Rebuke

Le Monde editorial
Torture in Iraq
LE MONDE | 03.05.04 | 12h49

The accusations of torture of Iraqi prisoners couldn't have come at a worse time for the US-American coalition, the end of the bloodiest month since the — official — end of the war. The accounts and photographs of brutal and degrading acts have traveled round the world, and their impact in the Arab street cannot be denied. Even if doubt persists as to the authenticity of the photos implicating the British.

The stone must not be cast at the coalition alone. With their blind attacks, the Iraqi opposition are not to be excluded. And torture is, alas, a damndable but common byproduct of situations of conflict and repression. No country can escape this, including France, for those who have not forgotten the black hours of the Algerian war.

Nevertheless, these unacceptable acts were part of worsening relations between Americans and Iraqis since the "liberation" of their country. And may they serve to contradict the Bush administration in its notion that it need not be bound by the relevant international conventions.

Since its arrival in Iraq, the American army has been heavy-handed and has, at the very least, been clumsy in its psychological war. At the same time, the Pentagon seriously underestimated the troop levels necessary to achieve peace. Still, it is true that even a quick reaction by Washington against the guilty parties may be insufficient, so general is the hostility of Iraqis, Shia and Sunna alike.

At least as serious is the dammage to president George W. Bush's prestige that this matter involves: a lessong-giving administration caught in its own trap. And, as the Washington Post points out, " There is an important and deadly serious lesson here, for American politicians as well as military commanders: The rule of law matters, even where America's worst enemies are concerned."

How, for example, can one justify "out-sourcing" the interrogation of prisoners or of others to civilian "consultants," mercenaries recruited from specialized outfits? it is crucial, as much to the coalition's image as to its efficiency, that it respect the Geneva conventions, in the field and in that zone of non-law that is Guantánamo.

It is not certain that this will be enough to right the situation on the ground. Despite this, the honor of the United States, former leader of the "free world" and sole super-power, depends on assuring that the guilty are punished, the such atrocities do not reccur and that international law prevails.

If not, how will they convince the Iraqis and Muslims — if this stil possible — of Washington's good faith? And how will they persuade other countries — European ones in particular — to participate in ther Iraqi peace process under American command?

— ARTICLE PUBLISHED INTHE 04.05.04 EDITION