Stupid Justifications

I was reading an article about how a GI reportedly complained about Iraq abuses in the incident with Iraqi prisoners being abused in prison by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. (Abuse in the following form: "The photos appeared to show soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad posing and laughing as naked male prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or made to simulate sex acts with one another.")

What really disturbs me is the length to which people back in the U.S. who are related to the asshats involved will go to claim that their relative didn't do anything wrong. For example... (Quotes in italics, my responses after each quote)

“He’s just the guy they put in charge of the prison,” (Said by the uncle of the guy who, well, was in charge of the prison)

So let me get this straight: because he was the guy in charge of the prison, he's not responsible for his soldiers' behavior, correct? This is such a stupid argument that it boggles the mind.

“We really don’t know how those prisoners are behaving, ... There’s a line between heinous war crimes and maintaining discipline.” (Said by the wife of another person charged in the mess)

Go here. Look at the picture. Explain to me how that maintains discipline.

"... stupid, kid things -- pranks" (Said by the mother of yet another person involved.)

Of course, stupid kid pranks excuses everything, right?

And finally, my favorite:

“I can assure you Chip Frederick had no idea how to humiliate an Arab until he met up [with his superiors]” (Said by the lawyer of the guy who was in charge of the prison.)

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Let's start with this: the fact that you didn't know how to do something beforehand doesn't excuse learning it and doing it. For that matter, I didn't know people were ever taught how to "humiliate an Arab".

It's shit like this that makes me totally unsurprised that there are a bunch of folks in the Middle East who hate us. Are some of them any better? No. But we're not allowed to claim ignorance of their reasoning.