[Leica] Susan Sontag on Iraq Photos

[bdcolen at earthlink.net (B. D. Colen)]

The point some people seem to miss in all this is that, now that
eliminating WMDs is no longer being given as the cause for this war,
bringing American Democracy and values to the Arab world IS being given
as the rationale. So the question is this:

Is what went on at Abu Grahib an example of those values, or is it more
suggestive of the values of the people we were so anxious to remove from
power?

If it's the former, then we might as well fold our tents and go home; if
it's the later...then we might as well fold our tents and go home.

Pointing out that there have been worse violations of human rights
perpetrated by others, or even by us, at other times and in other
places, is hardly a defense of the behaviors being questioned.

B. D.

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Tim Atherton
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 1:32 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: RE: [Leica] Susan Sontag on Iraq Photos



> The death rate at Abu Grahib is in line with that experienced in US 
> prisons and is somewhat lower than that normally experienced in POW 
> camps over the past 70 years.  This is hardly a red flag, despite the 
> claims of wild-eyed fanatics thirsting most mightily to denigrate the 
> US effort in Iraq.

Marc,

so could you give us, for example, the comparative figures for deaths in
Abu Grahib and other detention and interrogation centres in Iraq and
say, Italian and German POW's held in Britain during WWII? Or German
POW's held in Canada during the same period?

A quick bit of research shows, for example, that in one series of POW
camps in one US State which held a total of 22,000 German POW's over a
period of 3 years a total of 41 prisoners died, only 4 of which were
listed as dying from "un-natural" causes.

Again one POW camp in Canada had 12,500 prisoners over a three year+
period and had 22 prisoner deaths (which include 5 executed for the
murder of two fellow prisoners) The rest listed as accidental (prisoners
were working on farms etc) and a small number of suicides.

But I'm assuming you have more comprehensive figures.

Even so, this doesn't strike me as a very high percentage?


tim



22 German prisoners that died in Lethbridge. Five of those were
prisoners who were sentenced to death by the Canadian Government and
hung for the murder of two fellow prisoners in the Medicine Hat Camp.
Most of the deaths that occurred were accidental but some were suicidal.

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