NEW YORK -- One of the early explanations proffered for "Iraq prison abuse" was the U.S. military's failure to foresee the large numbers of Iraqis they would round up. This explanation (included in the May 9 New York Times article "In Abuse, a Picture of G.I.'s Ill Prepared and Overwhelmed") lost credibility in short order, quickly replaced by the revelation that the whole affair was "systemic," its cause rooted in the highest policy decision.
Yet, when the Times followed its account two days later with a mention of the Battle of Bataan, the initial attempt to point to an unforeseen situation to explain something that went wrong reminded me of a Japanese general during World War II. Why the Battle of Bataan? Because Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, who investigated abuse at Abu Ghraib prison and came up with a no-nonsense report, is a Filipino-American whose father was captured on Bataan by the Japanese "whose cruelties," the Times had to add, "toward many of their prisoners has [sic] been well documented."
The Japanese general that came to mind is Lt. Gen. Masaharu Honma. The commander of the 14th Army, which was tasked with attacking the Philippines at the start of the Pacific War. Honma was tried post-bellum and hanged for the Bataan "death march." His crime was that his soldiers committed atrocities.