New rightwing talking point: The abuse of Iraqi POWs isn't all that serious, it's no worse than some innocent fraternity hazing. That reasoning popped up on "Hannity & Colmes", and Rush "Baby Blue" Limbaugh said something similar today. That is just so, so stoopid on so many different levels. Innocent is tossing water balloons. And what was done to those prisoners was not innocent. The jackasses involved in the abuse have put every soldier over there at greater risk, and should any U.S. troops be taken hostage, well, we've lost the moral highground when it comes to demanding humane treatment. And you can just imagine how Rush and the other RW pundits would slather all over themselves if American troops were abused and it was dismissed as "fraternity hazing." This isn't friggin rocket science here. It's pretty easy to understand how those photos will just further enrage many in the Middle East and further erode the trust of an already uneasy Iraqi population.
Only 58 days until "power" is handed over in Iraq. And then all these problems will just go away (or, more likely, the media will be too distracted by shark attacks and the Jacko trial to report on the mess over there).