Abu Ghraib

ARLINGTON, Va. - What was the cause of the loss of unit cohesion and breakdown of discipline at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq? Dave Bischel, a National Guardsman with the 870th Military Police unit who returned home last month from duty at the prison, was quoted in Friday's New York Post as saying: "There were lots of affairs. There was all kinds of adultery and alcoholism and all kinds of crap going on." When I was in the Army in the mid-1960s, I never saw or even heard of anything approaching this.

With Standard Operating Procedure (opening today at the Charles), Errol Morris, who helped start America's documentary revolution with such celebrated films as The Thin Blue Line (1988), investigates a subject that already has, in his words, "a lot of fingerprints on it." He explores the physical and psychological torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, brought to light four years ago by a stream of abhorrent photographs. Morris persevered despite his knowledge that other print and movie journalists were laboring on the story, confident that his highly personal and idiosyncratic approach would produce unexpected results.

Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris' documentary about the crimes against humanity at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003, catalyzes unexpected and often harrowing blends of outrage, sympathy and sorrow. What it doesn't provoke are stock responses of political vengeance. Of course it condemns the higher-ups who escaped blame for encouraging atrocities against Iraqis in the name of American and Iraqi security. But Morris' indictment is even more sweeping. He puts the finger on all of us. He makes us feel complacency implies consent to unjust policies and procedures and to a culture that makes light of degradation.

CUMBERLAND -- What they did was, they set the thing up for early Friday evening, when all the older folks would be coming downtown anyway, to sit on plastic chairs in the brick-paved pedestrian mall to enjoy the music -- Don Robinson on his Yamaha keyboard -- in the last of the "Friday After Five" series of free summer concerts sponsored by the city and local businesses. That way, they'd be sure to have a crowd for the Abu Ghraib unit. It was a good idea, hometown strategic planning at its best, and it worked.

Sun Q&A: Tom Bowman on Iraqi prisoner abuse Jace Woods, Baltimore: Why are these soldiers being made out to be the scapegoats in this mess? Their lives will be ruined, and yet there will be some who will benefit greatly from this. Bowman: It's too early to say that these soldiers will be scapegoats. The investigation is continuing and is now focusing on at least one military intelligence unit, the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, which controlled Abu Ghraib. It's commander, Col. Thomas Pappas, has received a career-ending letter of reprimand.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- The U.S. military confirmed plans yesterday to close the Abu Ghraib prison within the next few months, part of a wider effort to hand over authority and facilities to the Iraqi government. Abu Ghraib - notorious as the site where U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi detainees and for its torture chambers during Saddam Hussein's rule - holds more than 4,500 inmates. Military officials said the prison, built by a British construction team in the 1960s, is crowded and needs replacing.

The images shocked and outraged the nation. Under the orders of U.S. soldiers, many of whom were smiling and giving a thumbs up to the cameras, Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison were seen performing humiliating acts while stripped naked. On TV Ghosts of Abu Ghraib airs at 9:30 tonight on HBO.

Opening statements are expected today in the Fort Meade court-martial of an Army dog handler charged with mistreating detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in late 2003 and early 2004. Sgt. Santos A. Cardona, 32, could be sentenced to 16 1/2 years in a military prison if convicted. He faces charges of assault, conspiracy, cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty and making a possible false statement. Another dog handler, Sgt. Michael J. Smith, was convicted in March of several counts and sentenced to six months in prison.

Here are excerpts from the Pentagon report on intelligence-gathering at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. While senior level officers did not commit the abuse at Abu Ghraib they did bear responsibility for lack of oversight of the facility, failing to respond in a timely manner to the reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross and for issuing policy memos that failed to provide clear, consistent guidance for execution at the tactical level....