I’ve been hesitant to weight in on the horrific abuse that took place at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison. It’s a devastating development that will obviously undermine our country’s position in the world for the foreseeable future. I’ve avoided posting on it because the story is a little overwhelming and I figured others were covering it in more detail than I ever could.
That said, I’ve noticed a series of bizarre and contradictory remarks from the right over the last few days about this tragedy. None of this adds up.
Republicans say the information shouldn’t have been released to the public…
“Whoever leaked these pictures to the press was not doing anybody any favors. Since the case was already being handled, the release of these pictures did more harm than good.” — Jonah Goldberg
…while Republicans pat themselves on the back for releasing the information to the public.
“The system works. The system works. There were some allegations of abuse in a detention facility in Iraq. It was reported in the chain of command. Immediately it was announced to the public.” — Donald Rumsfeld
Republicans say this controversy is much ado about nothing…
“This is no different than what happens at the skull and bones initiation and we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time.” — Rush Limbaugh
…while Republicans say this controversy is extremely serious.
“People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent. They must also understand that what took place in that prison does not represent the America that I know.” — George W. Bush
Republicans say the report about Abu Ghraib was shocking…
At the Pentagon on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld condemned the abuses at Abu Ghraib as “totally unacceptable and un-American.”
…but the same Republicans haven’t actually read the report about Abu Ghraib.
Rumsfeld, commenting on the report for the first time yesterday, said while he’d seen a summary and recommendations from the investigation, he hadn’t read the full report.
Republicans in the administration knew the information was coming out…
The military had prepared a detailed 11-page plan nearly three weeks ago to address the fallout that officials expected once the photographs of Iraqi prisoners began circulating.
…but Republicans in the administration decided to pretend like it wasn’t.
Nevertheless the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House had difficulty explaining why they had not acted earlier and more aggressively to deal with the abuse.
The Bush administration says the responsible parties will face criminal prosecution…
Bush said it was important for “the people of Iraq to know that everything is not perfect. That mistakes are made. But in a democracy, as well, those mistakes will be investigated, and people will be brought to justice.”
…but the Bush administration still hasn’t removed the responsible parties from the prison.
More than two months after a classified Army report found that two contract workers were implicated in the abuse of Iraqis at a prison outside Baghdad, the companies that employ them say that they have heard nothing from the Pentagon, and that they have not removed any employees from Iraq.
The Bush administration says we’re still in a position to lecture the world about human rights abuses…
Asked about the United States’ practice of pointing out human rights abuses in other countries, [Bush] said, “We … say to those governments, ‘clean up your act.’ And that’s precisely what America is doing.”
…while the Bush administration says we may want to lay off lecturing the world about human rights abuses.
The State Department plans to delay the release of a human rights report due out on Wednesday partly because of sensitivities over the U.S. prison abuse scandal in Iraq, U.S. officials said. One official who asked not to be identified said the release of the report, which describes actions taken by the U.S. government to encourage respect for human rights by other nations, could “make us look hypocritical.”
The White House says Bush learned about the torture in December…
The abuse of Iraqi prisoners sparked so much concern that President Bush was told about an investigation during the winter holidays, White House officials said.
…while the White House says Bush didn’t learn about the torture until last week.
Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, told reporters with Mr. Bush on a campaign trip in Ohio that the president had only become aware of the photographs and the Pentagon’s main internal report about the incidents from news reports last week.
Either I’m terribly confused or the Bush administration and its conservative allies are so overwhelmed by this scandal, they can’t figure out which way is up. (I’ll give you a hint: I’m not confused.)