Outside the Beltway

Iraqi Prisoners

James Joyner · Tuesday, March 23, 2004 · 1 comment

Army Times/AP: Six MPs charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners

The U.S. military charged six soldiers Saturday with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad.
The soldiers, members of a military police unit, were charged with a range of crimes, including conspiracy, dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another person. The military said about 20 detainees were involved.

It’s “the kind of cancer that you have to cut out quickly. You’ve got to address it very, very quickly,†said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military’s deputy director of operations.

The alleged offenses were committed in November and December and came to the attention of military authorities in January. The names of the soldiers were not released.

The six are among 17 U.S. troops — including a battalion commander and a company commander — suspended from duties last month for allegedly abusing Iraqi prisoners.

We’ve been at war with Iraq more-or-less continually since 1990. The current heavy involvement has lasted a year. Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists supporting them are killing American soldiers and the civilians they’re charged with protecting on a near-daily basis. And yet we’re sufficiently concerned with the treatment of Iraqi prisoners that MPs are facing charges for what would seem to be relatively minor abuses. Good. One needs go no further to see what makes a professional military a professional military.