] Among the corrosive lies a nation at war tells itself is
] that the glory -- the lofty goals announced beforehand,
] the victories, the liberation of the oppressed -- belongs
] to the country as a whole; but the failure -- the
] accidents, the uncounted civilian dead, the crimes and
] atrocities -- is always exceptional. Noble goals flow
] naturally from a noble people; the occasional act of
] barbarity is always the work of individuals,
] unaccountable, confusing and indigestible to the national
] conscience.
]
]
] This kind of thinking was widely in evidence among
] military and political leaders after the emergence of
] pictures documenting American abuse of Iraqi prisoners in
] Abu Ghraib prison. These photographs do not capture the
] soul of America, they argued. They are aberrant.

[ This article is the best I've read on this topic... everyone should read it. -k]

washingtonpost.com: A Wretched New Picture Of America