Torture and Responsibility

Torture and Responsibility

The use of torture abroad by the United States to gather information has reached extremes in recent years. As Molly explains lower in her blog, it is fueling the anti-American sentiment all over the world, and for good reason. What happened in 2004 in Iraq is unacceptable on many levels. According to CBS news, the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison included physical abuse, threatening with dogs, forced masturbation and sexual humiliation in front of a camera (Abuse at Abu Ghraib). This was similar to, if not worse than the terrible things that were taking place at the prison when Saddam Hussein was in power. Former CIA Bureau Chief Bob Baer recalled, "If there's ever a reason to get rid of Saddam Hussein, it's because of Abu Ghraib...It was an awful place." Yet after the liberation, American forces kept up the horrific atmosphere in the Middle Eastern version of Hell.


So we can all agree that this is an unacceptable way for anyone to act, especially soldiers representing our country. But who gets the blame? Where does responsibility fall? There's little doubt that those directly responsible, those with the blood literally on their hands, should have consequences taken out on them. Even if they were just following orders, it is still unacceptable to commit crimes such as these regardless of circumstance. But there is doubt on how high up the blame can go. Can the warden, Captain Donald J. Reese be blamed, even if he took no part or maybe didn't even know what was going on? Can some guilt drop to First Lt. Lewis C. Raeder, accused of not training troops thoroughly on the Geneva Convention prohibiting mistreatment of POWs? Can the Brigade General Janis Karpinski be held responsible; who was in command of the Army Reserve unit was in charge of the prison at the time of the abuse? Can we trace it all the way back to Lt. General Ricardo S. Sanchez, the top Army General at the time, or even Donald H. Rumsfeld, the U.S. secretary of Defense? Staff Sergeant Frederick said about the investigation, "I hope the investigation is including not only the people who committed the crimes, but some of the people that might have encouraged the crimes as well. Because they certainly share some of the responsibility as well." (Abuse of Iraqi POWs)


There is evidence that suggests the guilt of those higher up in the system, such as the comments made by some of the soldiers on the scene. Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick said that upon questioning some of the procedures, he received the response, "This is how military Intelligence (MI) wants it done." (Abu Ghraib) Frederick also commented, "We had no support, no training whatsoever. And I kept asking my chain of command for certain things...like rules and regulations. And it just wasn't happening." (Abu Ghraib) So clearly the guilt should be traced higher, and some argue all the way to the top. That argument is related to the term representation. These people are representing America by their actions, and the privates and specialists are representing their elder statesmen in the Army. So if they do something reprehensible, the leaders must accept responsibility for the actions of those representing. That's not to say Rumsfeld should be thrown in jail, but he should accept that bad things took place under his watch and actions need to be taken to prevent this from happening again.


All of this brings to mind a song by a peaceful surf-rocker Jack Johnson called Cookie Jar. The song goes through a progression of denial, starting with a young gun toting boy, and continues through his parents, the media man, the musical lyricist, and eventually down to us, the people. Johnson claims that everyone is partially responsible for the child's action, by allowing it to happen. The song is about the evils of television, but his points about responsibility are applicable here as well.

l'd turn on the TV, but it’s so embarrassing
to see all the other people, i don't know what they mean
it was magic at first, when they spoke without sound
but now this world is gonna hurt, you better turn that thing down
turn it around

it wasn't me, says the boy with the gun
sure i pulled the trigger, but it needed to be done
because life's been killing me ever since it begun
you cant blame me because i'm too young

you cant blame me, sure the killer was my son
but i didnt teach him to pull the trigger of the gun
its the killing on his tv screen
you cant blame me, its those images he seen

you cant blame me, says the media man
i wasnt the one who came up with the plan
i just point my camera at what the people want to see
its a two way mirror and you cant blame me

you cant blame me, says the singer of the song
or the maker of the movie which he based his life on
its only entertainment, as anyone can see
its smoke machines and makeup, you cant fool me

it was you, it was me, it was every man
we've all got the blood on our hands
we only receive what we demand
and if we want hell then hells what well have


So, does this mean we can be held responsible for what happened in Abu Ghraib? Not necessarily. But it stands to argue that maybe we should accept that as Americans we cannot allow our soldiers, those that represent us overseas, to commit such acts, and now that they have, accept that we, as Americans have made a regrettable mistake and make steps to ensure that it never happens again.


Bibliography


"Abuse Of Iraqi POWs By GIs Probed." 60 Minutes II 28 Apr 2008 1-3. 25 Nov 2008 .


"Abuse at Abu Ghraib-Interactive link." 60 Minutes II 28 Apr 2008 25 Nov 2008 .


Johnson, Jack. "Cookie Jar." On and On. 2003.