AMMAN, 14 May 2004 — Although it may seem as if the welfare of the tortured Iraqi prisoners of Abu Ghraib was itself the center of the unfolding political controversy in Washington, the reality is strikingly different.

Neither the fate of the abused prisoners, nor the interests of the people of Iraq is pertinent to America’s foreign policymakers, or to those who covet their positions.

For the unexamined eye, the words of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before the Senate Armed Service Committee appear heartfelt and politically unadulterated. “To those Iraqis who were mistreated by members of the US armed forces, I offer my deepest apology,” he said. Some analysts concluded that Rummy’s little act might’ve secured his post, at least for a little while longer.

It’s rather strange how the fate of millions of people, exemplified by the tortured prisoners would have to concede to events of greater consequence: For example, Rumsfeld’s need to secure his post.

And since domestic politics, with its checks and balances, is the only factor of essence in a travesty such as Abu Ghraib’s, it came as no surprise that the only questions raised by the US media were meant to serve such an end: Whose head will roll? Who is the likely scapegoat? And how will Democrats exploit the matter?

A conscientious examination of the ingrained racism that led American troops to commit such sadist and vile acts against helpless — and most likely innocent — Iraqi prisoners seemed flat out irrelevant.

I also cannot help but wonder if opposing the occupation of Iraq, considering the physical and mental devastation brought about by Bush’s destructive foreign policy in that country is still “un-American”?

But these naive sentiments aside, Washington’s spin-doctors must be busy at work, offering their precious advice to Bush and his cronies — and of course his political foes — to escape the scandal unscathed.

Therefore, Rumsfeld was probably told to play the role of the martyr and absorb the fall like the old warrior that he supposedly is. “These events occurred on my watch as secretary of defense. I am accountable for them. I take full responsibility.”

Yet, those who fought an illegal and unjustified war together persist on deceiving the American public together.

For one, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff insists on justifying his action on moral grounds. While it is hard to detect any morality in this degrading mess, Myers said that his request to CBS not to air the photos of the tortured Iraqi prisoners had nothing to do with a government cover-up. He simply wanted to ensure that the photos would not inflame the “insurgency” in Iraq and therefore endanger American lives. As far as Bush is concerned, the emperor is well shielded by his devout warriors, as if he’s actually as stunned as the rest of us. Strange, I was always under the impression that it was the rigidity of the “Commander-in-Chief” that shoved Americans into this quagmire in the first place, sparking a murderous war that has claimed the lives of thousands.

Now President Bush has been assigned a new role: The seeker of the truth. “We will find the truth and everybody will see the truth. People will testify. There will be fair trials, if there are trials,” he told reporters.

Democratic presidential nominee Kerry, however, guessed that most Americans must have forgotten by now that he voted for a war and invasion of Iraq, and has in fact maintained a hawkish record himself, as militant and reckless as Bush. Consumed by his increased chances of a victory in the November elections, he decided to take on the truth-seeking Bush. “The chain of command goes all the way to the Oval office,” he said. The disheartening reality however, remains unchanged: The fate of Iraqis is the least of these self-consumed politicians’ concern. If it really is the dignity of the Iraqi man and woman that matters, then why not apologize for war itself? And why not confront Bush for unleashing his bloody campaign of “shock and awe” and false pretenses in the first place?

It’s appalling that only a few seem to make the link between the torture at Abu Ghraib and the larger context of violence and bloodshed that engulfed Iraq in the last year, the collective humiliation of an entire nation, the thousands of victims, the chaos, the rape, the killings, the kidnappings and more.

— Ramzy Baroud is a Palestinian-American journalist.