes time for him to reprimand him publicly for not reporting facts that he knew. This admitted cover-up is far worse than what Bill Clinton was tarred and feathered for. Bill Clinton’s attempted cover-up didn’t slash at the thin, fraying cable holding us together in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld has said that he would quit if he felt he would no longer be effective. Now is the time, not for political or partisan reasons but because of the now compromised mission in Iraq, accomplished at the bloodied hands of soldiers doing things he was supposed to prevent, Rumsfeld must make good on his word. Consider this my personal calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. The fact that he finds the acts committed in the videos and pictures deplorable does not exonerate him in the least. I would imagine most people would find those pictures cruel and brutal in the harshest sense of the words. It is the pure fact that Donald Rumsfeld was supposed to make sure that our troops did not do this, and to inform the President and Congress as quickly as possible when it was discovered that they did. Instead, Rumsfeld avoided the problem. He didn’t see it as “pressing” until the pictures were revealed. Torture without photos just doesn’t do it for him, I suppose. Because of the actions of the soldiers in Iraq, and, indirectly, the cabinet member responsible for making sure these things didn’t happen, Iraq is nearly a lost cause. We have done irreparable harm to the foreign policy of the United States, and dare I say even thrown off the Middle East peace process. The roadmap is torn, the car has been torched, and now it’s time to take those responsible and make them account for their actions. I may be called unpatriotic for calling for Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, perhaps even un- American. But asking for accountability – McNamara, Johnson, Roosevelt, Reagan, Bush, Clinton – is nothing new. It only seems to be unpatriotic when it’s done against the party in power. My thoughts go out to those Iraqis maimed and humiliated, as well as to those who only live in the memories of their families. They did not deserve this. ------------ About the author: Max Burns lives in Indianapolis and interns with the Indiana Democratic Party. He is the webmaster of The Foaming Liberal and author of the fantasy-fiction novel Alcardia. He is currently a junior at Lawrence North High School and is active in political clubs and associations. Email: MBurns_NS@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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