Abu Ghraib

“”Whenever you show anger or disgust toward civilians, it's a victory for al-Qaeda and other insurgents...every time you wave at an Iraqi civilian, al-Qaeda rolls over in its grave.

—General James N. Mattis, who was roundly ignored

Abu Ghraib is a prison located roughly 20 miles to the west of Baghdad, Iraq, that was infamous within that country during the Saddam Hussein era for the torture that took place there.

Then the United States came in and made the place even more infamous throughout the globe for the torture they inflicted there, which was documented in a series of ill-advised photographs, in some of which low-level guards, rather unwisely, posed. Many of those guards were prosecuted, and some were found guilty. However, no one has ever taken full responsibility for the grotesque violations of human rights committed there, and no senior military or government officials have ever been charged.

In 2006 the prison was emptied of prisoners and the problem off-loaded onto the new Iraqi government, who have solved the complex issues of historical legacy, and an institutionalized culture of abuse at the site by giving it a new name. In February 2009 "Baghdad Central Prison" was launched.

See also

• War on Terror
• Iraq War
• ISIS

External Links

• The Abu Ghraib Files - Salon's collection on the torture and abuse.