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My Mom Rocks!! - she just wrote the letter below to Charles Krauthammer in response to his column today.Dear Mr. Krauthammer: Your columns have always been among the most articulate, well-researched, and well written in the Post and other papers. I always read and re-read them, and while I often disagree with your opinions, my thinking is broadened by considering your views. That said, this particular column is the first writing I have seen that gets to the heart of the damage done by the specific acts of humiliation visited on Iraqi prisoners. Pictures of this sort would be considered pornographic in our own country; to treat these offenses simply as errors in judgment, or a lack of training, or the result of soldiers obeying the orders of some superior officer is to ignore the beliefs and sensitivities that have been offended, both in the United States and in the Arab world. The United States, or rather the Bush Administration, has maintained that our mission in Iraq is a moral imperative; first, to liberate Iraqis, to topple the dictator Saddam, and second, to bring democracy to the Middle East, and to the world. It would seem that historically this process of invasion, occupation, and establishment of new government has never been successful, and the moral high road is always claimed by the occupier. The Administration has also emphasized that an additional reason for our incursion into Iraq is to improve the welfare of women in countries where they are still second-class citizens. All the apologies in the world cannot erase the sight of a female member of our armed forces holding a naked Iraqi on a leash. What an insult to what friends we might have had in the Arab world. Sincerely, Cynthia Tampa, FLLink to column Abu Ghraib as Symbol
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