Some "old debts" of the U.S. army in Iraq have been recently dug out again. Former U.S. army Major General, Antonio M. Taguba, who led investigations of detainee abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in the suburbs of Baghdad, broke his silence recently with a claim that he was forced by the Pentagon to retire from the army because he was "too enthusiastic" about the investigations. He also accused some senior commanders of being involved in the world-shocking scandal, especially then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who, Taguba is convinced, must have known the truth.

Taguba is not the only one coming out. A former intelligence officer of the U.S. army recently confessed openly of his "mistakes" on prisoner abuse. He realized that he had "overdone it", he said, after he read a memoir on the WWII Holocaust. He said that the U.S. government and military should be responsible for the sandal.

After it occurred at the end of 2003, the scandal was exposed the following year and became a target of international criticism. However, except for a few low-ranking soldiers who were punished, the "final culprit" has never been ascertained. Such an inhumane event, according to the opinion of many, simply cannot occur without knowledge and instruction from high-level commanders; at least, not without a silent consent from them. He is sure, said Taguba, Rumsfeld lied to Congress about when and to what a degree he learned and knew about the scandal. Rumsfeld, on the other hand, refused to comment on Taguba's remarks.

As late as two decades after the end of the Vietnam War, people still remember, defense secretary Robert McNamara made a particular confession. May the world not wait another two decades before Rumsfeld reveals the truth about this shameful event and the Iraq war.

By People's Daily Online