The abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib was utterly despicable. The shocking photos that emerged made every respectable person who saw them cringe with disgust. Together, we were sickened - not as Democrats or Republicans but as a human beings.
This week, Pfc. Lynndie England will fight against charges that she acted as a "key participant" in the atrocious treatment of Abu Ghraib prisoners. Her attempts at plea bargaining have failed. Her lead attorney, Capt. Jonathan Crisp, stated that "there's not going to be a deal." He plans to base much of his new defense on England's history of mental health problems.
England is the last of a group of junior enlisted soldiers to have their cases determined. The others were either convicted or completed plea bargains and are currently serving sentences of up to eight years. By fighting the charges, her attorneys hope to significantly reduce her seemingly inevitable sentence.
Good luck.
Certainly, war is ugly. It has devastating and lasting effects on all parties involved. Our troops in Iraq are under an unenviable amount of stress as they do their protective duties each day, constantly under the threat of attack. Certainly, soldiers are heroes.
England and the others charged or convicted of abuse are not heroes. In times of darkness, heroes do not become the enemy.
If you have the stomach, look at the pictures from Abu Ghraib that have been posted on the Internet. Some are so startling they were not aired on television or printed in newspapers.
When I saw the photos for the first time, the only things I could compare them to were the disturbing images of the Holocaust and Nazi torture chambers.
Find the picture of England standing proudly behind a pile of naked prisoners, arm in arm with another soldier. Find the picture of England glaring indifferently at the leashed and naked prisoner sprawled upon the prison floor. Find the picture of England flashing a thumbs-up and smirking, while pointing at a hooded prisoner being forced to masturbate. Look in her eyes. Look at her smile.
The Washington Post reported that during interrogations at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, female interrogators "regularly violated Muslim taboos about sex and contact with females." Women rubbed their bodies on the prisoners, an incredible intrusion to members of a religion in which "contact with women other than their wives diminishes religious purity."
Obviously, the photos from Abu Ghraib also show taboos being grossly violated. Prisoners were forced to simulate sexual acts and pleasure themselves. This is a particularly horrendous punishment for members of a culture who are "taught to be vehemently opposed to pleasure, especially of the sexual variety," according to Front Page Magazine managing editor Jamie Glazov. The emotional scars of such intense humiliation will probably linger and fester in those men until the days they die.
According to The Associated Press, the maximum sentence England can receive for the charges that have been brought against her is 11 years. Once she is convicted, I hope that England will sit in her prison cell and be eternally grateful that she will be protected from the very atrocities she committed.
Never will she be stripped naked and piled in a human pyramid for the amusement of her guards. Never will she be stood on a small box and told that she will be electrocuted if she falls off. Never will she be put on a leash and dragged across concrete floors.
Ultimately, the most recent developments in the England trial will be unimportant. It really doesn't matter how many times she changes her defense strategy or her story.
In the court of basic human decency, her actions and those of her colleagues will forever remain indefensible.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
