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RELEASE THE ABU GHRAIB RAPE PHOTOS.
Rumors of a Rape Video -- or maybe a photograph of abuse, depending upon whom you talk to -- have existed for years: The image allegedly shows “a male translator raping a male detainee,” according to Duncan Gardham and Paul Cruickshank in a Daily Telepgraph piece headlined “Abu Ghraib abuse photos 'show rape.'” As Adam noted, President Obama says it is better not to release the photographs of detainee abuse, because doing so would make people angry and put U.S. troops in danger. The president sounds reasonable, and even many progressives believe that the pictures should be kept under wraps as a way of showing support for the troops and ensuring their safety. Keeping the photos private protects the victims, too. Not releasing the photographs is, in other words, a way to keep the peace. But what about justice?
The Abu Ghraib scandal exists solely because of the photographs: If no pictures had been taken (and then given to a military investigator and, eventually, to the media), there would have been only silence surrounding the horrific crimes that took place at the prison. Since the photos existed -- and appeared on 60 Minutes II and in the pages of The New Yorker and, eventually, on countless websites and television shows around the world -- military investigators were forced to examine what had happened at the prison and to write up a series of reports. The investigations focused a laser on the individuals pictured in the photographs, and some of these low-ranking soldiers were punished and put behind bars. The problem was that anything that took place beyond the frames of the photographs was seen as unimportant.
While reporting my book, Monstering, I heard about an interpreter who had worked at the prison and allegedly raped a 14-year-old boy, and that there was a video or a photograph of the crime that had been recorded by a female soldier. (It wasn’t Lynndie England -- I asked her about it.) Military investigators looked into the alleged crime against the boy – but half-heartedly -- and the investigation was eventually dropped. Since there was no photo or video that had been released to the public, it was not a priority.
So what happened to the alleged perpetrator? I spoke (briefly) with the interpreter who was accused of raping the boy as part of research for my book. After returning from Iraq, the interpreter had gotten a job at a LensCrafters in a shopping mall in suburban Maryland, and when I saw him, he was in good spirits, walking through the mall with a take-out pizza in a cardboard box. No word on the 14-year-old boy, who has been released from the prison. The military investigators who were looking into this alleged crime did not put much effort into finding him, at least based on the notes from the investigations that I saw. It was clear that this incident, however terrible, was not a priority for the investigators, apparently because no pictures of what had happened were released to the public. That is a travesty of justice: Government officials should black out the identities of the boy and of the other people who are depicted in the photographs so they are not humiliated once again by their abusers, and then release the images, and all of the horror that they depict, to the public. Maybe then there will be investigations -- serious ones this time -- and, if warranted, prosecutions.
–Tara McKelvey
COMMENTS (77)
The refusal to release the photos is what's keeping the torture debate alive. If the photos were released, the Cheney-Limbaugh show would lose all its traction. I recognize that Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo aren't necessarily related but that's not the point. In the absence of pictures, the idea of torture has no resonance in the public mind. People have to see and become revolted by what was done in our name. By refusing to release the pictures, Obama is preserving the ability of future administrations to torture at the will of the president.
Posted by: Bloix | May 28, 2009 4:42 PM
Keeping war crimes evidence a secret is always the best way to keep it from happening again.
That, and letting the perps get away scot-free.
Posted by: Douglas Watts | May 28, 2009 5:28 PM
Obama is covering up for rapists.
And some of you will still vote for him.
Remind yourselves of that the next time you're wondering how Germans could have voted for Hitler, or how Republicans could have stuck by GWB.
Posted by: soullite | May 28, 2009 5:39 PM
No more rapers in the army, even homosexual ones. This guy needs to be bounced out of the army and into jail pronto.
Posted by: Nabob | May 28, 2009 8:09 PM
That people are getting away with this is insane, and the fact that it's affecting us is unsurprising. I mean, I live in Maryland -- I'd like to avoid the store with the possible child rapist.
Posted by: tmv | May 28, 2009 9:20 PM
And some of you will still vote for him.
Remind yourselves of that the next time you're wondering how Germans could have voted for Hitler, or how Republicans could have stuck by GWB.
Selective memory, I see.
You, Soullite, were one of the most rabid Obamabots around, reaming out anyone who dared question your dear leader during the primaries.
Your buyer's remorse is not so touching now.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 29, 2009 10:01 AM
I think it's a good idea to black out the faces of the victims, but I think it's really destructive to say this is so they won't be humiliated.
The humiliation is not theirs. It's the people who did it to them. The rapist is the one who should be ashamed.
The other person was just along for the ride, unwillingly. While I understand many people feel shame after being a victim, I think it's ridiculous for us to reinforce the idea they should feel "humiliated." Nobody who gets hit by a drunk driver is humiliated. Nobody whose house gets robbed is humiliated. The shame isn't rightly theirs--it's the perpetrator's.
Now, respecting their privacy is quite another thing--they didn't ask to be a public figure. So, they should be free to remain a private, anonymous citizen as much as possible.
But let's not legitimize the shame that perpetrators want their victims to feel by acting like crime victims are soiled by an act committed by someone else.
Posted by: anon | May 29, 2009 4:31 PM
Anonymous, I voted against hillary because I knew she'd pull this shit. I thought maybe Obama would be better.
What the fuck is your axcuse for voting for the war-queen in the first place?
I'm not voting for him again. He hadn't done anything wrong before that. Your statement is like asking why I didn't butcher a guy I knew when I was 6 because he grew up to be a serial rapist when he was 29.
Posted by: soullite | May 29, 2009 7:06 PM
Why do you assume that those circulating these e-mails are right-wingers? It seems much more likely to me that they are coming from supporters of one of Obama's opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination. I have never heard Rush say anything about Obama being a Muslim and would like to see some documentation on this. Absent such proof, this comment cannot be considered anything but a smear.
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