From ABC News
“Photographs were aired on an American television network yesterday, showing prisoners stacked in a human pyramid and one detainee standing on a box with a hood over his head and wires attached to him.
The photos were taken at a prison near Baghdad where US Military Police are holding and interrogating hundreds of captured Iraqis.”

Oh, lovely. Doesn’t the last (and minor, and mostly retrospective on Australia’s case) leg of the coalition’s shaky platform of justification for the invasion of Iraq relate to the resulting liberation of the citizens of Iraq from under Saddam’s oppressive, cruel and unjust regime? Now we have coalition troops subjecting prisoners to degrading and cruel acts.

“Six Military Police members are now facing court martial over the prisoner's treatment.”
Provided they have the right people, this would appear to be part of an appropriate response to deal with the allegations.
“Prime Minister John Howard has condemned the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by the United States military.”

As he should.

“Mr Howard told Southern Cross Radio what has allegedly occurred is not helpful.”
"I was appalled but I note immediately they are court martialling people," he said.

Well, its more than just unhelpful, its pretty disgusting, you’re right to be appalled.

"People who did far worse than that under Saddam Hussein were promoted, they weren't court martialled.
"They were lauded, they were encouraged, it was an instrument of state policy to do far worse than that."

Er, what has that got to do with the current accusations? How is a comparison between acts by the US military and acts under Saddam’s regime at all valid? Remember, the coalition were the ones who felt that that old regime was so bad that it needed an invasion to sort it out. I don’t really think we should be using Saddam’s record on human rights as any sort of yardstick to measure the military of our allies against.

If this type of behaviour is to be usefully considered within any context, it would be a consideration of how such acts may set a baseline of acceptable behaviour for any future Iraqi regime.

If the coalition is now in Iraq to offer the Iraqis a better future, then surely that future must include basic standards of human rights and justice. If we wish them to be found in a future Iraq, then they should be practiced there today.

That examples of such disgraceful behaviour can be found within what has been portrayed as the sharp end of the coalitions’ efforts to combat terrorism perhaps shows us that if there is a war to be waged, the enemy is not only found across national, cultural or religious divides. Rather it is found within those who embrace and allow their actions to be directed by the worst that can be found within the human spirit. Soldiers who would fight this type of war must be first prepared to engage with and defeat the worst within themselves, so as to ensure that if they do leave the field of battle victorious, they are not leaving with the enemy hiding within their hearts.