It is understandable that folks can find themselves horrified that Americans could inflict torture upon anyone. After all, we're all supposed to be holier-than-thou and follow the "say Uncle" concept of ending a fight.

To despise torture is easy from one's armchair. It's very easy to understand it being applied by over-stressed young people who have witnessed friends blown apart, knowing full well that such horror is forthcoming and those "individuals" know who is behind it, probably when it will happen next, may have participated in the horror, and know where the traps and IEDs are.

General Taguba's report was highly detailed in its description of all of the factors - morale, training, stress, vagueness of orders, command failures, etc. - leading to the Abu Ghraib situation. It's worth reading the entire report to get a better understanding of what those young people at the far end of the feed chain experienced.

Warfare is not a clean and neat event. It's the most brutal experience there is, and the Marquis of Queensbury Rules do not apply. At the armchair and ivory tower level, warfare is more observed than experienced, and in most circumstances becomes an intricate chess match or numbers game. For those in lofty status, quoting UN rules and Codes of Conduct is very easy, and makes the whole warfare experience "simplified." However, for the grunt having to be in the muck and mire, stressed, seeing body parts flying in different directions, it just isn't that cut-and-dried. It takes a LOT of training and discipline to keep a force in control, and when you just don't have the training to match the situation, "stuff" happens and it just ain't pretty.

Crimes are crimes, and those who commit them find themselves prosecuted if the evidence is there to indicate a conviction will occur. However, political prosecutions because "we just know..." is an abuse of the justice system, and also a crime.

Do the ones who qualify as "rich and/or famous" normally have "less justice" meted out on them? Well, that's been the way it has been as long as I've followed the legal system. From OJ to Brittany to Ted Kennedy to a list ad infinitum, that's the way it has been.