An Outpost of Rational Thought
With all the emotional hand wringing and finger pointing accompanying the story on the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and the calls for investigations of the investigations of the investigations (maybe Ted Kennedy would be happy if a champion of human rights like Libya was in charge of the probe), it's refreshing to find a trove of thoughtful, sober analysis of the situation from Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost.
When the story broke, Joe theorized that a lack of training of reservists played a big part in the problem. He followed this up with another post defending his original position and explaining how military regulations reinforce the Natural Law. One of the aspects of the abuse story that has yet to fully explored is that it is yet another example of the fine line that keeps "ordinary people" from committing acts of cruelty and evil, and how easily that line can be crossed, especially in group situations.
Joe also explores the similarities between what went on at Abu Ghraib and hazing in the military, academic, and sports settings. If you think that this is trying to make light of the situation or downplay the seriousness of it, read some of the fraternity hazing stories or this laundry list of sports hazing tales, a disturbing number of which involve forced sodomy in some form or another.
Today Joe wonders why there is plenty of justified outrage at the abuses of Iraqi prisoners, yet scant attention paid to the epidemic of sexual torture in U.S. prisons. If you're looking for the goods, head to the outpost.
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