The Good Guys

I have been told that Americans are the "good guys." We have values, honor human life and respect other people. Apparently this is not true when it comes to our military intelligence practices. I have often disagreed with my government, but my level of dissatisfaction with the United States government has never reached the point it has now. The pictures from Abu Ghraib prison speak for themselves. I am ashamed of our leadership.

These men were humiliated and disgraced with no sense of dignity, no respect for human life, and certainly no respectable values. Military intelligence personnel were under a great deal of pressure to get better information and locate the non-existent weapons of mass destruction that the Bush Administration had told us made Iraq a threat to world security. According to Major General Taguba’s report, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gave Major General Geoffrey Miller the task of beefing up interrogation techniques among prisoners in Iraq. After all, the war had to be justified so they needed to find something.

The techniques used are shameful and hit me much harder than usual war news. I was deeply grieved and angered seeing the pictures of men humiliated naked and forced to either commit sexual acts with other men or at least look like they were for the cameras. The picture of the men chained together lying on the floor naked in public view and at least simulating anal intercourse will be hard to get out of my mind. What kind of horrible creatures would stand around and laugh at men forced to rape one another? They are the horrible creatures that come from an Administration that is so conservative our President has often claimed he is doing the will of God. This is not the work God, President Bush, this is the work of great evil!

On a personal level the pictures brought back fears of high school over two decades ago. I skipped physical education class for months because I was afraid to shower with the other guys. I was attracted to my own sex. I was afraid they would notice a possible erection and rape, beat or kill me. At least, the guys I went to school with often said that is what they would do to a faggot. I had no reason to doubt them because violence was a regular part of the routine at the inner city Chicago school I attended. The teachers simply laughed along with these kinds of threats, so I knew I would have little if any support. Like many gay young people, I lived four years in terror. The acts commit at Abu Ghraib by our military cause me to empathize with the prisoners far more than I can justify any possible intelligence gained.

On a different level the horrendous acts remind me of the claims of the religious right concerning a passage of Scripture in the first chapter of Romans . While the passage is used to condemn same-sex relationships, it actually speaks of those who commit sexual acts that are unnatural to them as a part of the worship of fertility gods. It has nothing to do with loving acts between two people of the same sex who have a natural homosexual orientation. At Abu Ghraib, General Miller was responsible for the oversight of people who stepped up interrogation by forcing prisoners to have sexual relations that are not part of their natural orientation. They were forced to do sexual acts with their peers watching, and under the mocking laughter of American soldiers. This is the evil spoken of in the Bible.

It is always dangerous when a government claims to be doing the "will of god" or makes religious claims about itself. George Bush is no exception. For under his command people have been tortured and killed; Under his command they have been humiliated and dishonored; Under his command people have been forced to do acts that the Bible describes as indecent, abominable, depraved, and evil. The God of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism requires that we respect all persons as made in the image of God. Bush, Rumsfeld, Miller, and all those involved in the horrendous acts in Iraq should be very careful the next time they decide to claim they are on the side of God and righteousness.

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Robert Buchanan is a minister of the Ecumenical Catholic Church and a psychotherapist who lives with his partner of many years in Durham North Carolina.  He is the author of  Love, Honor & Respect: How to Confront Homosexual Bias in Christian Culture and serves as director of the Institute for Inclusive Christianity. a training program for ministers and clergy who do not discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, or because of financial, familial or social status.  Additional resources for inclusive Christians can be found at our Resources page.

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Last modified: 07/09/05