The Wire

Yesterday a United States military court suspended a hearing to decide if the female soldier photographed holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, should stand trial for abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. It was suspended due to the request of her lawyers, that top US government and military officials testify. But what about the bigger questions in this case – are we becoming a less compassionate society? What does the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, say about our tolerance for torture? Well, a British sociologist reckons it tells us a lot about the way in which different western countries handle this issue. Professor Keith Tester, Chair of Cultural Sociology at the University of Portsmouth, says the US Government was much more willing to accept that the photographs were real, and was also much more up front in condemning the acts. While the British Government handled the issue quite differently – questioning the authenticity of the photographs.