Abu Ghraib torture scandal
The Abu Ghraib torture scandal emerged following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when reports of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison started to surface. An investigation launched by the U.S. Army in January 2004 uncovered graphic evidence of misconduct by U.S. military personnel, including severe mistreatment of Iraqi detainees. The release of disturbing photographs depicting the abuse ignited a political and international outcry, severely damaging the U.S. military's reputation and raising questions about American values and practices regarding human rights. Abu Ghraib, historically known for its harsh conditions under Saddam Hussein's regime, became a focal point for discussions about U.S. exceptionalism and the ethical implications of torture in the context of the "War on Terror."
The scandal highlighted broader issues within U.S. foreign policy and military conduct, leading to the dishonorable discharge and prosecution of several soldiers involved. Public response included a mix of outrage, reflection, and debate about the morality of torture, contributing to a shift in perceptions about the U.S. role in global affairs. Ultimately, the Abu Ghraib scandal had lasting implications for U.S.-Middle East relations, further complicating the narrative surrounding the Iraq War and the treatment of detainees.
Abu Ghraib torture scandal
The torture and physical and psychological abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003
Reports of prisoner abuse at Abu Graib began to circulate in 2003 after the US invasion of Iraq. To investigate these claims, the United States Army launched a criminal investigation in January 2004. The investigation reports contained graphic images confirming the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US Army personnel. Such pictures launched an international and political scandal that tarnished the public image and military integrity of the United States.
At Abu Ghraib Prison
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush launched the War on Terrorism, which embroiled the United States in separate wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Abu Ghraib, located just west of Baghdad, had emerged as an internationally infamous prison demarked by bloodshed, torture, and filthy living conditions caused by overcrowding. The United States entered the war in Iraq predicated on the premise of eliminating such autocratic brutality and ushering in a democratic free society for the oppressed Iraqi people. However, the impulsive nature of US war plans led to several missteps that the Bush administration would have to address and served as a major hindrance to the establishment of peace in the Middle East.
After the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Janis Karpinski, an Army reserve general and intelligence and operations officer, was placed in charge of all military prisons in Iraq, a service novel to her despite her experience in the Gulf War and in Special Services. Soon thereafter, Karpinski was formally suspended pending an investigation of the Army’s prison system, which would uncover a widespread, systematic abuse of power. A fifty-three page report written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba and leaked by the New Yorker elucidated a plethora of instances of blatant and criminal abuses against the Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Soldiers belonging to the 372nd Military Police Company perpetrated such acts as beating and sodomizing prisoners as well as threatening rape of male inmates. Graphic evidence, including eyewitness accounts and photographs, backed up the alleged wrongdoings. The Department of Defense subsequently dishonorably discharged and prosecuted seventeen of the soldiers and officers who had participated in the abuse. Participants from various government agencies also resigned.
US Exceptionalism in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
The notion of US exceptionalism, in which the United States would elevate itself above international protocol with regard to humane treatment of the incarcerated abroad, arose out of this and subsequent torture scandals. During the 1980s, when the United States was still engaged in the Cold War, one differentiating factor between the enemy Russian communist state and the “good,” civilized United States was that the United States did not torture foreign detainees. The Abu Ghraib torture scandal and the graphic photographs released thus shocked the American public and launched a national debate over the meaning and function of torture in US foreign policy.
The rhetoric of the 1980s regarding torture faded away during the 2000s, when American conservatives and exceptionalists alleged that the United States had a right to torture—the practice was already a normalized facet of US foreign policy. The Pentagon conceded in 1996 that the School of the Americas used training manuals on torture based on the methods utilized during the Vietnam War. In addition, various cases during the twentieth century demonstrated US-sponsored torture and abuse, such as the civil war in El Salvador (1979–92). Public opinion polls of the 2000s revealed that over half of the US population believed torture should be used in certain situations.
The Abu Ghraib torture scandal was therefore in line with the policies embraced by the US government since the Cold War, while it also resulted from the culmination of various policies approved by President Bush that allowed for US aggression during the War on Terrorism. The United States deployed a systematic chain of abuse of foreign detainees at various sites: Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, and other US-sponsored foreign autocracies.
Cultural Implications, Political Crisis, and Public Opinion
The political scandal that emerged in light of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal pertained largely to the anti-Arab sentiment articulated by US sociocultural attitudes after the September 11 attacks. Abu Ghraib became emblematic of a salient American attitude of superiority that rendered Arabs as violent terrorists whose cultural practices were inferior to those of the United States. The dehumanization of the prisoners was particularly humiliating and denigrating because homosexuality in the Arab world violates Islamic law.
Critics of US foreign policy viewed such behavior as illustrative of the United States’ disregard toward non-Westerners. The scandal worsened with the Bush administration’s response to the crisis as they tried to lessen the damage to America’s reputation both at home and abroad. Bush’s official apology deflected responsibility for the acts, asserting that such treatment was not indicative of the US Army’s protocol abroad and was reprehensible. He did so to buttress the credibility of the United States in foreign affairs; the nation’s position within the international community was already tenuous because of the War on Terrorism. Bush’s apology created a chasm between US forces in Iraq and the Iraqi people, which heightened the brutality of attacks on US forces during the Iraq War. There were mixed reactions to Bush’s apology from the American public, as it both repaired his public image at home and further destroyed his credibility.
Impact
International outrage at the treatment of Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib led to institutional changes within the US military prison system in Iraq. The scandal was also indicative of broader problems with the US campaign in Iraq and exacerbated negative public opinion about the nature of the war itself. White House officials acknowledged the consequences of the scandal as other countries perceived the United States as dedicated to denigrating Islam and the Arab world. The Abu Ghraib torture scandal soiled the already tenuous relationship between the Middle East and the United States and forced the United States to revive its public image within the international community with regard to the War on Terrorism.
Bibliography
Benvenisti, Meron, et al. Abu Ghraib: The Politics of Torture. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2004. Print. Essays explore a variety of perspectives on the Abu Graib scandal, from the soldiers and prisoners involved, to the US government and the occupied culture of Iraq.
Greenberg, Karen J., and Joshua L. Dratel, eds. The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib. New York Cambridge UP, 2005. Print. Documents the reports written by US government officials to establish the legality of, prepare for, and document interrogation and torture in Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.
Hersh, Seymour M. Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. New York : Harper, 2004. Print. Hersh wrote a number of pieces for the New Yorker regarding prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. His book explores the scandal from a wider scope, examining how the United States ended up in Iraq.
Mokhtari, Shadi. After Abu Ghraib: Exploring Human Rights in America and the Middle East. New York: Cambridge UP, 2009. Print. Uses speeches, news reports, and interviews with human rights NGO officials to examine three human rights struggles in the United States and the Middle East that occurred after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
Tétreault, Mary Ann. “The Sexual Politics of Abu Ghraib: Hegemony, Spectacle, and the Global War on Terror.” NWSA Journal 18.3 (2006): 33–50. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Dec. 2012. Analyzes the photographic evidence of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in terms of orientalism, the concept of Western superiority.