The Abu Ghraib Investigations: The Official Independent Panel and Pentagon Reports on the Shocking Prisoner Abuse in Iraq

by Steven Strasser

Overview

In the fall of 2003, Iraqi prisoners were beaten, stripped naked, confined in small spaces, tortured, sexually humiliated, and abused by U.S. personnel at Abu Ghraib, a sprawling prison complex near Baghdad. The abuse was kept hidden by the U.S. military until photographs of the victims and their smiling tormentors were released to a stunned American public. Several investigations into the scandal were launched. Their assessment of the "brutality and purposeless sadism" at Abu Ghraib is shocking.

The Abu Ghraib Investigations reveals the awful truth about what happened at Abu Ghraib, who is responsible, and what can be done about it. It includes:

A lead essay by Craig R. Whitney of the New York Times, putting the scandal in historical and political context
Excerpts from the official Abu Ghraib Report, commissioned by Donald Rumsfeld, analyzing the events leading up to the abuses and their consequences

Excerpts from the Jones/Fay Investigation, commissioned by the Pentagon, detailing specific abuses in graphic detail

Photographs that led to the investigations of the abuses

Key documents, including official military interrogation policies and the infamous Presidential memo of February 7, 2002

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586483197
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	10/14/2004
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Former Newsweek editor Steven Strasser has combed through the extensive investigative documents available and extracted the most revelatory information about the abuses — the real extent of the crimes, the fundamental flaws in the military's detention and interrogation techniques, the egregious failures in command and leadership, and the consequences for the future of the U.S. military and the war in Iraq.

In his lead essay, Craig R. Whitney of the New York Times places the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal into an historical context, explaining how the crimes could have happened, and exploring why they have rattled our nation so deeply.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	VII
	Final Report of the Independent Panel to Review Department of Defense Detention Operations	XXV
	Overview	1
	Policy	3
	Detention and Interrogation Operations	9
	Abuses	12
	Policy and Command Responsibilities	14
	Introduction: Charter and Methodology	20
	The Changing Threat	21
	The Policy Promulgation Process	28
	Public Release of Abuse Photos	36
	Command Responsibilities	40
	Military Police and Detention Operations	53
	Interrogation Operations	65
	The Role of Military Police and Military Intelligence in Detention Operations	75
	Guantanamo	76
	Afghanistan	77
	Abu Ghraib, Iraq	77
	Laws of War/Geneva Conventions	84
	The Role of the International Committee of the Red Cross	91
	Recommendations	95
	The Photographs	103
	Investigation of the Abu Ghraib Detention Facility and 205th Military Intelligence Brigade	107
	Summary of Abuses at Abu Ghraib	111
	Incidents of Detainee Abuse Using Dogs	143
	Incidents of Detainee Abuse Using Humiliation	154
	Incidents of Detainee Abuse Using Isolation	165
	Appendixes
A	Units Involved from Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq	173
B	Presidential Memo of February 7, 2002	176
C	Evolution of Interrogation Techniques-Guantanamo	178