One consequence of the Iraq war is to expose (once again) the false divide between "civilized" and "barbarous" nations. The United States seems as capable of barbarism as anyone else, as the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison make clear. Much of the time the barbarism in Iraq goes unrecorded, as when American tanks sweep into Iraqi neighborhoods and kill dozens of innocents in the name of fighting "insurgents." But barbarism is found in many quarters, as the grisly beheading of an American hostage made clear.
One consequence of the Iraq war is to expose (once again) the false divide between "civilized" and "barbarous" nations. The United States seems as capable of barbarism as anyone else, as the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison make clear. Much of the time the barbarism in Iraq goes unrecorded, as when American tanks sweep into Iraqi neighborhoods and kill dozens of innocents in the name of fighting "insurgents." But barbarism is found in many quarters, as the grisly beheading of an American hostage made clear.