> This is a good point. People are being investigated and put on trial... what more would you ask at this point?
You will note that in several of these incidents the military flat-out lied about what had happened until incontrovertible evidence came to light. So that not happening would be nice, for starters.
An actual admission of wrong-doing with an apology and redoubled efforts to do better from the United States would also help.
So would closing Gitmo and a renunciation of the use of torture. You do know most of your remaining allies, including Britain, have called on you to close it, right?
Most of all, what would help would be more actual interest on the part of the United States on preventing these incidents. What the hell went wrong with military discipline in a warzone such that soldiers could get drunk, spend a couple hours planning and the rape and murder of children, and then do it?
Believe it or not, none of these things are in any way impossible. You can point at many other countries that have had an open and honest process, that have sincerely apologised for atrocities, that have abandoned barbaric practices, and that have kept their troops under control in enemy territory. That's not even getting into other things the US has and is doing wrong in Iraq, like the city they call an embassy... just covering the military/torture angle.
If you think these things make no difference, you are wrong. When you invaded Iraq, 80% of the civilian population believed that it was at least a somewhat good thing. Now, 80% want you out. Public officials have stated Iraq was better off under Saddam. The insurgency that was "in its last throes" two years ago continues to make attacks and gain new adherents. Gitmo cost American soldiers their lives. There are Americans dead because this administration thinks the Geneva Conventions are, and I quote, "quaint". There are Americans dead because your President had to be forced by the Supreme Court to follow your own laws.
If the plight of the hundreds of people charged with no crime in Gitmo doesn't sway you, then perhaps that will strike closer to home. Thousands dead (probably more than you think, as it's been widely reported that only people who die right on the battlefield, as opposed to dying in transit or at hospitals in Europe, are "counted"; to say nothing of the fact that the horrendous, far higher number of veterans crippled for life is not generally spoken about), to say nothing of the fact that soldiers who honourably served their time or have retired are being dragged back in to fight this war, and innocent Americans have suffered attacks over these incidents as well. It seems you may think I'm not supposed to care about Americans being killed and wounded and tortured, but in fact I no more want them to die than I want innocent Iraqis to. This war has already been an enormous tragedy for your country as well as many others.
People being investigated and put on trial is nice. But - especially considering no higher officers have yet been held accountable, much less the administration that at best implicitly condoned illegal acts - there is a hell of a lot more I can ask for.
A sentiment which puts me in line with the mainstream view virtually everywhere in the world, I might add.
You will note that in several of these incidents the military flat-out lied about what had happened until incontrovertible evidence came to light. So that not happening would be nice, for starters.
An actual admission of wrong-doing with an apology and redoubled efforts to do better from the United States would also help.
So would closing Gitmo and a renunciation of the use of torture. You do know most of your remaining allies, including Britain, have called on you to close it, right?
Most of all, what would help would be more actual interest on the part of the United States on preventing these incidents. What the hell went wrong with military discipline in a warzone such that soldiers could get drunk, spend a couple hours planning and the rape and murder of children, and then do it?
Believe it or not, none of these things are in any way impossible. You can point at many other countries that have had an open and honest process, that have sincerely apologised for atrocities, that have abandoned barbaric practices, and that have kept their troops under control in enemy territory. That's not even getting into other things the US has and is doing wrong in Iraq, like the city they call an embassy... just covering the military/torture angle.
If you think these things make no difference, you are wrong. When you invaded Iraq, 80% of the civilian population believed that it was at least a somewhat good thing. Now, 80% want you out. Public officials have stated Iraq was better off under Saddam. The insurgency that was "in its last throes" two years ago continues to make attacks and gain new adherents. Gitmo cost American soldiers their lives. There are Americans dead because this administration thinks the Geneva Conventions are, and I quote, "quaint". There are Americans dead because your President had to be forced by the Supreme Court to follow your own laws.
If the plight of the hundreds of people charged with no crime in Gitmo doesn't sway you, then perhaps that will strike closer to home. Thousands dead (probably more than you think, as it's been widely reported that only people who die right on the battlefield, as opposed to dying in transit or at hospitals in Europe, are "counted"; to say nothing of the fact that the horrendous, far higher number of veterans crippled for life is not generally spoken about), to say nothing of the fact that soldiers who honourably served their time or have retired are being dragged back in to fight this war, and innocent Americans have suffered attacks over these incidents as well. It seems you may think I'm not supposed to care about Americans being killed and wounded and tortured, but in fact I no more want them to die than I want innocent Iraqis to. This war has already been an enormous tragedy for your country as well as many others.
People being investigated and put on trial is nice. But - especially considering no higher officers have yet been held accountable, much less the administration that at best implicitly condoned illegal acts - there is a hell of a lot more I can ask for.
A sentiment which puts me in line with the mainstream view virtually everywhere in the world, I might add.