"Soft and Cuddly"

Today, an unrepentant Army dog handler received 6 months in prison for his role in the Abu Ghraib debacle.

Prosecutors in the case said that 24-year old Michael J. Smith allowed an unmuzzled Belgian shepard bark and lunge at Abu Ghraib prisoners, simply for his own amusement and enjoyment. Not surprisingly, the Defense argued that he believed he was acting on orders to soften up prisoners for interrogation.

Among the charges on which Smith was sentenced: 1) maltreatment of prisoners, 2) conspiring with a fellow dog handler and 3) ordering the dog in his charge to lick peanut butter from the bodies of other soldiers.

During his court appearance today, Smith seems to have no regrets about his actions at Abu Ghraib, saying "Soldiers are not supposed to be soft and cuddly."

Memo to Smith: No one said soldiers have to be "soft and cuddly." But you do have to follow the law. You see, Sir, there's this document called the Geneva Conventions that serves as a roadmap for the treatment of certain individuals in a time of war.

What's more, no one seems to be asking this basic question of George W. Bush: How is it that we tortured the very same people we said we wanted to liberate?

We went into Iraq (supposedly) to rid the country of it's (non-existent) WMDs, and to liberate the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator, in order that they might establish a democracy.

We tortured the very people that we claimed to have wanted to liberate.

Remind me again, someone, how that's supposed to help win the hearts and minds?