The Nightwatch Program, Inc. - Crime Prevention At Its Best

The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal

Though we have not heard about it in a while, many people still remember the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. This event was constantly on the news at the time, updating us about who did what and who was accused of what, but now is the time for the scandal to be settled.

Now, a court case has been brought against Army Specialist Charles Graner, in defense of the victims of the humiliation suffered in Abu Ghraib. Although what was done to the prisoners therein is not exactly meant to be read here, almost all acts the detainees were forced to do were either humilaiting to the extreme, or simply brutal. Testimonies given by detainees paints a picture more of a madhouse than a prison, where the prisoners could have even killed themselves if they so felt like it, because no one was preventing them from doing much of anything. According to them, Graner was more or less the soldier who spearheaded the abuse, and even laughed and whistled while abusing the prisoners.

Although many of us have seen the photos, and it is not like you can deny that the detainees got abused, Spc. Graner does in fact have a defense. It is being proposed that Graner and his fellow soldiers involved were ordered by superiors, both military and civilian, to "soften up detainees for questioning". Whether this includes the kind of things that happened in Abu Ghraib, we will have to see. However, even if Spc. Graner is found innocent, Abu Ghraib is going to catch up to whoever was behind the abuse. Of course, it remains to be seen exactly who it catches up to, and when.

Regardless of your opinions on the war in Iraq, it is agreed all around that the Abu Ghraib scandal was NOT the way prisoners of war are supposed to be treated. Hopefully, whoever is responsible for the brutalities the prisoners had to endure will become known, and the issue can be laid to rest. Until then, we can only hope that the detainees themselves can find solace in that their torture has not gone unnoticed.