Torture Images a ‘Diplomatic Pearl Harbor’

This is not the first time photos have had a negative impact on the public’s view of war. The photo of a naked girl running from a napalm attack as well as the photo of a villager moments before he was executed at gunpoint had an impact on ending the Vietnam War. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy pointed out the power of the Iraqi torture photos: "The U.S. symbol in the Middle East is not the Statute of Liberty; people there know the image of a naked prisoner standing on a box with a sack on his head as the symbol of the U.S."

In addition, a Republican Member of the House of Representatives, Thomas Cole, recently said that these photos are the diplomatic Pearl Harbor of the US. He stressed that these photos have caused a great loss of prestige.

The American media also continue to focus on loss of American prestige around the world. Within this context, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will fly to Jordan in the upcoming days to try and counteract the loss. U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmet Qurey in Berlin.

Meanwhile, the greatest concern of the U.S. is not the negative reactions coming form the Middle Eastern countries, but rather that the support form European Union countries continues to wane.