Abu Ghraib’s Shocking Images
The degrading and humiliating treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib Prison is beyond comprehension (“Is He to Blame?” May 17). Because of this mistreatment and abuse, the Bush administration has lost most of the good will it still had left in many countries around the world. To save the stature of the United States in moral issues, President George W. Bush must sack his secretary of Defense and others who are responsible for the conditions that led to the outrageous behavior of the nonmilitary personnel in the Iraqi prison. To bring to justice and punish only the prison guards is not sufficient. That would merely confirm the mismanagement of the Iraq venture by the White House. Peter G. Krouwel Melissant, Netherlands
It is time the American people faced a few unpleasant realities. They are stuck with an administration that led them into a war based on false premises, with a clueless president and an irresponsible secretary of Defense–both of whom lack respect for national and international law and gave orders leading to the torture of prisoners. Their policies are counterproductive with regard to the fight against terrorism, have created immeasurable loss of American prestige and constitute a betrayal of the American and Iraqi people and the troops on the scene. Peter van Dijk Amsterdam, Netherlands
The prisoner-abuse scandal in Iraq is outrageous. Whatever Donald Rumsfeld knew about it, this seems to be a symptom of the Bush administration’s insensitivity to basic human rights. What is at stake here is the common values of humanism shared by democratic societies around the globe. Bernd Josef Csitkovics Vienna, Austria
In Vietnam, the United States lost only a war. In Iraq, America has already lost all credibility, and is now going to lose power. After 9/11 the States made the worst possible mistake by erecting a concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now Saddam Hussein’s concentration camp, Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, has been revived with all its unlawfulness, torture and killings–by the Americans! How shortsighted, ignorant and arrogant the current Bush administration is in dealing with matters related to international agreements like the Geneva Conventions, or to human rights and people’s sensitivities. Eckhardt Kiwitt Freising, Germany
However you look at it, Donald Rumsfeld’s responsibility for the sadistic torture of Iraqi prisoners cannot be denied. It is on record that Rumsfeld himself had said some time ago that the Geneva Conventions would not be respected in the treatment of prisoners of war. By making such a statement openly, he approved the torture of Iraqi prisoners. What other evidence does the world need to find him guilty? To save American lives, and to repair at least some of the damage that has been done, Donald Rumsfeld has to go. George W. Bush owes this not only to Americans but to the world. Lawrence Nwobu Dundalk, Ireland
Rumsfeld may have been given a lot of leeway and may like to be in total control, but it is obvious he is nothing short of a scapegoat in this torture fiasco at Abu Ghraib. Let us not forget that this is an election year: Rumsfeld is obviously taking the fall for his buddy George W and the Republican Party by making us believe the buck stops short of the commander in chief. While young George’s handlers are doing an excellent job of hoodwinking the American press, Donald Rumsfeld is making his political swan song. Bill Glover Kirkland Lake, Ontario
The happenings in Abu Ghraib prison have resonated throughout the world, just as the My Lai massacre did during the Vietnam War. What Americans should remember is that this war is being fought on many fronts, not just in Iraqi cities like Najaf and Fallujah. It is, for example, also being fought in the U.S. Congress and especially on television. War can be cruel, whether on the battlefield or during interrogations in a military prison, but there is no excuse for abuse. The perspectives of a soldier fighting on the front lines, knowing his life can end at any minute, and of a politician putting his case before Congress can be very different. The fact that this is an election year in the United States has not helped this war. Without a clear exit strategy, a wavering America will lose more friends, both among its Coalition partners and among Iraqis. James Teo Singapore
In his self-defense, Donald Rumsfeld pleads lack of real knowledge of the Abu Ghraib torture. This is the corporate equivalent of incompetence and negligence that no CEO would get away with. The frightening positive show of support by the American people (according to opinion polls) to keep Rumsfeld in his job, and the seemingly lethargic loyalty that people have for Bush’s war, are both indicative of a moral paralysis not befitting a great nation such as the United States. Phillip Haller Rome, Italy
Europeans who justly criticize the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by the U.S. military are missing an important point. They are forgetting that it was an American military man and the American media that brought these abuses to the attention of the world. The United States is now in the process of working with various organizations like the International Red Cross to find the cause of this breakdown in human rights. The results of this investigation will probably not be perfect, but Europe should sit back and watch democracy in the United States go to work. Thomas L. Grinwald Aachen, Germany
I found your cover article on Donald Rumsfeld and the overall coverage of the Iraqi situation both insightful and disturbing. It remains incredibly sad to me. With the state of the Iraqi conflict, should we Americans really be so surprised that the myopic “liberation” of the country would continue to beget violence on both sides? What our administration failed to consider before entering this complex state is not that we “broke” a country and have to “buy” it, but that through our actions we have now opened a door of violence that will be incredibly difficult to shut. Melissa Fletcher Coquille, Oregon
The dehumanization of the enemy in Vietnam contributed to behavior that haunts many veterans to this day. How depressing to travel that sad road once again. The president refers to all who oppose us in Iraq as terrorists, thugs or dead-enders, thus justifying and encouraging severe retaliation against them. Up to 90 percent of these Muslim detainees were picked up by mistake; now they have become the victims of the current conflict. Our abuse of defenseless civilians at Abu Ghraib Prison will haunt the next generation of veterans for years to come. It will also incalculably damage our standing with the Iraqi people. We are facing a widespread insurrection born of bitterness at an oppressive, arrogant occupying force. So long as we allow ourselves to become terrorists in the eyes of those we purport to help, we will recruit unlimited numbers for those who wish to destroy us. Paul W. McBride Ithaca, New York
Private England and her moronically smiling comrades are products of American society. We own them and their racist actions, and, like it or not, we must take responsibility for them. The ultraviolent aspects of our American culture, the dehumanizing training techniques employed in U.S. military boot camps and the total lack of accountability existing at the highest levels of our current administration create situations blurring the lines between right and wrong and the deadening of emotions such as empathy and compassion. Susanne Severeid Flagstaff, Arizona
Rumsfeld’s lawless regime began in January 2002, when he decided that the hundreds of people detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan have no rights under the Geneva Conventions. According to the Taguba report, the detention system Rumsfeld oversees is grossly distorted. Abuses could have been prevented if he’d responded to earlier reports of violations. Instead, he publicly dismissed or minimized such accounts, delivering the message that America isn’t bound by international law. He said he “would resign in a minute” if he thought he couldn’t be effective. With all his lies, broken promises and strategic blunders, he is now ineffective. Our servicemen deserve better leadership. Gary Dean Colorado Springs, Colorado
Thank you for having the courage to let the public know just what this administration is trying to cover up. I voted for George W. Bush because I thought he was a good man and would be good for America. How wrong I was! The pictures and videos from Abu Ghraib should be made public. As an American, I am tired of the lies and half-truths we are getting from this administration. The only thing Rumsfeld is sorry for is that the whole mess has become public. Eleanor Toler North Richland Hills, Texas
The pentagon admits there was a glaring lack of supervision at Abu Ghraib, but that doesn’t acquit the soldiers involved of the torture they inflicted on the Iraqi detainees. Claiming a lack of responsibility for those vile and inhuman acts because they were following orders is cowardly. Nazi SS guards and Saddam’s elite Republican Guard were also simply following orders. Abusing, raping and torturing people is still immoral. Absolution is not granted by claiming that the Devil made you do it. Shay McAtamney Rosedale, New York
In discussing the publicity surrounding the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, Evan Thomas writes, “The effect on Arabs will be to make them want to kill Americans.” This overarching, irrational stereotype of Arabs is what has gotten us in so much trouble with the world and is why so many Americans believe that Iraq may have had something to do with 9/11. The Arab grocer from whom I buy my newspaper every morning now wants to kill me? I don’t think so. This sort of editorial rhetoric incites hatred and fear, and creates an us-versus-them mentality that is detrimental to everyone. Celia Sack San Francisco, California
As someone who worked in the Pentagon when it was attacked on September 11, I had the utmost respect for Donald Rumsfeld’s handling of the aftermath of that horrific event. In fact, much of my support for the invasion of Iraq was based on the fact that Rumsfeld headed the Department of Defense. But today I have lost confidence in his ability to continue as secretary. Rumsfeld told Congress that he did not see the pictures from Abu Ghraib until eight days after they were first shown on TV. He has either committed an act of perjury or behaved in an enormously incompetent manner–not bothering to view the pictures for eight days after they were exhibited to the entire world cannot be seen as competence. In either case, the president should ask for his resignation. Jonathan Steinsapir Santa Monica, California
The Message of the Sword
Shame on you for turning a quotation from the New Testament on its head (“Jesus Christ Movie Star,” March 8). When Jesus spoke to his disciples of the sword that he had come to bring, he was alluding to the sorrows his followers would have to bear for their belief in him and his teachings. The sword mentioned here obviously stood for pain to be suffered, not violence to be inflicted. Criticism of the film’s “graphic violence” might well be justified, as might the comment that Mel Gibson is a Roman Catholic traditionalist who nonetheless “successfully cultivated the support” of Protestant evangelicals. But the closing remark that, in bringing a sword, Gibson proved he was a disciple of Jesus is disgraceful. John Francis Geneva, Switzerland
