A letter to the Mercury News

Dear Sirs:

In his letter of Sunday, February, 19, 2006, Scott Abramson upbraids the media for showing the latest round of photos from Abu Ghurayb, claiming that they will likely inflame more hatred towards American troops.

Whose sensibilities is he really concerned with here? As a nation we are responsible for what happened at Abu Ghraib. We need to hold our leaders accountable -- not merely the few low level military personnel who have been tried. To the extent that these photos show that the abuse was more widespread than previously believed by the American public, that it was a pattern and not merely the actions of a "few bad apples" like the Adminstration repeatedly told us, they need to be seen. Instead, people like Mr. Abramason would have us look away, would minimize what was done in our name. Rather than try and get to the truth, he would have us stick our fingers in our ears, and cover our eyes.

I am sensitive to the feelings of our soldiers, but that sensitivity must always take a back seat to a search for truth. I love my country enough to expect her to do what is right and honorable, even when that means facing hard truths, such as those shown in the photos from Abu Ghurayb.