LONDON, 20 January 2005 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday described his disgust at photos showing abuse of Iraqi civilians, as news of the courts-martial of British soldiers accused of carrying out the abuse stunned and shamed the nation. “Everyone finds those photographs shocking, appalling and there are simply no other words to describe them,” Blair said in Parliament.
The prime minister echoed the words of the prosecution at the military tribunal in Germany, where three British soldiers are charged with offenses ranging variously from battery, to forcing people in their custody to simulate sexual acts, to prejudicing good military order. Some 22 photographs have been released to the media by the court judge, taken by soldiers as souvenirs of the acts allegedly carried out in May 2003 at an aid storage depot known as the “bread basket” near Basra, southern Iraq.
British politicians and media reeled in shock at the graphic images, with some critics saying they made a mockery of the moral case for war in Iraq. Michael Howard, head of the opposition Conservative Party, said it was a “shame on our country” and did not reflect “the true character of our armed forces.” Charles Kennedy, head of the anti-war opposition Liberal Democrats, predicted that the photographs were “liable to increase the difficulties and dangers for our existing troops ... within Iraq itself.”
The editor of the London-based Muslim News, Ahmed Varsi, said television channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya were headlining with the Britons’ alleged abuse, and described a state of shock across the Arab world. “Until now it was believed that it was only the Americans who would do such a thing. Even though the kind of mistreatment is not as bad, this will give a very bad image of the British troops,” he said.
The affair revived the international rage and shame felt last year when similar photos emerged detailing abuse by US soldiers of Iraqi inmates at the now-notorious Abu Ghraib prison. And it appeared likely to fuel the deep unpopularity in Britain of Blair’s decision to join the US-led March 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.
The prime minister and his army chief of staff, Gen. Michael Jackson, sought to defend the bulk of what they said were 65,000 soldiers who have served or are serving in Britain’s Iraq contingent. “The vast majority of those 65,000 British soldiers who have served out in Iraq have done so with distinction, with courage and with great honor to this country,” Blair said. “So whilst we express in a unified way our disgust at those pictures, I hope we do not allow that to tarnish the good name, fully deserved, of our British armed forces,” Blair said.
But military analysts here said the photos, published on the front page of the all British newspapers yesterday, would tarnish the image of the armed forces and possibly make it more dangerous for them.
“The British Army reputation is in great danger (with) these photos”, Paul Beaver, an independent expert formerly with Jane’s defense publications, told AFP. Beaver said the army previously had “a very high standard of decency and fair play... This is why we are so upset.”
“For sure, it will make the work of British soldiers in Iraq much more difficult,” said Charles Heyman from Jane’s. “It’s too early to tell if these are only isolated cases,” he told AFP. “We suspect that the story might be larger.” Blair argued that the court-martial was proof that his democratic nation was committed to prosecuting such crimes.
