Her face is now recognized everywhere as the smiling, thumbs-up-giving soldier in the numerous torture photographs leaked from the Abu Ghraib prison. He is forever known as the ring leader of the detainee abuse scandal, and is still in service for the United States military until the end of 2014. Lynndie England and Charles Graner both received time in military prison for their roles in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. England was sentenced to three years in military prison (she only served half her sentence), while Graner was sentenced to ten years (he served 6.5 years of his sentence).
England now lives in Fort Ashbury, West Virginia, where she lives in a trailer with her parents raising her son, whose father is Graner. She has been unsuccessful at finding a job due to her felony charge, and is now on antidepressants that the military pays for while she's still under her military contract. She is unable to own a gun or hunt, which was her passion before entering the military, also because of her felony charge.
Graner was released from prison in Kansas in August of 2004, and he is now married to Specialist Megan Ambuhl, another soldier convicted of crimes against the Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. He received the longest sentence out of all the soldiers convicted due to his heavy involvement and proven leadership in the abuse. He is currently on probation until the end of 2014, when his military contract also expires.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Senate Armed Services Committee Report on Treating of Detainees in December 2008
After General Antonio Taguba attempted to set the record straight about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, The Senate Armed Services Committee debuted their own report in December 2008 that analyzed the scandal as well. In the report, their findings concluded that Donald Rumsfeld did indeed have a major role and bore an extreme amount of responsibility in the torture and treatment of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib, as well as other high ranking officials.
The report, issued by John McCain and Carl Levin, also stated that the methods of torture used were apart of the military training program Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE). This program is used to train American soldiers in case they are captured by an enemy that ignores the Geneva Conventions.
Because of the use of these tactics, it was concluded in the report that senior officials played a major role in the scandal, and their previous claims of innocence were now disregarded in light of the new information. Donald Rumsfeld and his team were now brought to light for their hand in the deplorable actions that took place in the Abu Ghraib prison.
The report, issued by John McCain and Carl Levin, also stated that the methods of torture used were apart of the military training program Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE). This program is used to train American soldiers in case they are captured by an enemy that ignores the Geneva Conventions.
Because of the use of these tactics, it was concluded in the report that senior officials played a major role in the scandal, and their previous claims of innocence were now disregarded in light of the new information. Donald Rumsfeld and his team were now brought to light for their hand in the deplorable actions that took place in the Abu Ghraib prison.
Antonio Taguba and his report, May 2004
General Antonio Taguba was the presiding official over investigations of the Abu Ghraib abuse. Because of his position and rank, he was required to draft a report based on his findings and investigating, which was then to be sent through the chain of command all the way to the President. He also had to present the report to the Supreme Court.
In his report, he condemned senior officials for being responsible for the abuse. As mentioned earlier, the M.P.s that executed the abuse at Abu Ghraib did not act on their own accord-they had to have received advice and intelligence from a higher ranking official. Taguba knew this, and accused General Miller and Donald Rumsfeld for supporting and encouraging the controversial actions that took place in the prison.
Through photographs and videos investigated by Taguba, evidence of sodomizing prisoners as a means of torture were discovered. Medical reports, which were later watered down by those who wished to stay out of the light, stated anal fissures and severe bruising on some of the prisoners. There were photos of American soldiers in uniform raping female detainees, and also detainees that were forced to expose themselves. Male prisoners were forced to strip down naked in front of female soldiers, who then pointed and laughed at their genitalia while the men were forced to endure the humiliation.
Taguba concluded that these M.P.s did not act alone, but were ordered and compelled by senior officers to act in such a manner. The torturous methods, approved by Donald Rumsfeld, were taught and enforced by General Miller during his time in Iraq.
When this report came to light, Taguba was abandoned by his colleagues and forced to stand alone. Eventually, he was driven to retire in light of the controversy after Rumsfeld and Miller claimed innocence and naivety to the situation. Even though Taguba submitted the photos and report to Rumsfeld before it became a public matter, Rumsfeld claimed he only received wind of the situation right before it became public. Abusing his power, Rumsfeld used his rank and position of great importance to cloud his guilt and portray himself in an innocent light, despite his signature on the memo that ordered the excruciating torture methods.
In his report, he condemned senior officials for being responsible for the abuse. As mentioned earlier, the M.P.s that executed the abuse at Abu Ghraib did not act on their own accord-they had to have received advice and intelligence from a higher ranking official. Taguba knew this, and accused General Miller and Donald Rumsfeld for supporting and encouraging the controversial actions that took place in the prison.
Through photographs and videos investigated by Taguba, evidence of sodomizing prisoners as a means of torture were discovered. Medical reports, which were later watered down by those who wished to stay out of the light, stated anal fissures and severe bruising on some of the prisoners. There were photos of American soldiers in uniform raping female detainees, and also detainees that were forced to expose themselves. Male prisoners were forced to strip down naked in front of female soldiers, who then pointed and laughed at their genitalia while the men were forced to endure the humiliation.
Taguba concluded that these M.P.s did not act alone, but were ordered and compelled by senior officers to act in such a manner. The torturous methods, approved by Donald Rumsfeld, were taught and enforced by General Miller during his time in Iraq.
When this report came to light, Taguba was abandoned by his colleagues and forced to stand alone. Eventually, he was driven to retire in light of the controversy after Rumsfeld and Miller claimed innocence and naivety to the situation. Even though Taguba submitted the photos and report to Rumsfeld before it became a public matter, Rumsfeld claimed he only received wind of the situation right before it became public. Abusing his power, Rumsfeld used his rank and position of great importance to cloud his guilt and portray himself in an innocent light, despite his signature on the memo that ordered the excruciating torture methods.
How did the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal become known and what was the immediate result?
The photographs perviously mentioned would eventually backfire an all the M.P.s involved in the abuse. Specialist Darby was trying to collect memorabilia from historic sites to bring back home when he discovered a disc of photos from Grainer that contained all evidence of the abuse. He immediately reported it to the CID, which immediately launched an investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison and the tactics of intelligence extraction used there.
What happened next could only be described as explosive. The photographs were leaked to the American news media, and suddenly the photographs were plastered on every news broadcast and web site. Everywhere someone looked, the images of American military torture were facing them. This instantly spread overseas and was broadcasted internationally for the entire world to see-including Iraqi civilians. Protests broke out all over the country over the torture their citizens were suffering in Abu Ghraib. These citizens, most of which were innocent and held without charge, were not apart of al-Qaeda, and were therefore protected by the Geneva Conventions as international law abiding citizens under the protection of Iraq. They were not proven to be acting as unlawful militants, and should not have been left at the mercy of the United States' disregard of international laws.
One of the strangest synonyms given to the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal was that the night shift acted in an "Animal House" behavior, suggesting that the M.P.s were acting on their own accord in such a detrimental manner, instead of executing orders received from a higher ranked official. However, many experts proved that the tactics used in evidence of the photographs were legitimate military extraction techniques that could not have been improvised by the uneducated soldiers. One photograph in particular depicted a detainee, standing on a box with his arms outstretched and a hood over his head, was a tactic used in Vietnam and invented by the Brazilian military. The fact that no novice soldiers could come up with these methods on their own proved that someone of a higher rank was providing the M.P.s with strategies and techniques for maximum effect. Karpinski was the only high ranking official to receive punishment for this condemnation, even though the excruciating abuse happened after the M.P.s left her authority and began receiving orders from Military Intelligence.
The entire situation of Abu Ghraib prison and the abuse that was suffered there has forever tainted the reputation of the United States, and unraveled the history of humanity the country had cultivated since its inception in the 1700s. Everything the country had ever stood for, worked for, and achieved, was now obliterated in the face of this scandal.
What happened next could only be described as explosive. The photographs were leaked to the American news media, and suddenly the photographs were plastered on every news broadcast and web site. Everywhere someone looked, the images of American military torture were facing them. This instantly spread overseas and was broadcasted internationally for the entire world to see-including Iraqi civilians. Protests broke out all over the country over the torture their citizens were suffering in Abu Ghraib. These citizens, most of which were innocent and held without charge, were not apart of al-Qaeda, and were therefore protected by the Geneva Conventions as international law abiding citizens under the protection of Iraq. They were not proven to be acting as unlawful militants, and should not have been left at the mercy of the United States' disregard of international laws.
One of the strangest synonyms given to the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal was that the night shift acted in an "Animal House" behavior, suggesting that the M.P.s were acting on their own accord in such a detrimental manner, instead of executing orders received from a higher ranked official. However, many experts proved that the tactics used in evidence of the photographs were legitimate military extraction techniques that could not have been improvised by the uneducated soldiers. One photograph in particular depicted a detainee, standing on a box with his arms outstretched and a hood over his head, was a tactic used in Vietnam and invented by the Brazilian military. The fact that no novice soldiers could come up with these methods on their own proved that someone of a higher rank was providing the M.P.s with strategies and techniques for maximum effect. Karpinski was the only high ranking official to receive punishment for this condemnation, even though the excruciating abuse happened after the M.P.s left her authority and began receiving orders from Military Intelligence.
The entire situation of Abu Ghraib prison and the abuse that was suffered there has forever tainted the reputation of the United States, and unraveled the history of humanity the country had cultivated since its inception in the 1700s. Everything the country had ever stood for, worked for, and achieved, was now obliterated in the face of this scandal.
What happened at Abu Ghraib?
I've talked about the soldier named Grainer in a previous post, and about how he began to express remorse at the abuse of power and the ethical questions he had regarding the actions taken against the detainees. This instance of humanity was only short lived. He became drunk on power as he was given more and more, and eventually became the most enthused torturer at Abu Ghraib.
His methods of torture were nothing short of disgusting. Detainees were stripped naked with women's underwear or their own forced onto their heads while their feet and hands were handcuffed to random bars of steel throughout the hard sites. Photographs were taken of M.P.s posing next the the nude and tortured prisoners, providing evidence for a scandal that was soon to come.
The prison riot of 2003 only made matters worse. Now the M.P.s were angered and upset about being attacked by their detainees. Not wanting to be seen as weak, the torture increased significantly. Now, bodily harm was being done in addition to humiliating tactics. Some prisoners were accused of raping another inmate, resulting in Grainer forcing them to crawl on the floor to ensure that their genitals would be scraped on the concrete. Soldiers began throwing NERF footballs at them, bruising their bodies. There is photographic evidence of soldiers stacking prisoners into a pyramid, naked, ensuring that their genitals and buttocks were touching each other in a humiliating fashion. Some soldiers posed smiling in these pictures, showing pride in the disregard of humanity they were taking part in. Prisoners were dying from the torture and interrogation methods, but many went undocumented. One prisoner death in particular was proven to be a homicide, but nothing came of it. Instead, soldiers in the photographs were punished for establishing evidence that the detainees were being tortured to death.
The most controversial component of this entire affair is the fact that there was minimal sufficient intelligence to condemn the majority of the hard site detainees. Most of the prisoners had no hard evidence keeping them in Abu Ghraib, but instead were being held on speculation and paranoia. Innocent Iraqis were being tortured to the point of trauma and death...for no official reason whatsoever.
His methods of torture were nothing short of disgusting. Detainees were stripped naked with women's underwear or their own forced onto their heads while their feet and hands were handcuffed to random bars of steel throughout the hard sites. Photographs were taken of M.P.s posing next the the nude and tortured prisoners, providing evidence for a scandal that was soon to come.
The prison riot of 2003 only made matters worse. Now the M.P.s were angered and upset about being attacked by their detainees. Not wanting to be seen as weak, the torture increased significantly. Now, bodily harm was being done in addition to humiliating tactics. Some prisoners were accused of raping another inmate, resulting in Grainer forcing them to crawl on the floor to ensure that their genitals would be scraped on the concrete. Soldiers began throwing NERF footballs at them, bruising their bodies. There is photographic evidence of soldiers stacking prisoners into a pyramid, naked, ensuring that their genitals and buttocks were touching each other in a humiliating fashion. Some soldiers posed smiling in these pictures, showing pride in the disregard of humanity they were taking part in. Prisoners were dying from the torture and interrogation methods, but many went undocumented. One prisoner death in particular was proven to be a homicide, but nothing came of it. Instead, soldiers in the photographs were punished for establishing evidence that the detainees were being tortured to death.
The most controversial component of this entire affair is the fact that there was minimal sufficient intelligence to condemn the majority of the hard site detainees. Most of the prisoners had no hard evidence keeping them in Abu Ghraib, but instead were being held on speculation and paranoia. Innocent Iraqis were being tortured to the point of trauma and death...for no official reason whatsoever.
Military Police Moved from Incarceration Staff and Placed Under Military Intelligence
After General Geoffrey Miller's stint at Abu Ghraib prison, the Military Personnel that were working under Janet Karpinski's orders were moved, and subsequently placed under the orders of Military Intelligence. With this move, the soldiers were now required to working closely with the interrogations and the set up instead of merely guarding the prisoners.
This move also required the M.P.s to actually take part in the torture of detainees leading up to their interrogations. Some had to watch the detainees shower and laugh at them during, in order to humiliate the prisoners into a psychological breakdown. Others were meant to keep the prisoners from sleeping prior to interrogations, mentally weakening them in order for them to break more easily.
One soldier in particular, Lieutenant Grainer, was specifically assigned to the night shift because of his previous experiences. He yelled at the detainees, keeping them up all night, and eventually began to question the ethics concerning the methods used.
The move from Karpinski to Military Intelligence didn't just affect the methods of extractions concerning the prisoners. The M.P.s at Abu Ghraib were beginning to suffer from self-torment and ethical fallouts in regards to their behavior towards the mostly innocent prisoners.
This move also required the M.P.s to actually take part in the torture of detainees leading up to their interrogations. Some had to watch the detainees shower and laugh at them during, in order to humiliate the prisoners into a psychological breakdown. Others were meant to keep the prisoners from sleeping prior to interrogations, mentally weakening them in order for them to break more easily.
One soldier in particular, Lieutenant Grainer, was specifically assigned to the night shift because of his previous experiences. He yelled at the detainees, keeping them up all night, and eventually began to question the ethics concerning the methods used.
The move from Karpinski to Military Intelligence didn't just affect the methods of extractions concerning the prisoners. The M.P.s at Abu Ghraib were beginning to suffer from self-torment and ethical fallouts in regards to their behavior towards the mostly innocent prisoners.
Major General Geoffrey Miller, Donald Rumsfeld, Ricardo Sanchez, and Interrogation Techniques
Geoffrey Miller, a favored member of the military by Donald Rumsfeld, was stationed in Guantanamo Bay where high-priority detainees were kept. Miller was ruthless. He employed any means necessary, including extremely dangerous and deplorable torture techniques in order to extract information from the detainees. Some of the techniques reported after an FBI investigation included chaining detainees by the hands and feet in the fetal position without food or water for nearly a day.
Later, the Bush Administration and the White House would release a document, the Action Memo of November 27, 2002, revealing that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had supported and encouraged the use of these inhumane techniques by Geoffrey Miller. Approximately eight months after the signing and release of this document that approved the use of extreme torture methods, Geoffrey Miller was moved to Iraq, in order to help extract information from the detainees by any means necessary.
Geoffrey Miller's arrival in Iraq meant harsher extraction strategies were to be employed. He believed that the soldiers were being too kind to the prisoners, and trying to adhere to some shadow of the Geneva Conventions. Since it had already been decided that the Geneva Conventions didn't apply, Miller encouraged the M.P.s to be harsher with their punishments. The techniques used were in complete violation of the Geneva Conventions, as well as other international laws ann United Nations statutes.
After Miller's arrival, General Ricardo Sanchez of the 372nd Military Police Company issued a memo on September 14th, 2003, retracting some of the torture methods he had previously supported and stated were necessary at Abu Ghraib. This led to confusion amongst the M.P.s as to what was appropriate and what was against their orders to interrogate. Abu Ghraib had become an asylum of naked prisoners being tortured, interrogated, and tortured some more. Most prisoners were now naked the duration of their stay. The arrival of Miller resulted in more extreme methods of torture and harsher investigation, resulting in not only the physical degradation of the mostly innocent prisoners, but emotional humiliation and trauma as well.
Later, the Bush Administration and the White House would release a document, the Action Memo of November 27, 2002, revealing that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had supported and encouraged the use of these inhumane techniques by Geoffrey Miller. Approximately eight months after the signing and release of this document that approved the use of extreme torture methods, Geoffrey Miller was moved to Iraq, in order to help extract information from the detainees by any means necessary.
Geoffrey Miller's arrival in Iraq meant harsher extraction strategies were to be employed. He believed that the soldiers were being too kind to the prisoners, and trying to adhere to some shadow of the Geneva Conventions. Since it had already been decided that the Geneva Conventions didn't apply, Miller encouraged the M.P.s to be harsher with their punishments. The techniques used were in complete violation of the Geneva Conventions, as well as other international laws ann United Nations statutes.
After Miller's arrival, General Ricardo Sanchez of the 372nd Military Police Company issued a memo on September 14th, 2003, retracting some of the torture methods he had previously supported and stated were necessary at Abu Ghraib. This led to confusion amongst the M.P.s as to what was appropriate and what was against their orders to interrogate. Abu Ghraib had become an asylum of naked prisoners being tortured, interrogated, and tortured some more. Most prisoners were now naked the duration of their stay. The arrival of Miller resulted in more extreme methods of torture and harsher investigation, resulting in not only the physical degradation of the mostly innocent prisoners, but emotional humiliation and trauma as well.
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