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Abu Ghraib: Accountability Still Matters
Torture is wrong and ineffective, but who is to blame - the people who torture, or their bosses who leave them to do just that? All are to blame, but even now, the bosses should be held accountable - even retired Rumsfeld.
Good-natured people, put in strange circumstances, can turn into monsters - says famous Stanford researcher Philip Zimbardo this week in the NY Times. Since his famous 1973 Prison Experiment, we know a lot about the conditions under which prison guards (even happy Stanford undergraduates) might become monsters.
That leads me to think of Abu Ghraib. Former Secretary Rumsfeld was a micro-manager. He approved everything that went on in his department, and even signed-off on specific treatments for prisoners. He got a big parade and an honorable farewell at the Pentagon. General Sanchez, who oversaw Iraq's operations also managed to escape accountability. Meanwhile, lower down the chain of command, Sgt. Chip Frederick took responsibility, but admitted that he did not know why he did such horrible things.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense failed not only Iraqi prisoners, but also failed the US public. The atrocious behavior of Sgt. Frederick and his peers could have been prevented by policy. It was not. The CIA is starting the learn these lessons, but the opposition Congress has a duty to make sure the whole government does not torture ever again, but that is not enough.
Senior-level people (even those no longer in office) who enabled torture - from the Pentagon to the Justice Department - should be held accountable under law. Or at least, they should appear before an opposition Congress to explain themselves and their mistakes to the American people.