Geodog

I never thought that I'd agree with Karl Rove about anything, but I do today

Before Bush launched his war on Iraq, I argued about the folly of a predominantly Christian nation trying to impose a Richard "Prince of Darkness" Perle-Ahmed Chalabi type of democracy on Iraq with bayonets and bombs. I also argued that the logic of American troops in Iraq, at best estranged fron Iraqis by barriers of religion, culture and language, would soon cause American troops to be seen as occupiers, and would cause American troops to act as occupying armies always act in a strange land. My experience of living in an Arab country for two years convinced me that the United States was headed for disaster. But I confess, I never imagined this:

Some outraged member of the military has leaked some more photos of Iraqis being abused and tortured by American soldiers to the Washington Post, and the Washington Post is leading, on their website at least, with this (cropped) photo of a naked Iraqi man on a dog leash being held by a female American soldier. These pictures show at least a minimal amount of knowledge of Arab culture, because if one was seeking to humiliate an Arab man, presumably a citizen of the country we claim we are liberating, it would be hard to do more. Each and every item visible in this picture would contribute to that humiliation.

Buried in a stupid NYT story about a stupid inside-the-Beltway-only Washington game about Bush pretending to spank Rumsfeld for having been caught abusing Arabs was a second-hand quote by Bush's brain, Karl Rove, who:

told one Bush adviser that he believes that it will take a generation for the United States to live this scandal down in the Arab world

Well, I finally agree with Karl Rove about something. It will take decades, if not a century, to undo the damage in the Arab world that Bush has done in 3 years. And Americans will pay a heavy price in the meantime. Tell me again how Bush's war on Iraq has helped the so-called "War on Terrorism?" At this point, we will be lucky if the leaders of all the Arab countries, including all our former allies, don't publically encourage their young men to take revenge on America for these abominations. Bush's war on Iraq has been a disaster, on a practical as well as moral front. As I said earlier this week, we are continuing to aid Osama bin Laden with his recruting drive.

Now I sadly feel compelled to join those Americans who feel they have to say explicitly what used to be integral assumptions of the entire American body politic:

I believe in the Geneva Convention on the treatment of Prisoners of War. I believe that governments must show cause why people should be detained, and that such a decision must be subject to impartial review. I believe that torturing people is wrong and, as this case demonstrates so well, counterproductive.

I'm joining Amnesty International in the fight against torture. MoveOn has some useful suggestions as well on what Americans can do about this specific case.