It could be that soldier’s like those in this video are the exception rather than the norm, but how many exceptions does it take to alienate an entire population?
If our government is serious about helping the Iraqi people and winning the hearts and minds, soldiers that taunt innocent civilians have to be punished. The soldiers have to be punished in public so that the Iraqi people know we are on their side.
It could be that after Abu Ghraib there really is no way to bridge the gulf between our two peoples. But the aftermath of Abu Ghraib should serve as a blueprint for how to not heal the public relations wounds. There were no consequences for the military and civilian command that were ultimately responsible for letting the situation in the Abu Ghraib prison get out of hand. By punishing the underlings and not the powerful our government sent a strong message to us and the Iraqis that they only plan on paying lip service to the cause of Iraqi freedom.