Baghdad Burning Blog For Friday, April 30, 2004, “Those Pictures…”
Description: Riverbend described the mental anguish she experienced while the American military occupied Iraq. She felt that her fellow imprisoned Iraqi citizens had been intentionally mistreated by their American captors. In the back of Riverbend’s mind, the prisoner could be a family friend, a parent, a doctor, or a total stranger that would receive their subjugator’s angry wraith and were powerless to stop them. Additionally, she revealed her inner feelings of helplessness and outrage at a scandal that involved the American military’s inhumane treatment of Iraqi prisoners at an infamous prison outside Baghdad (258).
Example: To the embarrassment of the US Government officials and American Army generals, the American news media outlet ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation) and several Arabian television stations reported on horrific treatment of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison located in Baghdad, Iraq. Prior to the American invasion, this penal complex was used by Saddam Hussein to imprison, torture, and execute his political prisoners. After the Iraqi military forces were defeated in 2003, the Army used the Abu Ghraib top-security prison to imprison captured prisoners-of-war. American soldiers had done some of the following: starved prisoners, used military working dogs to intimate prisoners, took digital pictures of their prisoners in humiliating situations for their personal amusement, and American prison guards used “water board torture” to interrogate prisoners for American military intelligence gathering purposes. Instead of educating the American soldiers about the Geneva Convention, enforcing proper prisoner humane treatment procedures, and teaching Iraqi culture classes, the Army’s silence about the scandal, until it was announced by the press, fueled further Iraqi anger and outrage directed at the American occupation.
Reflection: Riverbend was furious when she heard about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Although she was quite upset, she continued to maintain her moderate views of America. Rather than calling for revenge attacks on the American forces, she documented the historical event perpetuated by their foreign military occupation. On behalf of the Iraqi prisoners, she sought to become their collective voice announcing their horrific treatment at the hands of the American captors and to increase the public’s awareness of prison’s illegal practices. When I read about the American forces’ scandal, I wondered why the Army’s chain-of-command tolerated their solders’ unethical behavior. As for President George W. Bush’s lack of actions, I perceived he condoned his troops’ actions. When I heard about the scandalous story in an ABC television news report in 2003, I felt anger and sense of powerlessness. Furthermore, I wanted those responsible officials to be held accountable for their actions. Even more so, I sought a cessation in the inhumane treatment of Iraqi prisoners. As for the American military service members in Iraq, I imagine each person worried about revenge suicide attacks by insurgents or being kidnapped by fanatical fundamentalists groups to be exploited for their religious and propaganda purposes. These reports of inhumane Iraqi inmate treatment may be used to justify retaliatory attacks upon US military installations, personnel, and sympathetic Iraqi civilians. Just because Riverbend is not able to immediately obtain justice against the American perpetrators does not mean that justice will not occur at a time in the future.
Works Cited
Riverbend. (2005). Baghdad Burning. New York, NY: The Feminist Press.
Very good effort here Mike. Nice reflection and insight into what River was feeling at the time.
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