Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction: The Iraq Legacies – Intervention, Occupation, Withdrawal and Beyond
- Part I The Aftermath of War: Strategic Decisions and Catastrophic Mistakes
- 1 The De-Baathifi cation of post-2003 Iraq: Purging the Past for Political Power
- 2 The Contested Politics of Iraq's Oil Wealth
- 3 Torture at Abu Ghraib: Non-disclosure and Impunity
- Part II Iraqi Politics since Saddam
- Part III The Plight of Iraqi Culture and Civil Society
- Part IV Regional and International Consequences of the Iraq War
- Conclusion: The Iraq Legacies and the Roots of the ‘Islamic State’
- References
- Index
3 - Torture at Abu Ghraib: Non-disclosure and Impunity
from Part I - The Aftermath of War: Strategic Decisions and Catastrophic Mistakes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 October 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction: The Iraq Legacies – Intervention, Occupation, Withdrawal and Beyond
- Part I The Aftermath of War: Strategic Decisions and Catastrophic Mistakes
- 1 The De-Baathifi cation of post-2003 Iraq: Purging the Past for Political Power
- 2 The Contested Politics of Iraq's Oil Wealth
- 3 Torture at Abu Ghraib: Non-disclosure and Impunity
- Part II Iraqi Politics since Saddam
- Part III The Plight of Iraqi Culture and Civil Society
- Part IV Regional and International Consequences of the Iraq War
- Conclusion: The Iraq Legacies and the Roots of the ‘Islamic State’
- References
- Index
Summary
If there is any image that encapsulates the failures of the US-led invasion of Iraq, it is the pictures of the twisted and tortured men of Abu Ghraib. The image of a man standing on a small box with a black shroud across his body, hood over his face and electrical cords attached to his fingers, has now become a symbol of Western hypocrisy and injustice. There is no small irony in staging a major military intervention to ‘liberate’ the Iraqi people from their suffering under the Baathist regime, which included routine torture (Makiya 1998; Sassoon 2012), only to replace this regime with a military occupation that was responsible for the events at Abu Ghraib. Over a decade since the declared conclusion of the Iraq War, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has led to adverse and far-reaching consequences, including the disintegration of international human rights standards due to the selective application of the rule of law and the breakdown in moral standing of the main governments involved in the war, and, most significantly, it has set back global strategies to prevent torture. This chapter discusses some of the long-standing social and political impacts of the torture of prisoners in Iraq by Coalition forces, and reflects on the consequences of the culture of silence and impunity that has typified torture in the so-called War on Terror. More specifically, it explores the culture of silence and non-disclosure that has led to further human rights abuses globally, including the exportation of torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib prison to different parts of the world, the increased public acceptance of torture in countries such as the US and Australia, and the marginalisation and vilification of certain groups within the global community. Finally, the chapter explores the importance of acknowledgement, transparency and accountability in relation to torture and for the broader promotion and protection of human rights and the achievement of long-standing peace in the region.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Legacy of IraqFrom the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', pp. 50 - 64Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2015