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DEFEATIST PRESS
We're fighting an implacable enemy, even though 99 of the Iraqis are sick of the war and move on with their lives. These fighters are small groups, either led by a religious fanatic Mullah or by a local Chieftan, either one of whom would be comparable to a Mafia Don in the U.S.

They're just extremely bloodthirsty, and the Arab world sees nothing wrong with the gruesomeness of some of their recent crimes. Think back, because the press in the mid-East did not do much complaining when Saddam Hussein was commiting his treacherous and murderous acts either. In fact, when Hafiz Assad ordered the leveling of a town in Syria in 1982 and killed every single inhabitant (more than 30,000), the adjacent countries didn't utter a peep. Thousands were killed in ?Syrian prisons in 1980, but that was also acceptable.

When Syria entered Lebanon, thousands more were imprisoned and died there, but again the Arab press was silent.

Now we're guilty of little more than "hazing", and although it is distasteful to most of us, it was not a major crime. Those guards in Iraq had many prisoners who were terrorists and dangerous, men who had killed and bombed others, but nothing is reported about that.

I sympathize with those young people who are now in trouble; they were over there on our behalf, and they are always at risk while there. Yet they did wrong, but not a great wrong. They will be punished for it, but I feel empathy for them.

Notice though, that the Muslims casually saw a man's head off, and prior to that they had ambushed, killed and then mutilated (by sawing off the feet and burning the bodies) four Americans working in Iraq, but the Media in those countries did not condemn those horrible atrocities. To most of the American press, including the Los Angeles Times, a big rasberry. May their reporters be buried up to their necks in camel dung for six weeks.