The New York Times today has a highly-disturbing article on the murder of two detainees at Baghram Air Base in Afghanistan in 2002. It is based on a 2000-page investigation done by the Army itself into the incidents, which was given to the Times.
I have two questions: One, why doesn’t the Times make this report available in its entirety to its readers to judge for themselves? It could do so easily enough on its website where a video now appears that could be described as highly-editorial in support of the article. Two, has there been another military force in the history of warfare that so completely investigates the activities of its own personnel for purposes of reviewing their actions morally and legally and improving them?
I would like to add that, as a novelist, I found the opening paragraphs of this story particularly badly written, as if taken from the pages of pulp fiction. I’m not quite sure why the Times feels it has to hype its investigation this way. Perhaps because the news is already more than two years old.
UPDATE: Austin Bay and I will be on Hugh Hewitt’s Show at 4:30PM Pacific to discuss this article, Newsweek and related matters. Also, there may be a revelation regarding Austin and Pajamas Media. [That again?-ed.]
MEANWHILE: This report from La Shawn Barber is worth a look.
AND: Audio of Hewitt Show here. Another discussion of
Pajamas Media by the estimable Pejman Yousefzadeh here.
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