To: Road Walker who wrote (253660 ) 10/4/2005 5:22:06 AM From: Elroy Read Replies (1) | Respond to I can cut and paste too. You might want to skip this, it's author appears to have a positive US view.the abuses "were not part of authorized interrogations nor were they even directed at intelligence targets" (emphasis added). Or in the words of the panel's chairman, former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger -- whose bipartisan cabinet career included a stint in the Carter administration -- what those pictures showed was sick behavior by the "night shift."Overall, more than 70,000 detainees have passed through U.S. military custody since late 2001. About 500 criminal investigations have been conducted into allegations of related misconduct, many of which were found to be unsubstantiated. But more than 200 people have already been disciplined for actions ranging from failure to report to prisoner abuse itself. all the evidence suggests a low rate of detainee mistreatment, one that compares favorably with U.S. civilian prisons, never mind that of other and earlier militaries. "The behavior of our troops is so much better than it was in World War II," Mr. Schlesinger told me last year. I called him this week to ask what we've learned since. "That the press exaggerated," he replied. The suggestion that Mr. Schlesinger and countless others -- from decorated officers to military juries -- have lent their good names to some kind of whitewash only reveals the remaining accusers for the crackpots they are.the dominant image of the American soldier in the minds of most Iraqis is that of liberator , as depicted in the sculpture shown here by a craftsman from Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. Americans can be proud of the way their young men and women have performed in Iraq and elsewhere in the war on terror. And they can be proud of the way the military has meted out justice for those few abuses that have occurred.
