5. Abu-Ghraib - The location, Atmosphere, and Situation at Abu Ghraib by September 2003

 Abu-Ghraib - The location, Atmosphere, and Situation at Abu Ghraib by September 2003



Abu Ghraib was described by the Three-hundred-seventy-second Military Police as inhumane.  The environment in which the detainees were kept was the worse upon the worse.  The soldier's lack of experience of controlling and maintaining large crowds of individuals became extremely apparent. 

 

Upon arriving in Baghdad, soldiers learned of their fate.  Once they received their assignment to Abu Ghraib, they would be told that they no longer would need their weapon, as they would not serve in hand-to-hand combat.  Abu Ghraib, however, was the hot spot for attacks.  The prison was in constant state of attacks by the Iraqis.

 

The situation was horrific.  There were stories of the wild animals running throughout the prison while feasting on corpses.  The heat index could run as high as one-hundred and thirty degrees.  The lack of sanity facilities created a smell of death through the dirty bodies, feces, urine, etc. 

 

The atmosphere is fear helped to create an environment in which you could hear cries and pleads for help by the masses.

 

The overcrowding would reach a staggering one-thousand prisoners between July and August, the heat of the year.

 

 

4. American Techniques of War and Iraqi Civilians

American Techniques of War and Iraqi Civilians

The many unconventional tactics which were used during the war on terrorist are extremely harsh, as we have read.  The soldiers were that of normal basic training, slightly briefed on the rules of engagement, and had not received the intensive training on interrogations.  As a unconventional war, the soldiers were given, if any, very little guidance on how and when to engage upon the enemy.  Many times, if they received orders, it was to shoot then ask questions later.  Leadership was nonexistent.  Rules of engagement were null.  The plan of attack or normal rules were far from clear.

In Iraq, the civilian treatment was deplorable. Soldier felt they had the right to treat anyone with any treatment they deemed.  Houses were raided at the drop of a hat.  If news came of a terrorist, everyone and everything that closely resembled that clue were would be raided or arrested. 

This was worst than the Wild West, as women and children were treated as animals.

3. The Justice Department and the UN Convention against Torture

 

The Justice Department and the UN Convention Against Torture

 

John Yoo took a different position  on the definition of what torture and pain.  His position and definition of the terms were not in alignment with the UN Convention Against Torture.  In fact, he stated that the words were indeed too road of a definition which left room for individual interpretation by others.  The Justice Department; however, found the definitions were quite clear and did not leave room for interpretation by individuals. 

 

In August of 2002, we have knowledge where John Yoo writes a memo to the White House, in which he states that the definition of torture and pain is actually when the unlawful combatant experiences organ failure, impairment of bodily functions, and / or death.  This letter to the White House gives a refinement of torture by Yoo.

 

 

 

2. The Geneva Conventions and the War on Terror

 

The Geneva Convention is an actual document that was signed in nineteen hundred and forty-nine (1949) by the Allied forces (United States of American and all of its allies). This document lays out the laws and prohibits the use of torture, infringing upon civil rights of the humans, use of humility on the prisoners, and types of degrading treatment of all the detainees of the countries which agreed to the document.

 

The tactics used by the American military would become a major violation concern once the news broke out about Abu Ghraib.  As a violation of the Geneva Convention, the US would become a focus with the United Nations and the allies that agreed in 1949.   The US; however, did not find reason to abide by the Geneva Convention agreement, as they believed that they were fighting a unconventional style of war and it gave allowance for a new set of rules.  Those terrorists did not fall under the human subjection.

 

It was under the Bush Administration, that there was speculation that Vice-President Cheney went behind the authority of the President (Bush), Secretary of State (Rice), and General Powell to allow for the snubbing of the Geneva Convention by the military.  It was Powell that found out about the proposal too late and would later express his opinion on the subject in Washington D.C.   After this President Bush would call a press conference and state that he would only partially follow the guidelines set forth by the Geneva Convention.  This would in turn allow for Vice-President Cheney to sign off on all interrogation techniques which would be used at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

 



1. The Context of the Abu Ghriab Scandal

 

The Abu Ghraib scandal can first begin with the US Army as the first organization in which we should point our attention.  In Iraq during the summer and fall of 2013, the army was under the control of Rumsfeld and General Sanchez for the operation in Iraq. They soldiers, while in Iraq, had a ten month deployment in Iraq borders.  There was not initial plan for the soldiers, so they marched in and overthrew the Hussein reign in the Spring of 2003.  After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the people of Iraq were left without a government, financial stability, and a foreign military with a clear plan on out to get their country back on track.  President Bush and his administration attempted several methods of trying to reestablish a stable environment, but with no avail.  As the time marched on, the task became more and more difficult.  With the lack of a plan, the US army fell into confusion on whom and what type of war that they were attempting to fight.



Book cover from the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and Beyond by Michael Otterman

        It was during the summer of 2003, that they were several events that would take place.  On August 7, there was an explosion outside of the Jordanian Embassy by a car bomb.  Then on August 19^th, the United Nations located in Iraq was attacked by a cement truck that was exploded by a bomb and damaging the building.  In hind-sight, we were able to see that the objects of the attacked seemed to be the US soldiers, rather than the prisoners. As a counter measure the US would create a “light foot print” in Iraq, by removing troops from Iraq.  In actuality, Bremer, Chevy and Rumsfeld just diminished the actual number of troops to create a sense that US was removing troops, and force the Iraqi troops to control the public attacks themselves.

 

         The time period from the summer of 2003 and the fall of 2003 saw a rise in the sole control that was issued to the battalion to be able to run their own regionals.  Sanchez decided this would enable the battalions the ability to make quick decisions and give them the ability to adapt to the needs of the areas quicker.  With the lack of intelligence, and concrete evidence, the army found themselves ignorant of the actual military needs and intelligence of the events and needs which will end up with the US intelligence being called the Abu Ghraib intelligence Scandal.

 

           Abu Ghraib was the name of a prison that is located in Iraq.  It would house many civilians that were taken by the allied troops and treated by the punishment and overall treatment known by the US troops. The US army went through this segment of time kidnapping families and holding them hostage in order to send a message to the terrorist to reveal themselves or lose their loved ones. The US used this hostage situation as a tactic to gain more intelligence, and did not hold it in a negative light or see the infringement to the civil rights of the individuals.  As we learn more and more about the harsh treatment of Abu Ghraib, we learn that the treatments of the prisoners were decided to be an attack upon their culture and faith.  By use of punishment such as stripping the prisoners naked, and forcing them to pose in positions that would insult them, or stand naked in a room with many individual of the same / different gender, and even to physical abuse.

           The living conditions continued to worsen as the prison became more and more overcrowded.  Some of the soldiers would document the conditions and punishment through photos.  It is said to have housed ninety-percent of the prisoners, whom were actually innocent.  The soldiers were not trained on how to facilitate or manage a large amount of prisoners. The Geneva Convention clearly states, "Article 3 of the 1949 convention stated that people being detained shall be treated humanely, without 'outrages on personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.'" These prisoners were subjected to treatment that was considered unlawful. Many soldiers abused their powered and urinated on the soldiers. Many logical and predictable outcome of a series of panicky decisions made by a senior command resulted from poor troop approach. The Abu Ghraib scandal could have been prevented with the right planning and the following of the Geneva Convention.

 

The picture above is a picture from the Washington Post  from April 5, 2013.  This the an actual picture of the prison hallway where many of the prisoners were held.

           Soldiers were given the go-ahead to conduct harsh interrogation by their superiors. Dogs would be used to aid in scare tactics during the interrogations of the prisoners.  Water boarding was another tactic that was used.  Since many of the soldiers conducting the interrogations were not actually properly trained in interrogation tactics nor had someone of reason to implement a voice of reason. 

Army walking with President Bush during a visit

 

9. What Happened at Abu Ghraib?

What Happened at Abu Ghraib?

 

      Many events occurred at Abu Ghraib during the prison abuse scandal. There were prisoners who were subjected to the harshest form of treatments. Many of the men were left out for a majority of the time in the nude. This was part of a mental mind punishment by the holders, as in Iraqi culture it is a form of disrespectful for men to be naked in from of other men or women. As an additional hit to the prisoner’s culture, they were held in rooms together naked. 

       This was another hit to the culture, as it is seen as a form of homosexuality to be naked in the same room with multiple men. The male prisoners were placed in positions that made it look as though they were involved in lewd acts with each other and pictures were taken. While others were subjected to being placed in stressful positions such as being chained to a cell in an uncomfortable position.  The torture carried on to the men being stacked on top of one another naked, and were even forced to perform other acts that would be considered illegal in their culture. Many of the male prisoners could be heard crying out aloud for Allah and begged to not be interrogated.

          Then, the Prison Riot of 2003 made situations at Abu Ghraib even worse.  The Military Intelligence Police were highly agitated and return their frustrations through acts of aggression toward the prisoners. The MI police rounded up the “suspected” rioters and placed on the floor. Many of the MI soldiers participated in kicking them, stepping on toes, and hands to cause pain upon the rioters. The pain did not stop there.  The rioters were beating and punished until they confessed to the riot. Graner wanted to prisoners to suffer.  He made them crawl on the floor while naked and shackled together. The act caused much distress and the prisoners could be heard crying out in pain and anguish.

          Though the actions seemed awful, they did increase when the prisoners entered into the interrogation rooms. One example was when one soldier was taking an Iraqi pass an area where interrogations were taken place and the Iraqi told the soldier thank you for not taking him to be interrogation. The prisoners were beaten in the interrogation room. Al-Jamadi is the only photographed prisoner who is known to have died in Abu Ghraib. Prisoners’ civil rights were not in existence in Abu Ghraib.  The prisoners were not even registered or issued a number. It was said that the prisoner, Al-Jamadi, died of a heart attack, but he actually died in the interrogation room. The death caused a major cover-up with the CIA and Navy Seals.  The American CIA and Navy Seals tried to cover it up by placing the body in ice for 24 hours.  On the next day they would bring the deceased prisons out on a stretcher the next day with an IV in his arm. Graner and Sabrina were noted for their photographs of Abu Ghraib and they were charged because they actions.