The Truth About Abu Ghraib: Sy Hersh & Media Disinformation On the "Torture Scandal"

Always trust your instincts. My gut-level response to the Abu Ghraib torture scandal seems to have proven to be correct.

An article in the New York Metro on-line by Chris Suellentrop reveals the lies and disinformation being promulgated by New Yorker investigative reporter Sy Hersh. (One of Hersh's articles can be found here.)

Click on Picture to enlarge

As a Christian, the moral failure of American troops revealed in the photographs and accusations of torture and abuse of Iraqis being held at the Abu Ghraib prison facility struck me as grievous. As a pastor, I even addressed the matter in morning worship, pointing to it as an example of our natural human inclination towards sin and depravity.

However, even in the midst of all the media uproar and political posturing against the Bush administration that ensued I sensed something that did not seem to ring true. In short, I smelled a rat.

I found it very hard to believe that American soldiers were capable of sustaining such behavior over any length of time without being reported and disciplined. Never before in human history has there been such a military force founded on such a firm, morally accountable discipline as our American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military culture has zero tolerance for such actions and all officers are taught that they are legally and personally responsible for preventing abuse of military code and for halting and reporting such abuse should they ever become aware of it.

Please read this response by Greyhawk, a military blogger for the Mudville Gazette, to get an idea how soldiers who have served in Iraq feel about this man and his lies.

And then take this little quiz on Abu Ghraib just to prove how misinformed you have been over this issue.

It is sad when my moral outrage becomes redirected to those who are supposed to be revealing it to me.

UPDATE: Look at these photos of the abuse (be warned, they are extremely graphic) and note how the same four soldiers (plus whoever took one of the photos) are the only ones present...confirming the version of the incident as reported by Greyhawk and Suellentrop who believe the reported events ivolved only a few soldiers spending one evening behaving in direct defiance of both orders and training.