Arab Media Watch strongly condemns the abhorrent abuse by British troops of Iraqi detainees. These latest revelations ensure that the words "Camp Bread Basket" will be forever infamous, along with Abu Ghraib, for the disrespect for human life and dignity by occupation forces which carried out an illegal invasion under knowingly false pretexts. Such acts are an affront to moral decency, and add greater urgency to the calls for a speedy, full withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraq.

AMW also expresses concern at media claims that the latest abuses are limited in scope, when reports are surfacing and admissions being made that the opposite is true. Belittling the extent of such injustice simply adds insult to injury.

The Times has described the abuses as "undoubtedly...exceptional", the Financial Times has spoken of "bad apples", and the Guardian talks of "an exception to the rule".

However, the Independent and the Times reported Army Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Mercer as admitting that the problem was widespread and not confined to one camp. The Independent said that "prisoner abuse had become...frequent in British-occupied Iraq". 

Such reports demolish the often-repeated claims that British conduct in Iraq has been superior to that of the US. One must also wonder what other abuses may have occurred, or may be ongoing, that have not been photographed or revealed.

The Guardian curiously claims that the latest abuse revelations "seem not in the same league" as those of Abu Ghraib. However, a comparison of pictures shows striking similarities.

The Times claims absurdly that "the immediate outcry will probably be greater in Britain than in Iraq", though there are reports appearing of widespread revulsion in Iraq at yet another affront to their human rights.