Counterbias: The Abu Ghraib Trials

The Abu Ghraib Trials
Convicting Charles Graner is just first step towards repairing the United States' image to the world

February 4 2005
Counterbias.com
by Robert J. Nebel

Two prisoners are held in detention, awaiting a date with justice. One man was punched in the head hard enough to knock him out, and his captors struck another with a collapsible metal stick. This is not a fictional scene from the FX television drama The Shield. This is a real-life scene from Abu Ghraib prison. It is also some of the evidence that convicted Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the leader of a band of guards who abused prisoners at the now-notorious Baghdad prison in October and November 2003.

"He is not the monster he's made out to be," Graner's mother Irma said. "In my eyes he'll always be a hero." There is no doubt that Graner went enthusiastically to Iraq to assist in bringing democracy to its soil. After all, he believed his leaders. Many in this country also believed their leaders. We were all told that Iraq posed an immediate threat to the US, its allies and Iraq's neighbors.

Charles Graner could have been a good person. Only those close to him can tell us. It is sad to see a young man undergo such a character assassination and face prison time. But, at Abu Ghraib prison, something happened. He and his underlings snapped. This was Graner's defense. While many of us cannot empathize with what people like Graner experienced, the question here is, "why did he and the others snap?" Did the Defense department implement psychological programs for reservists like Graner so that they would not snap? The answer is obviously, "no." Saying that Graner was so psychologically scarred while in the prison is not the "ultimate excuse" for these atrocities, but it is one key ingredient as to why they took place.

Many of those who Army Spc. Graner reported to and worked with, knew what was happening. That is unconscionable on many levels. It says to the world that the United States is hypocritical.

The digital images that Graner helped produce were quickly disseminated around the world, causing irreversible damage. Seeing these photos and reading reports that detainees were subject to physical abuse and other forms of torture incited even more violence among insurgents. It also creates future terrorists.

Indeed the blood is on the 36-year-old man's hands.

Convicting Graner is just the first step towards repairing the United States' image to the world. More of these trials need to and will take place. This country and the world deserve more answers. In the meantime, the United States needs to build a multi-lateral military and political force to truly rebuild a shattered Iraq after an unjustified imperialist invasion. The unrest will only then be quelled. Life will be better in Iraq as infrastructure and jobs are created under a real democracy. The hope is that if this is successful, other Middle Eastern countries will follow. So far, this idea is not working because the PR battle is failing.

If the administration and its supporters minimize the meaning of Abu Ghraib, then they are taking the wrong path towards reconciliation. So far, many supporters are on that incorrect path. It is wrong to say that the guards were just, "blowing off steam." That is a mindless defense that only strengthens the enemy by providing more reasons for them to hate the United States and its remaining allies (goodbye Ukraine). It is disturbing to nominate someone for Attorney General who has said that the Geneva Convention is "quaint." It is unbelievable that a Defense Secretary shows little compassion in dealing with this issue and those who are serving in the military. It is horrifying that detainee Hussein Mutar, who supported the US-led effort was abused. "The Americans came to free the Iraqi people from Saddam," Mutar said. "I didn't expect this to happen. This instance changed the entire picture of the American people (for me)."

This country and its military officials are better than that. In Graner's case, the "passing the buck mentality" was also used in his defense. "It was a persistent, consistent set of orders," Graner's attorney said. "To soften up the detainees, to do things so we can interrogate them successfully in support of our mission. ... We had men and women being killed." That type of thinking ought to stop.

Leaders in all of our branches of government and the military have a duty to show the world that the United States can take the high ground and it is a nation of laws. Hopefully the Arab world will see that commitment.

Robert J. Nebel is an Atlanta-based writer whose works have appeared on this Web site and in USA Today, The Atlanta Constitution, Alternet.org and many magazines and newspapers. His site is http://bobnebel.tripod.com.