In the spring of 2004, as reports of cruelty and torture of prisoners of war at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay began to surface, I was watching the PBS Newshour during their Friday spot with conservative columnist David Brooks and “lefty” Mark Shields. Sheilds reported a study of German POWs after WWII. The investigators heard the same story time and again from the soldiers. They were told by their fathers, uncles, anyone who had served in WWI, to “be brave, go to the head of the line, and surrender to the first American you see.” This advice was based on the fact that in WWI, Americans had such a reputation for decency that this was viewed as a reasonable way to get away from the fighting. The investigators estimated that thousands of lives, on both sides, were spared because of this tactic. As Mark Sheilds said in the interview, “Now, that is gone.”
We all know that freezing foreign aid will cost many lives and that is truly tragic and completely voluntary. Where do we go to get our good name back? More than ever, I appreciate Rep. Suzan DelBene, Sens. Patty Murray, and Maria Cantwell as they fight to right this colossal wrong.
Mary Minor
Snohomish
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