More Sunshine From Our Beloved European Allies
Generally, I get annoyed when people insist on tempering their outrage over Abu Ghraib by pointing out how much worse the atrocities were on Saddam Hussein’s watch. After all, we’re a 228-year old democracy; our standards are nothing like Iraq’s. Our successes and failures must be judged according to our own history, not to silly comparisons to the worst tyrant to roam the planet since the days of Pol Pot. Everyone knows we’re nothing like the Hussein Administration, so any comparisons and contrasts drawn between us and them are making a point that doesn’t need to be made. Right?
Wrong. Apparently, German anti-Americanism (but I repeat myself) has reached such extreme levels in recent years that occasional Saddam vs. Bush comparsions do need to be made, abroad if not at home. Here, the distinction is obvious: Seymour Hersh writes a credulous story based on hearsay from an accused guard’s attorney, making all sorts of wild, and probably inaccurate, predictions. So what do we do about it? We make fun of Hersh for being an idiot, and move on. That’s it. No prison camps Hersh, no hard labor, no kidnapped relatives. We certainly don’t videotape ourselves sawing his head off or, worse still, saw somebody else’s head off and blame it all on him. Hell, we don’t even make the guy put pantyhose on his head, strip naked, or walk around on a leash held by an ugly female guard who claims her superiors ordered her to attend an orgy. Nothing. But apparently, some Europeans don’t quite grasp that. Below is the text of the linked entry, followed by an English translation:
Das Bush-Regime und die Glaubwürdigkeit
Die Bush-Administration schafft es, die Glaubwürdigkeitslücke von der knappsten aller Wahlen bis zum Ende der Regierung Bush als das Hauptereignis der Amtszeit zu präsentieren. Sind wir schockiert, wenn wir im renommierten New Yorker lesen, dass die Aktionen im irakischen Gefängnis keinesfalls von isolierten Einzeltätern durchgeführt wurden, sondern Teil von streng geheimen Geheimdienst-Operationen waren?
Nein, so richtig schockiert ist man nicht mehr, der Bush-Regierung traut man alles zu. Weltweit.
Letztendlich ist das Verhalten der USA ein Schlag ins Gesicht der westlichen Demokratien und ihrer Grundwerte. Moralisch stehen die USA auf derselben Stufe wie der Tyrann, den sie beseitigen wollten.
Translation:
Credibility and the “Bush Regime”
The Bush Administration has managed to turn credibility gaps over the narrowest election through the end of his rein into the principal accomplishment of his Presidency. Are we shocked when we read in the renowned New Yorker that the incidents in Iraqi prisons were not isolated acts of individuals, but rather, part of a top secret spying operation?
No, we’re not really that shocked anymore. No one in the world puts anything past the Bush Administration.
In the end, the conduct of the United States is a slap in the face of all western democracies and their basic values. Morally, the USA is no different from the tyrant it sought to eradicate.
O-kay.
Now comes the scary part: Nico probably isn’t the only German who believes this rubbish. Now comes the really, really scary part: Germany is a democracy.
May 19th, 2004 at 6:37 pm
I was in Germany in 1989, the summer before the Wall came down. At the time, it was clear to anyone who was listening that the US finally favored German reunification, and that the Russians’ hold was collapsing.
But some of the Germans (educated people!) I talked to insisted that the only reason the Wall existed, and Germany was divided, was because the US wanted it that way. The Soviets, you see, had built the Wall because they were threatened, and the US was using Germany’s division to justify their military agressiveness. How else to explain the Pershings, except Reagan and Bush’s plan for nuclear war….
Not much has changed.
May 19th, 2004 at 7:52 pm
What do you expect from a people that systematically
butchered 16 million people? They’re probably still
pissed off we hanged a bunch of them after Nuremburg.
May 19th, 2004 at 8:24 pm
Good point. I’ll bet that they’re also pissed off that we won’t be hanging the culprits from Abu Ghraib. And because we have a death penalty. Yes, both.
May 19th, 2004 at 9:20 pm
What’s so special about 1876, and why did our Democracy begin then?
May 19th, 2004 at 10:50 pm
God. Damn. It.
It’s fixed now.
May 20th, 2004 at 8:04 am
I’ve been tired lately. I recall reading the 128 last night and idly thinking “Hmm, thought it was older than that.”
May 25th, 2004 at 6:50 pm
Submitted for Your Approval
First off…  any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here.  Die spambots, die!  And now…  here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council links:Religi…
May 26th, 2004 at 1:31 am
You are making two very simple mistakes:
a) you mistake anti-Bush’ism, which is widespread in Germany, other European countries (among them allies from the coalition of the willing like Spain and Great Britain) with anit-Americanism. The latter is existing too, thats true, but not so widespread and deep like the first. Because you yourself are in favour of the Bush government you take critics to the President as critics to America. However there are a (currently rising) number of Americans who share the criticism against G.W. Bush. And as long as KLuckers and Nazi-gangs with weapons can roam wild and free over US-American soil you are in no position to snear about other democracies! The US are a modell democracy considering the duration and strength of the democracy there – but it is not the only modell nor necessarily the best!
b) Germany is politically divided in as many different factions as is the US or other democracies worth meantioning. Taking some statements for being the sole and only opinion of Germans is about as stupid as believing that the whole of the American militarry forces can’t wait to get their hands on helpless prisoners for a little torture game and sexual fun just because a group of them actually did just that. I am a German conservative, Christian, opposed to liberals and lefties but still critical about how the Bush-government treated its long time allies and lied, provided false evidence and tried to trick the world in joining a “crussade2 for totally different reasons than the one actually in mind! But does that make me anit-American? Certainly not.
Director Mitch: I am getting a bit tired of these German-bashing cliches brought up by people who usually do not even find Auschwitz on a map even if it is painted bright red…. but at least we Germans learned one thing: there are certain orders you can not, need not and must not follow, even if the come from high up in your chain of command. I did not see any comments referring to this lesson learned after Private England declared, that she was just following orders…. That is the lesson from Nuremberg and we are greatful to have been taught just that by some great American lawyers and judges- so better start learning them yourselfes!
May 26th, 2004 at 7:39 am
Pat: “Morally, the USA is no different from the tyrant it sought to eradicate” is a broadside against the USA as a whole, not the Bush Administration per se. There’s no evidence the misconduct at Abu Ghraib had anything to do with the Administration anyway. Also, spewing crap about how BushLied (TM) isn’t particularly helpful, either. I don’t know what Nazis or “Kluckers” you are talking about, either, but part of living in a democracy is putting up with fringe elements.
As to the issue of obeying unlawful orders, I don’t for a minute believe Lyndie England was ordered to do any of what she did – certainly not to take part in an orgy. Even if she did (unlikely), it is well known that soldiers are not to obey unlawful orders. The idea even has a name which is widely understood: “the Nuremberg defense.” If you haven’t seen any comments condemning it, you probably haven’t been looking very hard.
May 26th, 2004 at 8:46 am
Xrlg: Granted, the phrase above uses US as “toto pro pars” in an inacceptable way. But we will always find those radicals or simple minds who can not differ between a certain person or government and the nation and its people. it is simple, it is easy to think so and remains totally stupid. However, the serious German media do well differ between the US giv. and the US (as synonym for the people) Besides: all polls show, that not even a simple majority is behind the Bush gov. anymore anyway.
Secondly: you are right, I should grant President Bush the same benefitof the doubt that I would grant any other person. So, while it is evident that a number of facts he presented to the public about the WMD in Iraq and the main reason for the war were simply not true, it is yet unclear, if he gave these false information knowingly or in good faith. Hence I take that “lied” back and appologize for now. There is some small evidence because of the words of Dep.Sec. of Def. Wolfowitz about WMDs never been the real main reason for the war in the first place, but thats not enough. And it would not be the first time, that an American president fell for false or tempered evidence, just rember the bombing of the “chemical weapons production” in Sudan under the Clinton adminstration, which turned out to be nothing than a simple pharmaceutical fabrication after all. Only the CIA informer had tempered with his soil samples in order to get paid…… It seems that the US administration and its agencies have just given too much credit to unreliable sources who were pushing their own agenda – like Iraq refugees in opposition of the Sadam regime. Not all of the were poor defenseless vitcims, it would appear now.
I am well ware of the power of the first amendment in the USA. However, one thing we Germans have learned the hard way that freedom of speech does have its boundaries in a democracy. Those wo want to destroy the democracy should not be totally free. Our constitution (supervised by American law authorities in 1948 and 1949 ) has found a good balance for that. Therefore certain disgusting things are forbidden in Germany. Thats what I was hinting at.
No, I have read a couple of dozends blogs I found listed at “drink this” and in none of them did I find such a clear and concrete statement like yours, sorry. Mostly it was about denial, than about not generalizing from the deeds of a small number to the troops in toto (absolutely correct!) but not at any place did I find a rebutal to her uttering, that she carried out orders and thought it was right, just a little bit weird……..
Cheerio from old Europe
May 27th, 2004 at 8:45 pm
The Council Has Spoken!
First off…  any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here.  Die spambots, die!  And now…  the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are Religion and Politics by Four Right Wing Wac…