Outraged Senator Misses the Point

Re “Some Republicans Vent ‘Outrage at the Outrage,’ ” May 12: Sen. James M. Inhofe’s (R-Okla.) outrage at the outrage over the prisoner abuse scandal is based on the fact that Saddam Hussein inflicted worse abuses on his detainees.

By this logic, then it’s OK to abuse and torture these people as long as they come in under the very high bar set by the ousted, sadistic dictator. As justification for their heinous acts, wife-beaters often claim that their victims “deserved it” or “expect it.”

John De Simio

Los Angeles

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Perhaps Inhofe and other Republicans need to be reminded that the murderers of Nicholas Berg (May 12) are members of Al Qaeda, the same group held responsible for the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that killed thousands in New York and Washington.

That this group is not only still at large but also continuing to openly kill Americans speaks volumes about the failure of George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism.”

John Crawford

Sierra Madre

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Inhofe appears to miss the point, when he is “outraged by the outrage.” We Americans feel not only outrage but also terrible dismay. The U.S. government has taken us into a war that is justified as a God-given mission to bring freedom to the world, beginning with Iraq. Our qualifications for the mission are our high morals, exemplified, presumably, by the “spirit of the American people” often referred to by Bush.

But prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib is the pinprick that deflated that delusionary bubble, leaving our country standing naked before the world.

David A. Wilson

Los Angeles