> One can hide behind the fact that it was Iraqis doing this but given our sway over their forces this doesn't hold water with me. We did nothing to stop these

> One can hide behind the fact that it was Iraqis doing this but given our sway over their forces this doesn't hold water with me. We did nothing to stop these abuses. Realistically, I'm not sure there's a lot the USA could do. When US forces arrest an Iraqi within Iraq, then it's a violation of Iraqi sovereignty not to hand him over to the Iraqi authorities. Given where Iraq is now (a history of repression, just becoming democratic), it would be extremely naive to expect Iraqi forces never to violate human rights. Unless the USA wants to stay in Iraq forever -- which would be unacceptable to both the American and Iraqi publics, and would make the situation worse anyway -- they have to accept that some torture and other human rights violations will occur.