Bush Calls Iraq Prisoner Abuse Wrongdoing of a Few

How the hell does he know that?

This scandal only just surfaced, a few days ago Rumsfeld and Myers hadn't even read the damn report detailing how bad the situation was a few months ago, no one even knows what the current situation is, and Bush is out there now saying that we're certain the problem isn't more wide spread? If we're certain it was only the acts of a few, then why are there, we hear, so many other photos, and even video, out there? If this only represented the actions of a very few, then why did those "few" feel comfortable having their pictures taken SHOWING THEIR FACES IN THE PHOTOS? They clearly felt that there was on problem doing what they were doing, or they sure as hell wouldn't pose with their faces showing. Why is it, we read, that lots of photos like these have been passing around the various soldiers stationed in Iraq, and at least one story said that was why the soldiers were taking these kind of photos, to share them with others (and I'd read that this is how the original set of photos got out, it was passed to a soldier who informed his superiors). That suggests that there's a culture among other soldiers, BEYOND the picture-takers, of tolerating and even lauding this kind of behavior.

At the very least, Rumsfeld made very clear at the hearing this week that the investigation is still ongoing (and really only kicked in to high gear when the shit hit the fan in the past week). So, how the hell can Bush know - AND TELL THE WORLD - that this is only the actions of a few?

He can't know. He's simply downplaying the scandal the same way he downplayed the outing of CIA agent Victoria Plame. Remember after that happened the White House wouldn't even comment on it, then finally when they did comment, Bush said that "we may never find who did it," or something like that - telegraphing to the investigators that failure was an acceptable outcome. And now Bush is telegraping to the Pentagon that if they make examples of just a few soldiers, that will be enough - no need to do a real investigation across the board, in all of Iraq and in Afghanistan and beyond, because Bush has now told us that there is no widespread problem, so why waste money and time looking for one.

Absolutely outrageous.