Iragi Security Forces Latest in Torture Allegations

I'm guessing the MSM will have a field day with this AP story, but will fail to see an important nuance...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - As she tells it, security forces put her in solitary confinement for days on end, whipped her with electric cables and accused her of having sex with a stranger. Humiliated and fearful for her life, the 46-year-old Iraqi housewife went before a TV camera and "confessed" to helping insurgents….

Zakiya appeared on a much-touted Iraqi TV program that airs confessions of alleged insurgents. The show has won the praise of security officials who credit it with boosting Iraqis' confidence in security forces, hurting the insurgency.

But the program has come under criticism from Iraqi lawyers, former detainees and families of suspects who accuse security officials of abusing suspects to extract the confessions, a practice reminiscent of Saddam Hussein's era.

Iraq's acting human rights minister, Nermine Othman, said she was aware of the allegations and has written to the interior and justice ministries about them.

If this is indeed happening, it is not good. I hope these accusations are only the exaggerations of insurgents and insurgent sympathizers looking to discredit the Iraqi security forces. However, there is one important distinction that does not make this “reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s era,” as the lawyers cited in the story state. In Saddam’s era I doubt they could have made a statement like that and kept their tongue inside their head. Certainly Saddam would not have a human rights minister legitimately looking into the situation. The Iraqis have a long way to go. If the allegations are true, this could damage the new government’s credibility with the people, but it also is a sign that due process and accountability are taking hold.