Abu Ghraib: The Sequel

Posted on 12/08/2008 at 12:02 pm by Bob Cesca

by Lee Stranahan

I’m watching the presser at the Department Of Justice announcing that five Blackwater Guards are being charged with fourteen counts of manslaughter over the massacre of September 16th, 2007 in Iraq. They are making sure to make it very clear it’s an indictment of the five guards, not of Blackwater.

And we’re again haunted by the ghosts of Abu Ghraib – kids gets hauled into court and blamed for being part of a situation that wasn’t really entirely of their making. Old men and war profiteers say tsk-tsk and cash their paychecks. It’s only partial justice, which is almost worse than no justice.

This entry was posted in Inauguration 2009 and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.
  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net/obama-truth-watch/ QueenTiye

    Agreed. Why aren’t policy makers being held to account?QT

  • http://www.nonfatventing.blogspot.com jen

    This is a tough one for me. Ultimately, we’re the only ones who can be held responsible for our actions. I’d like to believe that had I been at Abu Ghraib,I would have refused to torture.

  • jane

    Jen: Imagine you witnessed your fellow soldiers/contractors torturing, tried to blow the whistle…and nothing happened. That’s why it matters what the higher-ups say.

  • jane

    (continuing:)…nothing happened except you were ostracized (or worse) by your fellows.

  • http://www.peacebetweenpeople.blogspot.com Chris Oliver

    Nobody knows what they are capable of when brainwashed to believe that the “enemy” is less than human. Dehumanization is a huge part of creating any killing/war machine. This is a tactic used by the US military and I’m sure it’s been used over at Blackwater (although the soldiers they employ are mostly trained by the US military). The trainers and executives that approved the training should be held accountable along with the men who participated in the killing.