I'm amazed at the number of right wingers (see Thomas, Cal below and too many hacks around the web to mention) who think that when we talk about US soldiers torturing inmates that it's important to provide context by reminding people that, well, you know Saddam Tortured People Too! Aside from the obviously bizarre low bar we've now set for ourselves, this isn't about how we here at home react to these pictures - it's about how people in Iraq do.
Aside from the horror, this is just a complete and total failure of leadership at every level. It's a failure of leadership which is going to lead to more and more of our troops getting killed. It's a failure of leadership which is going to chip away at our fast-eroding moral authority. It's a failure of leadership which completely undercuts the now-stated purpose of being in Iraq - spreading the flowers of American Democracy.
For decades America's standing in the world had 3 main components - military, economic, and moral superiority. The last one of course was never perfect, but despite our numerous failings over the years an idealized view of the US has persisted. Though somewhat mythic, it has been to some degree embraced and admired around the world. Heck, even noted America-hater Noam Chomsky has stated this is the best country in the world.
We'll presumably have the military and economic superiority for a little while longer, but for American Exceptionalism to persist to any degree, we also need the last one.
It's amazing that the PNACers have managed to prove themselves so wrong so quickly, and in the process destroying their vision of an "American Century." That was the 20th - I don't think it will continue.
