This Opinion Journal article by Daniel Henninger is a true must read, especially in light of the current Abu Ghraid scandal:

As perfect justice, the story in fact begins in Abu Ghraib prison, in 1995. With Iraq's economy in a tailspin, Saddam arrested nine Iraqi businessmen to scapegoat them as dollar traders. They got a 30-minute "trial," and were sentenced, after a year's imprisonment, to have their right hands surgically cut off at Abu Ghraib prison.

The amputations were performed, over two days, by a Baghdad anesthesiologist, a surgeon and medical staff. We know this because Saddam had a videotape made of each procedure. He had the hands brought to him in formalin and then returned to Abu Ghraib. Oh, one more thing: The surgeon carved an X of shame into the forehead of each man. And the authorities charged the men $50.

There is no excuse for the mistreatment of prisoners by US prison guards. However, there is no comparison between the isolated incidents of mistreatment by specific soldiers and the decades of mistreatment under the former regime. The number of Iraqi people missing ears, eyes, arms or tongues is a testament to that.

The world asks what is the difference between then and now? The difference that the U.S. Soliders responsible for the improper treatment of prisoners will be punished for their crimes. The Baathists responsible for the past atrocities were rewarded for their behavior. It was expected of them.

Here is another difference: The US is working to fix what is wrong - even those things we are not responsible for. A news producer named Don North was given a tape of the amputations. He tried to find these men and located seven of them. He decided to find medical help for these men and make a documentary about their loss and restoration. He started the ball rolling, but it took the help of many others to finish the job:

An oil engineer from Houston, named Roger Brown, overheard Mr. North's tale in a Baghdad café. He suggested Don North get in touch with a famed Houston TV newsman named Marvin Zindler. Mr. Zindler put him in touch with Dr. Joe Agris, a Houston reconstructive surgeon, who has worked in postwar Vietnam and Nicaragua repairing children.

Mr. North sent Dr. Agris a copy of the videotape of the surgical atrocities, and Dr. Agris said: Send me the men; I will fix them.

But flying seven Iraqi men out of Baghdad is easier said than done. In this case, prodded by Don North and government friends, the famous U.S. bureaucracy gave itself a day off. Paul Bremer wrote a memo authorizing their departure. Paul Wolfowitz told the Air Force it could fly them to Frankfurt. Homeland Security waived visa requirements.

Continental Airlines donated passage to Houston. There, Dr. Agris enlisted a fellow surgeon, Fred Kestler, to assist. The Methodist Hospital donated facilities, and the men arrived in Houston in early April.

I, for one, would like to see Mr. Brown's documentary. Unfortunately, no US broadcast or cable network will show it. Perhaps they don't have time to show 1 hour of Saddam's legacy, because they are too busy filling the airwaves with US misconduct.