First, thanks to those here who have commented positively about my keeping the thread going, and raising the difficult issues.

Mary, I'm with you on this for a number of reasons. In another thread, you said you thought as many prisoners as possible should be released as quickly as possible and this horror magnet of a prison be blown sky high. Just imagine the message our troops COULD have sent to Iraqis if, when the area was taken over by us, we had blown up the prison, and never used it.

Second, you mention the timing. I think there is still so much shock and awe surrounding these events right now, that we don't know exactly what happened. But good journalists will eventually trace it all back, and a few of us who will bother to go looking for their stories, will finally know the truth (as far as it will ever be knowable about something horrendous like this).

It seems to me that the reservists who are currently charged, started sending home letters which appeared to be reporting on irregularities at the prison in January. But that also appears to be around the time Rumsfeld was notified of the investigation? Though I'm not sure, because I think I also heard that Rumsfeld had been notified last fall, so don't hold me to that one. But at any rate, I think the reservists were already in hot water at the time they started writing home, and were in damage control mode.

With the new photos that were published yesterday in the Washington Post, this whole thing could widen, because it appears from the Washington Post story, that a CD with these photographs was being widely passed around among troops inside and outside the prison. Which brings up the issue of what is and isn't acceptable in the military culture on the ground in Iraq. That would, of course, involve the higher ups both participating, looking the other way, and condoning and justifying such behavior because it raises troop morale/relieves combat stresss to see the photos in the (to them) funny context of a travelogue, and especially, of the humiliation of Iraqis who our troops obviously view as their enemies, not their allies, in the liberation of Iraq.

So, I think this is all quite complex. Soldiers have a lot of technology on the ground in Iraq that the military simply can't keep control of, as this shows.

Again, I reiterate that for this CD to have been widely circulated among the troops, the military culture on the ground in Iraq, had to be supporting it, just like whole police departments are often corrupt when there is widespred corruption among police. The culture the troops operate in HAS to give tacit support at the least, to what was going on, the same way it was given in the LAPD when the police brutality scandal broke with Rodney King. These circumstances never involve just a few bad apples. These are circumstances where the bad apples have been put in charge, and it is those with a functioning moral compass are intimidated and silenced.

Rumsfeld must go. There is just no way for him to remain at the helm, because his presence would be too damaging for the troops and for the nation. It would also be best for Bush's re-election campaign for him to go today, but this administration has so much wrongdoing going on it, and so much secrecy covering it all up, I think they can't see the forest for the trees on this one.

We'll see what happens with Rumsfeld's testimony. But I just can't imagine a human rights scandal of this magnitude not bringing down some high officials. And it probably shouldn't stop with just Rumsfeld.