From the Sadly, No! Inbox
Posted on May 26th, 2004 by
Loyal reader Frederick, who like Star Jones is a lawyer, draws our attention to his very fine blog entry on Geneva Convention violations thought to be taking place in Iraq:
In a little-noticed development amid Iraq’s prison abuse scandal, the U.S. military is holding dozens of Iraqis as bargaining chips to put pressure on their wanted relatives to surrender, according to human rights groups. These detainees are not accused of any crimes, and experts say their detention violates the Geneva Conventions and other international laws. The practice also risks associating the United States with the tactics of countries that it has long criticized for arbitrary arrests.
Wasn’t the Iraqi general, murdered in a sleeping-bag only there because he gave himself up to have his children released from there?
I don’t know that one. If you have a link, let me know.
Yes, it’s in many of the stories but it is a “little noticed development.”
They arrest the wives of Baathists, the women of the household if the men aren’t there, etc.
Why isn’t it commented on? I think: So many things are so shockingly atrocious and apparently many people have gotten immune to these horrible stories that somehow people didn’t notice just how incredibly wrong, immoral and often illegal most of these things are. When children and other innocent civilians are killed by accident as they seem to be so often in the last few years maybe a few unjustly held prisoners starts to seem like nothing. Dozens of innocent civilians killed doesn’t even make the news anymore–so why should that?
I really think that the thing that got people about the photos was the idea of men naked–that was just the weird twist necessary to break through the hazy acceptance of so much that is grossly immoral. If the prisoners had been clothed I truly believe there would be no scandal.