Why US Prisoner Abuse Matters

So why do gitmo, Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan matter? Because the Taliban now claim to hold an American soldier prisoner.

U.S. troops missing, Taliban claims to hold one - Yahoo! News: "KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. helicopters and hundreds of troops were searching on Friday for soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan just before a helicopter coming to their aid was shot down, while the Taliban claimed to be holding one American. "

If it's true are they likely to treat him humanely? Are they likely to make an example of him and say it is in retaliation for American abuses? Americans have often been abused in captivity -- Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and both Gulf Wars. Perhaps abiding by the Geneva Conventions guarantees nothing. But the stories of abuse that have emerged are unlikely to cow the Taliban now and probably guarantee that American soliders taken prisoner receive the harshest treatment. If you care about the troops, you should care about the stories coming out of the American military incarceration facilities. It endangers them all.