Bdos: A new high in schadenfreude

The title of the column in The Barbados Advocate is a joyful, Backlash in Iraq. Note the date of it, Web Posted - Fri May 14 2004. Yet, ignoring everything that has happened, such as the Berg murder, it commences thus:

The fallout from the United States-led invasion of Iraq continues! This time around, through the immediacy of satellite the world is reeling in “shock and awe” at the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. And if like me you got a chance to view the graphic photographs on television and the internet, your voice would undoubtedly have been added to the hue and cry, or more appropriately, “human cry”, as we say in the Barbadian parlance. The images, which leave little to the imagination, included a hooded man standing on a box with wires attached to his genitals, a pyramid of naked detainees with a smiling female soldier in the background and a naked prisoner on a leash.

The column continues for some length in this vein.

Then, in spite of his remark about the "human cry" to which he has added his voice, he remains silent on Nick Berg's brutal execution at the hands of Islamic terrorists, saying only:

The US government insists nevertheless that the humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail has no direct connection to the gruesome beheading of Nick Berg, a 26-year-old civilian telecommunications specialist who was seeking work in the Middle East. Berg’s killers filmed themselves cutting off his head, asserting it was in retaliation for the abuse of Iraqi captives. It is speculated that the hand wielding the knife was that of top al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zargawi. This heinous act also received international condemnation. Affirming that the US would “complete its mission in Iraq”, President Bush declared that there was no justification for Berg’s brutal death. As military interrogation methods come under scrutiny, accused soldiers of lesser rank, including two women, are adamant that they were only carrying out orders designed to make the prisoners talk. Up to the time of writing seven soldiers had been charged and pressure was being put on Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld to resign. As congressional hearings continue into the debacle, political pundits predict that the Iraqi war could very well be the nemesis of George W. Bush in the November elections.

The "heinous act received international condemnation"? I don't recall hearing much if any of it. Since the columnist takes so distant a tone in his comment, I am left to conclude that he will not add his voice to the "human cry."

Perhaps, Berg's American citizenship and the columnist's reluctance to be detracted from a far more revolting and juicy story about a handful of U.S. soldiers mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib combine to prevent him from adding to the "human cry."

It's wonderful to see that the "official" media, internationally, is marching in lock-step with each other and have their priorities in order.