Marred image met with denial

You don’t have to be a news junkie to have heard of Pfc. Lynndie England. She’s the soldier who posed near a pyramid of naked Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. She’s facing a court-martial in January over prisoner abuse. Every twist and turn of her case is being reported.

But have you heard of Chief Warrant Officers Jefferson L. Williams and Lewis E. Welshofer Jr., Sgt. 1st Class William J. Sommer and Spec. Jerry L. Loper? Probably not. But those four are accused of committing a far more egregious act. On Tuesday, they were charged in the murder last year of an Iraqi general during an interrogation.

The media haven’t covered that case much. Nor have they given much coverage to the other eight U.S. soldiers who have been charged with the deaths of civilians and prisoners of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of the charges against England is abuse: she apparently stepped on the hands and toes of prisoners. The recently charged quartet is accused of using a sleeping bag and electrical cord to smother and strangle their prisoner. Military officials aren’t saying much about the case, and because of the public’s limited outrage they probably never will. No photos, no outrage.

But it doesn’t take photographic evidence to convince already distrustful people in the Middle East that the United States may not be the good guys in every instance. These cases of abuse have made the job of winning over the hearts and minds of Iraqis much more difficult; they have fed the insurgency and helped terrorist recruitment.

This significant blow to the United States’ image has been met with relative indifference and denial among many Americans and their leaders. We’re told that it’s “a few bad apples.” We’re told it’s not as bad as the beheadings.

First, numerous investigations have made it clear that the chaotic conditions of prisons such as Abu Ghraib were a result of the lack of planning for the lawlessness and insurgency that sprouted after major combat operations ended. Many of the personnel put in charge of prisoners lacked training for the task. As for the abuse itself, the tone was set by high-ranking leaders and some of them assisted in hiding detainees from the International Red Cross. In short, there’s a lot of blame to go around.

Second, wrongdoing by American troops should be judged by American standards. Abuse cannot be excused because the terrorists are worse. Our success in that region is tied to winning the confidence of the people. Perception is all important.

Initially, the Army said the Iraqi general died of natural causes. A regiment commander responded to subsequent suspicion by saying, “There is evidence, there is no proof.”

Part of the reason our nation has been unable to win the peace in Iraq is that we have failed to look at the circumstance from the point of view of its citizens. Swift admissions of guilt and hard-nosed accountability might cause short-term trouble for American leaders among their own people, but they would go a long way toward showing Iraqis that we have their best interests at heart.