Lt. Col. Barry Venable told the BBC that phospherus was being used as a weapon (and not to illuminate battlegrounds, as previously stated), effectively creating a rain of fire over Fallujah.

So, let me get this straight. The use of torture is okay. Imprisoning suspects without charging them or giving them a chance to a trial is okay. Shooting burning phosphorus (which is considered a chemical weapon) over the inhabitants of Fallujah is okay. And all this was done to remove Saddam Hussein, a user of chemical weapons and human rights abuser, from power. Americans should be extremely proud of themselves.

I'm not going to get into the issue of the U.S. using torture, except to say that it shames me and shakes my faith in my country to the core. However, to suggest that somehow Iraq's new government is torturing prisoners because of some sort of monkey-see, monkey-do mentality is probably off the mark.

The U.S. recently began acting like a rogue nation, defying international law and breaking treaties designed to protect the innocent. Iraq has been doing it for decades. Whether under one dictator or an imposed government or a newly elected group of cronies, Iraq doesn't to be inspired by the U.S. to partake in torture. It's endemic to their system of "justice" - perhaps we are the ones taking the cue from them?

Don't forget "I am not a crook"!

My initial reaction was somewhat similar to Zaynab's, that it could be a faulty inference to think that Iraqi's torturing Iraqi's is a direct outcome of U.S. torture in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere during our ill-considered war on terror. I do think that the Iraqi's were culturally and historically capable of independently deciding to engage in torture without our help. But I also think that our government's sanctioning of torture has made it that much easier for them to do it with impunity. If we had set a high standard for respecting the human rights of detainees and prisoners (in Iraq and elsewhere) and made it clear that we not only did not condone torture but that we would also actively pursue and prosecute individuals who did, it might have given the nascent Iraqi government pause and possibly even have prevented the abuses that are coming to light. Once we relinquished the moral high ground, we lost most, if not all, authority to demand humane behavior on the part of the Iraq government, army and police.

With so many Bush fires to hose down these days, a busy WHIG can sure develop a mean appetite. There is not one good reason they should torture themselves, agonising over where to chow down with Mr.Chalabi, Iraq's new Roving Ambassador for Integrity,who is making a special guest appearance, as lecturer, in this week's compulsory Ethics Classes at the White House. The WHIGs, ever keen to create the right impression as hosts, might consider Bistro Beltway's stunning Special Du Jour:

'Shroom Cloud Rice&Yellowcake Fritters Under Glace De Ghraib.

Bon Appetit.

It's important that everyone remember before getting on the high horse that there is still a lawsuit judgment regarding the Abu Ghraib abuses that is due to conclude soon, when the Pentagon's appeal of the order to release the largest batch yet of photos from the original CD of the abuses Lynndie England was convicted of probably fails.

Are we being conditioned for the imminent release of the worst Abu Ghraib images yet by this very timely raid on Iraqi jails (conveniently run by Moqtada Sadr's militia--no friend of the US). Will the images yet to come be upstaged by the images from these recently discovered prisons?

Have we been fooled before? Are we being set up for an "everybody does it" defense?

This administration has no shame, and will do anything to advance its' agenda. Let's stop letting them get away with it. Keep your eye on the ball.

Lenslord

This is really all old news and not nearly as damning as what was reported in the Guardian on July 3, 2005. Essentially, it says not only the the US and Britain knew about the Iraqi Interior Ministry's practice of torture, but supplied the torturers with at least some of the means to carry out their work. Here are the links:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1520253,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1520259,00.html

I am still puzzled thatthe US Press ignored these articles. I believe even Salon let them slide by.