by Leonard Gray – Managing Editor

It appears to be on everyone’s mind – the photographs of horror coming out of Iraq, more than 1,200 at last count. Most of them have not been seen by the public, but it is presumed they will leak out by means of the internet and thence to the “mainstream” media.

There, the general public will have their collective faces rubbed in it, severely disturbing our national psyche and providing both anger and delight in our enemies abroad – anger at what happened and delight in our acute shame.

Following World War II, similar photographs were shown to the German people, along with newsreels shot by Allied photographers. The purpose then was to “educate” the Germans in what their leaders and miliary had been doing, often in their own backyards, to prisoners in their custody.

That lesson has apparently been forgotten – not by the Germans, but the Americans and some British troops in their treatment of Iraqi prisoners. That is ironic, since the British “invented” concentration camps during the Boer War in south Africa, and Americans maintained their own political prison camp for many Asian-Americans during World War II.

Is it too much to expect that our miliary, including Reservists and National Guard, become aware of the mistakes of history and also learn Geneva Convention standards of holding prisoners of war?

What has happened is an abuse of power unprecedented in American history since the Civil War and the horrors of Andersonville. It is another telling example of those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.

Punishment is certainly mandatory here, but this should be a lesson to our troops to examine themselves and their national pride. This is a time to rise above what has happened and fulfill our purpose in being there – to set an example of a free and honorable civilization.

Right now, we’ve fallen far short of that goal.

—L’Observateur