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Letter: Prison scandal started at the top

Monday, May 17, 2004 | 9:02 a.m.

Is it truly any surprise that the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison has taken place?

When one considers the actions of our country's leadership -- the preemptive invasion, virtually alone internationally despite the obfuscation by Rumsfeld of a coalition, its unequivocal rejection of the U.N., the macho "Bring em on" posture of the president, the outsourcing of military interrogation work to civilians, and worst of all, the continued holding of prisoners at Guantanamo with no access to the judiciary -- the inhumane treatment of prisoners can almost be expected.

And the source of this twisted action is undoubtedly at the very top, and not with the handful of enlisted personnel who are scheduled to take the fall. Undoubtedly, there were those higher up the chain of command who knew about and condoned the hoods and the leashes.

Truth and ethics are unfortunately in short supply in the current administration, and the results are clear: more terrorists and more U.S. lives lost, despite how conciliatory the president may appear on Arab television.

JOHN H. ESPERIAN

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