Abu Ghraib's Message

The outcome of Abu Ghraib has been shameful and ridiculous. This event sent the initial message to the world that the invading forces of America had an undercurrent of brutality and abuse in horrible ways; that the abusive dictator has simply been displaced by another abusive invader. And not only was the abuse prevalent, but the Americans had the propensity to photograph it and air the embarrassment to the world.

And now, this second message to the world: The systematic abuses in Abu Ghraib are unimportant, and that the only people held accountable for it are the underlings. This is a devastating premise. By exonerating the commanders (Sanchez in particular, but up to Rumsfeld should be reprimanded for leadership flaws that led to this), the message has been firmed that this behaviour is not only acceptable, but ingrained in the American system. It is the message that "this is how we do things." Those who did the abusing, Lynndie England et al, are rightly coming to trial for them, but the adamant refusal to have parallel trials for those responsible for the system only underscores how quickly America wants to dismiss this entire event.

The trial that was supposed to close the book on a year of shame and condemnation of US military operations at Abu Ghraib didn't follow the script. And now the infamous photographic icon, Pfc. Lynndie England, is likely to be the focus of new military legal machinations for weeks, if not months.

But what the latest case did accomplish, even though it ended abruptly in a mistrial, was to refocus attention on who is facing courts-martial and who isn't. So far, six lower-level enlisted men and women have been punished by the military for inflicting humiliation and torture on Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Ms. England's fate remains unknown at the moment. Another solider is scheduled to go on trial soon.

Although some 10 Pentagon investigations have highlighted "systemic" problems in the Iraqi operation, they found that higher-level officials issued no policies nor orders that could have led to the prisoner abuses that were aired around the world in a series of graphic photos.

And as a retraction on the AntiCentenarian, One-Star Karpinski was not actually reprimanded for her actions [or inactions] at Abu Ghraib, though we've all thought she was [From the Signal of Santa Clara]:

Around the world, particularly in the Arab world, the stories sent the message that finally, the United States was holding a commander responsible. Finally, someone in a position of authority would be punished. Finally, there would be justice.

The trouble is, it wasn't true.

Oh, the Army inspector general singled out Karpinski for disciplinary action, all right. And yes, Bush demoted Karpinski on the basis of the Army IG's recommendation.

But it wasn't for Abu Ghraib. It was unrelated.

In fact, the Army inspector general — a summary of whose report was released Thursday — exonerated her of any wrongdoing at Abu Ghraib, right along with the rest of the generals in the chain of command.

"Though Brig. Gen. Karpinski's performance of duty was found to be seriously lacking," the summary said, "the investigation team determined that no action or lack of action on her part contributed specifically to the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib."
...
Why, then, was she busted back to colonel? For other reasons.

The Army inspector general found two different charges to be substantiated. One involved an incident in 2002 when then-Col. Karpinski was supposedly arrested for shoplifting a $22 bottle of perfume from a civilian-run department store on an Air Force base in Florida. Karpinski has said it never happened.

Even if it did, the Army didn't have a problem with it at the time. In June 2003, a year later, President Bush approved her promotion to general.

Now, it's cited as the reason he is busting her back.

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UPDATE:
Columbian arts giant Fernando Botera, most famous living artist in Latin-America, has begun to exhibit his pieces featuring Abu Ghraib abuses:

Now, Mr. Botero, 73, who lives in Paris and New York, has taken on an even more explosive topic: the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Forty-eight paintings and sketches - of naked prisoners attacked by dogs, dangling from ropes, beaten by guards, in a mangled heap of bodies - will be exhibited in Rome at the Palazzo Venezia museum on June 16.

"These works are a result of the indignation that the violations in Iraq produced in me and the rest of the world," Mr. Botero said by telephone from his Paris studio.