Lynndie England is sorry about Abu Ghuraib - about the photos, that is, not the torture; plus, Bobo sympathizes with the Kandahar massacre shooter

Talia Ralph reports in Lynndie England, Abu Ghraib soldier, still not sorry Global Post 03/19/2012:

Lynndie England, one of the soldiers infamous for her portrayal in the horrifying photos of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, said Monday that she still isn't sorry about how she treated detainees, The Daily reported.

"Their lives are better. They got the better end of the deal," England said in an exclusive interview with The Daily. "They weren’t innocent. They’re trying to kill us, and you want me to apologize to them? It’s like saying sorry to the enemy."

She seems to be moved by the same sentiments as the good Rev. Wade Burleson: "If you have to apologize, you shouldn't be at war. The United States is at war. NO MORE APOLOGIES." Lynndie England hears you, Rev. Burleson!

Lynndie England, one of the soldiers infamous for her portrayal in the horrifying photos of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, said Monday that she still isn't sorry about how she treated detainees, The Daily reported.

"Their lives are better. They got the better end of the deal," England said in an exclusive interview with The Daily. “They weren’t innocent. They're trying to kill us, and you want me to apologize to them? It's like saying sorry to the enemy."

Yes, that's the quote: "Their lives are better. They got the better end of the deal."

But she is sorry about the photographs:

Despite her lack of remorse for the victims, England said she does regret that the photos, which sparked anti-American backlash around the world, may have caused more US casualties, Slate reported.

"That's something that falls on my head," she told the Daily. "I think about it all the time.... Losing people on our side because of me coming out on a picture."

In other words, she learned that committing the war crime wasn't the problem, getting caught was the problem.

Then we have David "Bobo" Brooks, who specializes in calmly explaining why even the craziest Republican proposals are moderate and sensible, taking on the Kandahar massacre, explaining in his best Thoughtful Conservative mode why it wasn't such a big deal. It's kind of like riding on a bus. Or something.

Bobo's pro-massacre column is When the Good Do Bad New York Times 03/19/2012. Charlie Pierce does a takedown of it in The Savage Within David Brooks Esquire Politics Blog 03/20/2012.

But cynicism about Bobo's ponderous and pretentious manner of argument shouldn't detract from what he's doing there. He's presenting the highbrow, Very Serious People case defending the massacre for which Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is charged.

Would it be too much for Bobo to mention a name or two of the people whose murders he's justifying?

Qais Azimy provides the names of the dead and wounded in the massacre in No one asked their names by Aljazeera English 03/19/2012. One of the dead was named Mohamed Dawood son of Abdullah.

Tags: afghanistan war, iraq war, kandahar massacre, torture, war crimes

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