Child abuse by Americans in Iraq?

Remember when we discussed the speech by Seymour Hersh -- the one in which he warned that the worst news about prisoner abuse had yet to be aired? He muttered something about children. And then his voice trailed off.

According to the Norway Post and Germany's Der Siegel, Americans have imprisoned and abused Iraqi children.

Samuel Provance, a staff sergeant stationed in the now infamous Abu Ghraib prison said that interrogating officers had pressured a 15 or 16 year old girl. Military police had only intervened when the girl was already half undressed. On another occasion, a 16 year old was soaked with water, driven through the cold, and then smeared with mud.

Any soldier who witnessed or participated in such ghastly behavior should speak up now. Confession and remorse is the only way to avoid making a terrible situation worse.