America facing hard options on Iraq

THE GRAPHIC pictures of Iraqi prisoners of war being tortured and abused by American troops and intelligence officers – splashed all over the world and on page one in the Arab world – is a devastating blow to the image of the United States. 

President George W. Bush and his administration have always maintained the high moral ground in their invasion and occupation of Iraq. The pictures have effectively destroyed any hope that Iraqis will believe that the United States is there to liberate them from oppression and give them freedom and democracy.