To tell the world

The Times has published the story of Joe Darby, the American soldier who informed the world about the torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. (The Times: “Why I had to tell the world what they’d done”)

“The photos bothered me,” he told The Times, “because morally they went against everything I knew to be right.” “I knew something had to be done. But I was afraid of retribution,” Darby continues. And retribution would follow. Ex-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld deviously congratulated him by name, and now Joe Darby is on the run, his life in danger because the torturers in the U.S. army accuse him of betrayal. They don't want the truth to be known, so they can continue to torture and murder innocent Iraqi civilians and resistance fighters.

When Joe Darby arrived back in the U.S. a lieutenant-colonel told him: “No, you don't understand son, you can't go home. You'll never be able to go home.”

On the other hand, those who wantonly murder Iraqi civilians do go home. The majority will never even be reprimanded, some will be discharged from the army and get on with their lives and yes, a very few will even see the inside of a prison cell. Pfc. Jesse Spielman was sentenced to 110 years in prison for the rape of a 14-year old girl and the murder of her and her family, but ... could be paroled after ten years.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. (The Guardian: “The US arsenal lost in Iraq”) That's during a period in time when General David Petraeus was responsible for security training, the same guy who is now leading the surge and is expected to report on its progress in September to war-criminal-in-chief George W. Bush. At a time when Washington is accusing Iran of arming the “bad guys” and seems ever more ready to strike Iran – perhaps even with nuclear weapons – the resistance's best arms supplier is the Pentagon itself.

And finally, a study shows that 8 million Iraqis – nearly a third of the population – need immediate emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. (CounterPunch: “Still Getting It Wrong: The New York Times and Iraq”)

And some say the situation in Iraq is getting better...