Why Would Dorothy Rabinowitz Lie?

We have today the clearest indication yet that the neocon criminals in the Defense Department have much to fear from the investigations into detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. The evidence can be found on the editorial page of today's Wall Street Journal, otherwise known as "Bartley's Wasteland."

Dorothy Rabinowitz, a dutiful neocon hag, devotes nearly 1400 words today to scapegoating the seven poor bastards who were merely following orders, concluding her screed with the following sentence:

It still remains to be seen whether those bent on portraying Pfc. England and her colleagues as victims, misled by superiors, will accord them the respect of judging them for what they were -- individuals who had at a certain time and place, obeyed the dictates of cruelty and sadism, imperatives that did not come to them from above -- rather than excusing them as creatures too lowly to know right from wrong.

Dorothy states unequivocally her belief that the orders to abuse the detainees "did not come to them from above", and yet the only evidence she cites in support of her contention is Pfc. Lynndie England's alleged omission to assert the "following orders" defense in her initial interview with military investigators. Dorothy must be held accountable, however, for her very selective evidentiary standards.

Why does Dorothy ignore the report prepared by General Taguba, in which he states the following:

I find that there is sufficient credible information to warrant an Inquiry UP Procedure 15, AR 381-10, US Army Intelligence Activities, be conducted to determine the extent of culpability of MI personnel, assigned to the 205th MI Brigade and the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC) at Abu Ghraib (BCCF). Specifically, I suspect that COL Thomas M. Pappas, LTC Steve L. Jordan, Mr. Steven Stephanowicz, and Mr. John Israel were either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib (BCCF) and strongly recommend immediate disciplinary action as described in the preceding paragraphs as well as the initiation of a Procedure 15 Inquiry to determine the full extent of their culpability. Gen. Taguba, ARTICLE 15-6 INVESTIGATION OF THE 800th MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE.

Why does Dorothy ignore Gen. Taguba's opening statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he stated:

"During the course of my team's investigation, we gathered evidence pertaining to the involvement of several military intelligence personnel or contractors assigned to the 205th M.I. Brigade and the alleged detainee abuses at Abu Ghraib."

Why does she ignore the following testimony of Gen. Taguba before the Senate Armed Services Committee, during which Gen. Taguba responded thusly to a question posed by Sen. Clinton:

SEN. CLINTON: Now, if the problems were severe and located principally in this one unit, then I think it is appropriate to follow the chain-of-command up to the decision to send General Miller to that prison, whereas I understand the testimony thus far, he set up a specific joint interrogation unit. He did, however one wants to describe, either coordinate or direct the MPs' involvement in the conditioning of the detainees. Is that a correct statement, General?

GEN. TAGUBA: Yes ma'am.

Why does Dorothy ignore the evidence that the use of dogs to terrorize and attack Abu Ghraib prisoners was ordered by Col. Thomas Pappas , the head of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib, and approved by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez? Why does she ignore Pappas' claim that the dogs were suggested by Maj. Gen. Miller D. Miller, former head of the detention center at Guantanamo in Cuba, who was dispatched to Baghdad by Undersecretary of Defense Stephen A. Cambone?

Why does Dorothy ignore this picture, which was published by her very own Wall Street Journal, depicting military intelligence personnel engaging in the same abuses Dorothy attributes solely to the scapegoats?



The Wall Street Journal printed the following caption under this photograph on May 14, 2004:

Spc. Charles Graner etched numbers into this photo in order to identify himself and others at Abu Ghraib prison. Spc. Graner is labeled No. 1 in the photo, which shows Iraqi prisoners bound together. According to Spc. Graner, No. 2 is a civilian contractor for military intelligence, Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 8 are military-intelligence soldiers, and Nos. 3 and 6 are military police. No. 9 is not identified. Lawyers are expected to use the photo in Spc. Graner's defense. Some notes by Spc. Graner have been cropped out of the photo.

Why would Dorothy lie? Why would she claim that the seven scapegoats of Abu Ghraib were acting on their own, an extraordinary assertion contradicted by overwhelming evidence that they were directed by military intelligence officials, who were themselves acting under the command of Gen. Miller, who was dispatched to Abu Ghraib by Stephen Cambone, Rummy's righthand man? Because the evidence of the abuses at Abu Ghraib leads right into the neocon's lair in the Pentagon, and because she has chosen to journalistically prostitute herself for the neocon criminals who have infected our nation's government and wield ultimate power in this country through their manipulation of an amoral and stunningly stupid president.