11 Soldiers Charged With Prisoner Abuse

Let's see what comes of this story:

Eleven U.S. soldiers have been charged with assaulting detainees in Iraq, the military said today ...

The U.S. military said in a statement that the charges against the 11 troops, who served in the Baghdad area but were not otherwise identified, were filed Wednesday after another soldier complained about the alleged assaults.

"None of the insurgents required medical treatment for injuries related to the alleged assault," the statement added. "Only one of the suspected terrorists remains in custody of coalition forces at this time."

The soldiers had been assigned to the Army's Task Force Baghdad but were taken off-duty pending the investigation, the military said, adding that the Army's Criminal Investigation Division would determine whether they should face trial by court-martial.

"Allegations of illegal activities will always be thoroughly investigated," said Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, a Task Force Baghdad spokesman.

Of course, we don't know what's going on yet, but it's a safe guess that the military command is just as sensitive to bad PR as the troops are sensitive to what happens if they do any "Abu Gharaibing. "

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the soldiers don't end up coming off like the little girl in this story from the Bookworm:

An 11-year-old girl who threw a rock to defend herself as neighborhood boys pelted her with water balloons is being prosecuted on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Maribel Cuevas says she didn't mean to hurt the 9-year-old boy — who acknowledged to officers that he started the fight in late April. He was released from the hospital after getting his head stitched up.

Maribel already has spent five days in juvenile hall with one half-hour visit from her parents. She then spent 30 days under house arrest, wearing a GPS ankle bracelet to monitor her whereabouts and is now due back in court early next month.

"They're treating her like she's a violent parole offender," said her lawyer, Richard Beshwate, Jr. (source)

As the Bookworm put it, it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.