One Soldier's Story: Part 13
I've begun a new project here at Patriotically Incorrect. My cousin (we'll call him John) is an Army Reservist and I would like to support him by serializing his story, mostly in his own words. If you missed the beginning of this story, you can link to it here. Thanks for reading.
==================================================
From: PI
Subject: Stay strong, stay safe.
Date: May 2004
To: John
John,
I suppose you know by now about the PR debacle concerning abuses at Abu
Ghraib. The question at this point is how systematic the abuse was,
and how far up the chain responsibility lies. Of course for me the
worst part is having to explain to people that you are not one of
perpetrators (I'd been telling them that you had been a prison guard
there before the news broke). I know now why your inmates cried when
you shipped out: they knew you were a good man, and the bad ones were
very bad. I'm curious, as far as you know, were these abuses
perpetrated before you were stationed there? Did you know any of the
accused? Have you been questioned about their actions? My mom was
told by Grandma that you were assigned to run the cell block because a
lot of guards had just been sent home for questioning. I'm assuming I
now know what the questioning was about. That might also explain your
instructions not to discipline the prisoners?
Sorry for all the questions. I'd like to be able to tell people as
authoritatively as I can just what your involvement at Abu Ghraib was,
since the name is quickly becoming shorthand here for some very bad
things.
Meanwhile, I sent a letter to the editor of my local paper about you,
and I have gotten a good response. I've gotten a call from a local woman who helps run a
veterans for Kerry group, and I got a handwritten note mailed to me
from the county Democratic party asking me to call them. I figure if
you can't spend the summer working for the Kerry campaign, I'll do what
I can for you in your absence.
Stay strong, stay safe. Take care.
PI
From: John
Subject: RE: Stay strong, stay safe.
Date: May 2004
To: PI
No no no!!! The QUESTION is: what did Rummy do IMMEDIATELY after he saw the
pictures in January. ANSWER: NOTHING. He did NOTHING. Nobody's investigated
that angle. The abuse really was isolated, but nobody believes that. It was a
couple of West Virginia sicko rednecks who perpetrated it. And supervision of
them was piss poor. It really was isolated...
Thanks for getting getting the word out on Kerry. [Your state] is a HUGELY
important state. If Kerry wins [Your state], he's got the election. So keep fighting the
good fight there. And don't just stay in your liberal enclave. Get a haircut
and venture out to a redneck town or two and tell 'em about you cousin in
Iraq. ;-) He he. Alrighty, gotta go. Keep in touch! John
8:48:42 AM 
|
