Change She WroteA game of dominoes [Archives:2004/735/Culture]

By Sadaf Shah
[email protected]
For the Yeamen Times
The “coalition forces” are now under greater criticism than ever before for the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The recent pictures first published in the British tabloid newspaper, the Daily Mirror, have exposed the occupying forces as ruthlessly disgusting. According to Amnesty International, prisoner abuse is not an isolated phenomenon, but a systematic “pattern of torture” in Iraqi prisons. Former prisoners who are not related have corroborated abusive conditions such as beatings and sleep deprivation as common practices used by interrogators. One prisoner suspected of theft was shown in a picture with a rifle pointed to his head and being urinated on by a British soldier. He was beaten with his jaw broken and then later dumped out of a truck. The soldiers were not sure whether he survived or not. All of this for suspected theft! Is this incident not reminiscent of the treatment of prisoners at the infamous Alcatraz prison? Notwithstanding the fact that these pictures were released by British soldiers who themselves were sickened by the misconduct of their peers, the most senior soldier in the British army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said if guilty, the men were not fit to wear the uniform. It is truly amazing that the British authorities are actually treating this whole controversy as somewhat 'suspicious'. They accuse the photographs of being staged, rather than picturing the grim reality of bad British conduct. The question that comes to mind is who will go to such disgraceful means to disgrace the British army? Certainly, Iraqi 'insurgents' must not have thought about 'baring all' only to humiliate the British! Such an allegation would be utterly preposterous! Could it be the work of her allies? Impossible. It is time the British take responsibility of the misconduct of its army personnel. So far six soldiers have been reprimanded, but no apology to the Iraqi people has been offered. There is an investigation, however the British still refuse to admit their soldiers have committed such deplorable acts. The U.S, on the other hand, acknowledged the authenticity of the shameful pictures, but like its counterpart, offered only an investigation and harsh treatment for the perpetrators. No apology for the Iraqi people or a screening of the conditions at the Abu Ghraib prison. Since last year, Amnesty International has been researching and demanding an impartial and open enquiry into the abusive conditions at the prison. Now since the pictures are out, and the credibility of the coalition forces has been undermined, is the game being played on the international stage. A game of dominoes is being played with no concerns for who gets shot in the middle. Who can prove to be the most disgusting, torturous, disgraceful, and alarming with the highest number of body counts? The 'terrorists', 'insurgents', 'Islamic militants/jihadists' or the 'coalition forces' in Iraq fighting for the so-called democratic values for the Iraqi people and the Arab world in general. We, as the unwilling spectators of this game, watch, as innocent people are being murdered, tortured and humiliated for the sake of winning this game. The fundamentalists show pictures of their dead soldiers or kidnapped foreigners, and the U.S/U.K respond by carrying out collective punishment bombing raids over cities where ordinary people are killed in a vain attempt to dismantle insurgents. Both believe themselves to be in the ultimate right while ignoring the ultimate right to life and dignity of their victims.
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