Do you think Iraqis have forgotten?

Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan, the only military officer charged in the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib jail, goes before a court martial Monday in Fort Meade, Maryland.

More than three years after snapshots of Iraqi prisoners humiliated by their prison guards shocked the world, only a handful of US soldiers have been convicted, but none of their military or civilian superiors.

Among the higher ranks, former general Janis Karpinski, prison commander in Iraq at the time of the scandal, was sanctioned with a demotion, but was never put on trial.

Jordan’s case has drawn little attention by US media, which in just a few articles describe him as a scapegoat in the scandal. Only 20 reporters have signed on to cover his court martial.

I guess this isn’t important, anymore. Right?



  1. god says:

    Let the Iraqis extradite Rummie.

  2. Cinaedh says:

    I guess this guy is the ‘cut-out’ between responsibility and Rumsfeld/Cheney/Bush. It must be nice to have a whipping boy for your own human rights transgressions.

  3. Noname says:

    Nice place to have a trial, Fort Meade, Maryland, home of the NSA. That tells me allot to me about what to expect in regards to the lack of publicity and the token purpose of this trial.

  4. moss says:

    Every war produces images remembered long afterwards. Many – like the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi or the sailor kissing a girl in Times Square – carry a positive message. Some – like the execution of a prisoner by the South Vietnamese police chief – represent the worst we all are capable of.

    This torture image from Abu Ghraib evokes instant recognition all round the world. I think it will last as long as the others.

  5. stiffler says:

    @2 – Yeah, because the people at the top directly ordered and sanctioned those activities…. Get a clue

  6. Cinaedh says:

    #5 – stiffler,

    Here’s a clue: the people at the top directly stated the Geneva Convention did not apply in the case of these prisoners.

    What do you suppose they were sanctioning? Tickling them?

  7. RSweeney says:

    How about a companion image showing the Iraqi terrorists beheading their prisoners?

    Just to keep things in perspective.

  8. Phillep says:

    No, the Geneva Conventions are bilateral only. If one side (the Jihadists) don’t obey them, then we don’t have to. The Geneva conventions do not protect mosques if someone is shooting from them, nor if weapons and ammo are stored in them. Schools? Shoot from them and everyone, including the teachers and children, can be killed, if that’s what it takes to take out the shooter. That’s where “War is hell” comes from.

    The lack of attention from the news media is probably from the Abu Ghraib charges being so stupidly frivolous. Frat initiations are rougher than that.

  9. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Frat initiations are rougher than that.

    And we all know what intellectual giants frat boys are.

  10. hhopper says:

    Some frat pledges have been seriously injured or killed in the past. Most initiations suck.

  11. BenDrinkin says:

    After I watched the stoning of that 17 year old Iraqi girl, f*ck these a**hole prisoners and their being scared by some dogs. They weren’t tortured to death by a mob, and they aren’t young innocent girls. They very well understand torture and poor treatment, it’s their way of life. I felt bad for them at one point, but screw them. Watching that stoning was closer to torture than anything those pussies went through.

  12. Ralph the School Bus Driver says:

    #8, Phillep,

    You couldn’t be more wrong. But that is normal with you.

    The laws of the US apply at all times to every American, military or civilian when under American jurisdiction and usually even when not. It is illegal to torture and it doesn’t matter if you are in America or Iraq, a civilian or in the military. Once a country has ratified the Geneva Convention, they are held to it.

    Regardless, the subject isn’t about when a soldier may shoot someone. It is about torturing prisoners. These guys mostly were never charged with anything. They had just been rounded up on suspicions. In case you didn’t know, Abu Graib, and surrounding prisons, held anywhere from 16,000 to over 20,000 prisoners under American control. They were being held illegally since United Nation Resolution 1536 does not allow the holding of civilians without charge by the occupying army. A Resolution the US actively pushed.

  13. Mister Mustard says:

    >>f*ck these a**hole prisoners and their being scared by some dogs.

    I suppose if you want to put Dumbya’s theocracy in the same category as Sharia law, you’re right. His torture isn’t as scary. This is what the Leader of the Free World has been reduced to, saying he’s not quite as bad as a hatemongering, misogynistic, brutal, midieval, murderous regime.

    Mission accomplished, I guess.

  14. Phillep says:

    Ralph, the accords are not law.

  15. Johnson says:

    To all you folks shocked I say shocked by abu ghriab check out your local jails. This is more hype brought to you by the folks who have a want,need and desire to bring down U.S.

  16. Mr. Fusion says:

    #14, Phillep,

    The “Geneva Convention” is an Accord. All civilized nations have agreed that they will follow the tenants of this and other International Agreements. The Geneva Convention lays out what may be done with surrendering enemy and torture is not on the list. This is what differentiates a civilized society from an uncivilized society.

    More important is that the US law, both civil and military, forbid torture. An American may be tried in either an Iraqi Court or an American Court, including a military court.

    So sorry Phillep. So when are you planning on joining the Army?


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