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Journalism of Courage
The Arab League said on Saturday photos showing US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners were ‘‘beyond disgust’’ and that such acts might have been expected from Saddam Hussein, but not those claiming to bring freedom. Hossam Zaki, spokesman for the Cairo-based body, said the League had complained of abuses by US-led forces after a mission to Iraq in December. The League feared more cases of ill-treatment were going unnoticed, he said. ‘‘It is beyond the words of despicable acts and disgust that we feel at watching such photographs,’’ Zaki said.
‘‘The irony of it is that Saddam Hussein never really held a banner of spreading freedom…He was an autocratic ruler, a dictator, a repressive ruler, whatever you want to call him. It was expected to witness such atrocities under his rule,’’ he said.
‘‘But to have the American soldiers supposedly bringing freedom and democracy and the American way of life to this part of the world, spreading this kind of shameful misconduct, that is an irony that to my taste is very sickening,’’ he said. —(Reuters)
