Of Abu Ghraib

I've followed with great dismay the events taking place in Iraq recently.

I think one of the most significant points in the recent scandal over the prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib is the sophistication of the methods used by the US reservists, and how well they are honed to break down Arabs especially.

At the moment the people are busy shifting the blame on to the reservists seen in the photos. However, the experts say that the whole set-up seems far too professional:

'The photo could have been a textbook illustration of a classic torture method known as crucifixion’ says Darius Rejali, an associate professor of political science at Oregon's Reed College and author of Torture and Modernity. This kind of torture was used by Gestapo and by Stalin he says, although the wires and the threat of electrocution if you fell were a Brazilian police innovation.

An Israeli interrogation expert had a few lines to add: 'Typical Arab male will do anything at all to avoid being put into position of (sexual) inferiority to a woman'. The use of a leash on a male prisoner by PFC England is something a western businessman would pay good money for, but it is a very serious thing in Middle East –it is the ultimate humiliation.

Use of dogs seems too much to be a coincidence, too: Muslims consider dogs unclean animals. Using dogs to attack a Muslim is like using giant spiders to attack someone suffering from arachnophobia.

All this adds up to more than a few pranks played by young reservists who should know better. According to all reports, the soldiers seen in the pictures are small-town youths who would be unlikely to orchestrate such complex operation with such a good understanding of what cracks down an Arab mind-set.

Other hot topic has been the feeling that what the Iraqis have been subjected to does not measure up to full 'torture', even though the interviews of the detainees do speak of lots of physical torture as well. But the rest of the photos that the current US government is fighting to keep out of public view are almost certainly going to show scenes of rape and murder (based on comments of those who have viewed them). They will surface eventually, and will most likely shock the westerners more than the current ones in the media, but at least in the opinion of the Arab populace, the sexual humiliation is a fate worse than death. The fear of the sexual humiliation is going to break any chance of reconciliation. As an Israeli expert put this on TV recently: ‘…they (Arabs) now consider Americans monstrous sexual perverts. This was not the case before, as deaths at war are reconcilable in Arab eyes. I don’t think the US administration fully realizes the damage done.’

Revenge attacks will follow (started already with the revolting murder of Mr. Berg by the Jordanian terrorist who saw a great opportunity to inflame the situation) and I seriously fear the escalation of violence. It will take a great leader to solve this all.

I for one, as a pragmatist, was happy to see Hussein go -he was a hideous tyrant responsible for horrible deaths of hundreds of thousands -at least something good came out of it, though no war without UN mandate is legal in my eyes. I have no pity for terrorists, though the Spanish approach of treating the Madrid atrocity as a police matter rather than a military business seems to be yielding better results. As I've said before, I really am not big on American-bashing -I have too many friends over there, and I've always been treated with great hospitality when visiting US (excluding the customs troglodytes, of course). I have a lot of respect for many Americans. I think the US people will set things straight in next elections, just like the Spaniards did in theirs.

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