Lately, I feel like an apologist for the U.S., because so much of the criticism I hear seems ridiculous on the face of it.

Much of the criticism I hear regarding the actions of U.S. troops in Iraq seems ridiculous on the face of it. So many organizations are searching desperately for some negative angle while ignoring the environment in which the events occur. (This is a marked contrast from the "rah rah" reporting during the war. You can observe that the media "rallies behind the troops" during fighting (perhaps seeking to avoid the Vietnam syndrome), but when things quiet down, it is back to sensationalism and "man bites dog" type reporting that spins stories toward some weird agenda of the reporter.)

Here is another one of those stories:

Whereas previously, Iraqis might have been arrested for no good reason, thrown in prison and tortured or left there for decades, now they are much worse off! Some poor young Iraqi men, who may or may not have been up to no good (looting? stealing weapons? or just looking for their brother?) were caught by U.S. troops, who, for lack of police training and without a functioning justice system in the country, asked other Iraqis on the street for ideas on how to punish the suspects.

The result was cruel summary justice - forcing the men to run naked through the street with the words "Ali Baba" (thief) scrawled on their chest. Oh, the extent of man's inhumanity to man! Those Imperialist Bastards!

Naturally, the accused men were very angry about this, and denied their crime. But given the constraints of the environment in which this event occurred, it seems that if the men were not guilty, their suffering was relatively minimal, and if they were common thieves, it was a nice non violent disincentive for them to commit further acts of Ali Baba-ism.

What do you think?

12:24:16 PM    comment