al-Wafd: American Prison Guards are "Dark Angels of Hell"

[MSgt213]

As public revulsion at the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghuraib prison by American guards circles the globe, a second scandal hit, this time concerning British soldiers who abused their captives.

Most troubling of all, Afghan politicians are now suggesting that the prisoner abuse scandal could harm US anti-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan. Omar Samad, an Afghanistan foreign ministry spokesman, said according to AP, ' the allegations in Iraq will not resonate positively" in Islamic countries. "People could start questioning the motivation behind" the American campaign in Afghanistan, Samad said. Afghans were very sensitive to allegations of human rights abuses because of the brutality of the Taliban regime ousted by U.S. and allied Afghan forces in late 2001, he said. '

Al-Wafd's (Cairo) headline referred to the American prison guards at Abu Ghurayb as Zabaniyat al-Ihtilal, the Punishing Angels of Occupation. The zabaniyah in Islamic lore are the angels who "thrust the damned into Hell" and then torture them. Actually I suppose we might call them dark angels or even demons in the West. A sidebar said "shame!" and several of the pictures were carried, though darkened so as not to offend Cairo audiences with nudity. Al-Wafd is associated with a conservative Egyptian party that groups Coptic Christians, entrepreneurs, and some Islamists, among others. It is not stridently anti-American.

http://www.juancole.com/

[enough]

1. "exactly the type of torture that Saddam's thugs used"

snip>

Mohamad Bazzi of Newsday reports, ' ' When he heard about the photos showing U.S. troops abusing Iraqi prisoners, Ghaleb Ribahi fumed. After he saw them with his own eyes, he understood why some Iraqis are fighting the U.S.-led occupation. "These are the things that make Iraqis pick up a weapon and want to kill American soldiers," said Ribahi, 32, as he sipped sweet tea at a Baghdad coffeehouse Friday evening. "When I saw those pictures, I wanted to pick up a weapon, too." ' He notes that the most disturbing thing to Iraqis was the echo of the torture practices of the Baath Party at Abu Ghuraib. Saddam's interrogators also hooded prisoners and made them stand on boxes with electric wires attached to them. ' "That picture showed exactly the type of torture that Saddam's thugs used," said Hassan Saeed, 27, who sat with five friends in a fish restaurant overlooking the Tigris River. "The Americans promised us that things would be different than they were under Saddam. They lied." '

snip>

[Poor Richard]

2. now the US is the devil to muslim nations

No Iraqi or muslim will allow himself to be taken prisoner

Iraqi/Muslims have a reason to rally against the US - and pictures to prove it.

This is laid at Bush*s feet in 3 ways
1. strict liability - any war is dangerous and unpredictable. this is his war and he knew it going in, or should have known it (or if he didnt he is too stupid to be starting wars)

2. Bush underestimated the costs of war. He was happy to call it a victory a year ago with 135 deaths in a short campaign. That probably seemed right to him as everything good in his life is handed to him. But the reality set in, that we have a new Vietnam on our hands. These photos and the PR that ensues agaisnt the US (And god help the next US prisoner to fall into Iraqi hands) is one of those risks that Bush* did not take into acount

3. The only reason we are interrogating people is to find WMD's. WIthout Bush* ability to admit defeat on the WMD they are desperately seeking them - and these are the results