Confusion Leads to Suspicion

"Several matters dealing with Iraq surfaced recently. They added more tension and confusion to the way the Iraqis, Arabs & Muslims view the US, UK & West in general. Many questions are raised. Ordinary people in Iraq, Arab & Muslim world are so confused about the real intentions of the West, represented by US, UK, Denmark…etc.

A video showed a group of British soldiers beating a bunch of teenagers in Basra. Another release deals again with the abuses at Abu-Ghraib prison. The British government is dealing with the matter firmly. Regarding the British official attitude, one may look for an excuse which makes it understandable, since immediate decision is made to pursue the wrongdoers.

On the other hand, the second release of Iraqi detainees’ pictures & videos in Abu-Ghraib, which may have more issues in the future, represents a flaw in the way the US administration dealt with this dossier. Mr. Rumsfeld said in a previous session to the Congress that there would be more of these pictures. He said that he had seen much more than those released in April 2004. The question is “Why the Pentagon did not publish the whole bunch of them at the same time?” On doing so it wouldn’t take the sequence of rubbing salt into the wound every now and then. Moreover, it seems that the martial court did not put much effort to root out the whole story, since many big heads would roll. One may wonder whether the US administration wants to attract more terrorists to Iraq. And if it is so, more American soldiers could be harmed."
Ibn Alrafidain