NEW YORK (CNN) - I'd like to share a few of my thoughts about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners.
Like all Americans, I'm sickened by the abuse of Iraqis held in Abu Ghraib prison. It doesn't really matter that only a relatively small number of U.S. army military police were involved in such disgusting un-American behavior.
It is inexcusable, an affront to all our military serving in Iraq with courage and distinction.
And just as we take great pride in the accomplishments and the service of our military, all of us must accept the shame of even a few who disgrace the uniform and this country.
In my opinion, the commander-in-chief should be the first to apologize to the Iraqis and to the 130,000 men and women who serve this country in Iraq.
And in my opinion, we should apologize not as some suggest because these few soldiers offended Arab and Muslim, cultural and religious values. We do not require Islamic scholars or experts to guide our behavior in Iraq or for that matter anywhere in the world.
Their time is better spent counseling those terrorists and insurgents who attacked Americans, who committed atrocities against four Americans outside Fallujah and who kill innocent women and children in the name of their cause in Iraq.
No, we should apologize because those few soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison offended American values of decency, fairness and propriety.
Those are the values, after all, that underline our democracy. A democracy we seek to have the Iraqis emulate.
An apology is definitely in order.
Lou Dobbs is the anchor and managing editor of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.
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