Al Jazeera and Decency

Our friends at Al Jazeera just don’t get it. They are questioning why we think that the POW tape they aired was a violation of the Geneva Convention. They also rail against our showing video of Iraqi POWs and decry our “double standard” on the matter. I want to know what is so difficult for them to understand.

The Geneva Convention protects POWs from becoming public curiosities and from media interrogation. It also protects POWs from atrocities like summary executions. It does not ban the showing photographs or videos of POWs. A photograph or video does not make a POW a public curiousity - dragging them through the streets in a triumph procession does. But even that isn’t the real problem here.

Al Jazeera showed video of Americans who had been executed. It showed a video of Americans being interrogated by the Iraqi news media. It showed pictures of American soldiers having pain inflicted on them by an interrogator from the media. It showed clear violations of the Geneva Convention.

But what about the American videos of Iraqi POWs they scream. Well what about them? They show Iraqi soldiers surrendering, being frisked, and then restrained. I have yet to see a video showing executed Iraqi POWs. I’ve yet to see a video showing reporters interrogating POWs for public consumption. I’ve yet to see a video that shows a POWs being put in extreme discomfort intentionally (restraining them is not the same as aggravating an injury).

They also claim that the Geneva Convention should not apply because the UN didn’t sanction this attack. The UN did sanction this attack, just not with an 18th resolution. And the Geneva Convention is not a UN rule, it is a treaty that we signed. The original Conventions actually predate the UN by nearly 100 years. Just because the UN didn’t pass resolution number 18 doesn’t mean that the Geneva Conventions don’t apply. They are two separate subjects.

Do we have a double standard? I don’t think so. We expect a certain level of respect to be accorded to our POWs. Is a picture of a POW bad? No, it may actually be helpful in showing the families that their son or daughter is still alive. Is a picture of a beaten or executed POW bad? Absolutely. Is that a double standard? No, it’s a matter of degree and of good taste.

I realize that Al Jazeera is “an Arab TV station” and that the Arabs have different standards than we do. That is no excuse. I have never met a Arab that condones murder. Claiming a double standard is wrong. The only thing that this video proved is that Al Jazeera has no standard of decency.