06/01/04

Power and Interest News Report

by Michael A. Weinstein

Whether or not the abasement rituals were a matter of explicit or suggestive policy, they occurred within an environment of dismissive negligence. Treatment of prisoners according to international standards was not a top priority of military leaders and bureaucratic defense intellectuals who conceived and have managed the occupation of Iraq. Regarding the consequences of their neglect of their own power and interests, the leaders were short-sighted. The 'scandal' of Abu Ghraib -- as it is now called most frequently in the press -- is one of the many failures of the occupation. Those failures -- most notably, the appearance of Sunni and Shi'a resistances, general insecurity and poor public services, and the lack of legitimacy of the governing authorities -- can be traced to a fundamental miscalculation of power."

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http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=175


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp