Did The Soldiers at Abu-Graib Get a Raw Deal?

This is really a topic that gets me really worked up. So, for me it's best not to say anything cause I think once I started talking, I couldn't stop.

Now I would not call what they did torture. But I will say it was not right and in very bad taste. It hurt the credibility of this country a lot when all those pictures came out. As for why you did not see more higher ups heads roll. Well it is simple.....it was never put into writing. It is called plausable deniablity. All the soliders could say was they were told to do it. But they did not have any proof. The higher ups denied knowing anything about it. Therefore only the ones who htey had real proof on (those pictures) were ever punished. Also just to let you know the whole "I was ordered to do it" arguement did not work for those people. YOu know why? These is a rule in the military that says no solider will follow an order that is illegal. IF they feel an order is illegal than they have the right to not follow that order plus go as high as needed to in the military to inform about the illegal order and to keep anything from happening to them for tell. THey failed to do that. THey followed the order and now they are the ones paying the price.

Although I can't say as that I have any great sympathy for those soldiers, I don't think the torture started with them or with their immediate commanding officers, at least one of whom was demoted. I was listening to John McCain on TV this morning giving lame excuses for why those in Washington who originated the policy of torture should not be punished. He of all people, should know better. It looks like once again the top level perpetrators waltz away unscathed while those on the front line bear the entire blame. Sort of the same as what happened on Wall Street, isn't it?

I think you have to consider did the treatment they would have had had they been regular prisoners would have worked. So would have keeping them in isolation, feeding them bread and water, and what goes on to hardened criminals in a regular US Penitentiary or even how convicts were treated who disobeyed the rules would have been in Alcatraz. Remember we are talking about men and women who believe that by they are going to be in paradise, well anyway the men would with a lot of virgins. Also were they regular soldiers wearing regular uniforms, or were they dressed in civilian clothes, in other words, were they spies. AS for who is responsible, I used to watch a lot of horror and I could come up with some very gruesome ideas of torture, so the commanding officer told them to do what they can to get them to talk, and the enlisted men did. And if you think of the Twin Towers, you may do things that you would not do otherwise.

I dont know all the specifics but from what I do know, It doesnt seem possible that they would have been able to come up with these things all on their own. If you really think about it, most of these soldiers are young kids that come from small towns all across the US. Unless everyone involved all suffer from homicidal tendencies (which I doubt)someone with experience in war and torture tactics was choreographing this scene. In the end it just shows how loyal fellow soldiers superiors and peers are. Isnt their supposed to be a certain code of loyalty. Most of the people that I know who served have all said the same things. No one goes to the bathroom without being given the order from an officer. They were coached. dl

I have to agee with lil...there was no proof that the military personnel charged were ordered to do what they did and they did have the right to object and to refuse to participate in any activities they perceived to be illegal. I agree with you that, in the videos, they seemed to be enjoying themselves and that was the hard evidence that convicted them.

I have always thought that those soldiers were "damned if they did and damned if they didn't". I also have thought that it really makes us look bad a nation because we were there destroying a nation to promote "freedoms and liberty" and yet we were just as bad as the dictator ruling the country.

You are 100% correct that these officers were the scape goats for the commanding officers, who where hiding the fact that these tactics were common place in CIA interogations. Barack Obama, should order the justice department to reopen this case, and investigate who should really be in jail. I was so upset with Colin Powell for not standing up for these soldiers, I am sure that he knew the truth, and he should have came out and supported them instead of going along with the company line.

I think, the right of the military personnel should be brought to justice, and to impose appropriate penalties, or some responsible person should be introduced from above. No matter what the prisoners are cruel treatment, it is he deserves it, each person must act for their own price to pay. Maybe this is the price he should pay.