Who Cared?

It seemed only fair, in light of my accusation in the previous post, to do a Google search (based on the following sentence from the initial January communiqu? announcing a military inquiry: ?An investigation has been initiated into reported incidents of detainee abuse at a Coalition Forces detention facility?) and see if any media outlets then bothered checking into the allegations of mistreatment.

Didn?t find much original press or TV material using those terms (you will discover an AFP wire report on the news item from Pakistan?s Daily Times), but here are some excerpts from a February 6 piece by Ben Ehrenreich of L.A. Weekly:

Though they have received minimal attention in the U.S. press, allegations of mistreatment of detainees have been surfacing persistently for at least the last six months. The allegations range from generalized neglect ? unsanitary conditions and exposure to the elements ? to beatings, electric shock and other forms of torture.

It was not until early this month, though, that the U.S. military?s Central Command released a brief and tersely worded statement announcing, ?An investigation has been initiated into reported incidents of detainee abuse at a Coalition Forces detention facility.?

The announcement, so vague as to be enigmatic, came after several days of Defense Department denials in response to repeated inquiries by the L.A. Weekly about allegations of the torture and mistreatment of Iraqi detainees. Just two days earlier, a Defense spokesperson said, in regard to the over 13,000 Iraqis currently in coalition custody, ?No rights have been violated to my knowledge.?