Dear Senator Biden:
If you have been accurately quoted that
"This is the single-most significant undermining act that's occurred in a decade in that region of the world in terms of our standing. . . .Everybody understands the phenominal damage this accusation has caused in that part of the world"
then you need to undergo some severe attitude adjustment. Aside from the fact that the murder of thousands of Iraqis and the destruction of their cities has surely done enough to bring America's moral standing to the bottom of the scale, "this accusation" cannot logically be cited as a "cause" of damage.
Do you have a problem telling the difference between cause and effect? What has caused additional damage to the Iraqis and our reputation is the mistreatment of prisoners, the perpetuation of torture by those who claimed to be bringing it to an end--NOT the accusation and the presentation of pictorial evidence.
I am left speechless by the report that a "senior administration official said the timing of the photos was awful for the White House."
When our soldiers are instructed to provide no information but their name and serial number in the event of capture, this is done in the expectation that the adherents of international conventions on the treatment of war prisoners will respect that position. Why then is the United States military engaging in interrogation and torture of war prisoners? Also, why are "suspects" who are being rounded up blind-folded in addition to being handcuffed? Is it so they will be less likely to be able to identify their captors? And why are captives being hooded? Never mind being stripped of their clothing?
All of these behaviors need to be investigated by Congress immediately.