Prison Abuse is Human Nature

If the 20th century taught us anything, it's that civilized people can
easily fall into inhuman behavior. Turks (against Armenians), Germans
(against Jews), Hutu (against Tutsi), Serbs (against Albanians), Cambodians
(against Cambodians) -- these examples show us that the patina of
civilization we wear is very thin and vulnerable.   There's nothing
particular about American history or genetics that would lead anyone to
think Americans would be immune from such behavior.

It is systems and training and discipline and rules of engagement and all
that other bureaucratic stuff that's supposed to keep the amount of bad
behavior under very, very difficult circumstances under control.

Unfortunately, in the Iraq war we prepared for the quick campaign well, but were
inadequately planned for what happened after "Mission Accomplished". The
fact that we didn't adequately plan how to run military prisons is just one
more area where the Bush administration was too darned optimistic that the
Iraq was would be short and glorious.

As we go up the chain of command, they should be blamed if they knew about
it, and blamed if they didn't know about it. It's their job to lead and to
control.

If there is a silver lining to this situation, it may lie in the fact that
the controls will surely be enforced now to prevent more serious
atrocities -- ones in which thousands of people die -- from being inflicted
on civilian populations by American troops.