Fergus Finlay writes about the Abu Ghraid scandal in this morning's Irish Examiner. He runs through some of the Taguba Report with a view to asking whether President Bush should really be welcomed here in light of this report. {His answer is 'no', by the way.}
Finlay is so desperate to cash in on this bad news (for the Americans) that he overstates things. If he'd asked the Taoiseach to "make the president aware of our concerns" that would have been fine. But, to ask for the Bush visit to be cancelled? Are all leaders of countries whose prison systems (whether domestic or military) are less than we'd like to be shunned?
Does this mean Ireland shouldn't be welcoming Wen Jiabao,who arrives today? Surely, Fergus wouldn't want to welcome the man who oversees the torture of Falun Gong members or Tibetans? Or that threatens a small island nation that has the audacity to want to rule itself?
The Taguba report was commissioned by the army under leadership from the administration. Finlay states that if not for the leaked photos "there would never have been a public statement, just a quiet series of disciplinary actions against senior officers (most of which involved demotions) and the scapegoating of some privates". Perhaps, but it's worth remembering that the army did preserve the photos when they could have deleted them. And, the army did suspend/demote people early in the investigation. Charging and trying people always takes more time.
