The Abu Ghraib remains one of the world’s most notorious scandal of torture with remarkable implications on enhanced interrogation. A controversial study by Zimbardo to research how people would conform to psychological punishment in prison named the Stanford Prison Experiment led to Abu Ghraib (Zimbardo 3). Unfortunately, a leak of photographs of abuse released from the prison shocked the globe as they indicated torture and abuse against the Geneva Convention. Although the US government responded by implementing the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Senate Amendment of 2005 prohibiting torture in custody, psychological and physical maltreatment is still profound (Letta and Epstein par5). For instance, a report recently released by the Guardian highlighted that the US military utilize torture against Islamic militants in Guantanamo bay (Yachot 1). Evaluating the aftermath of Abu Ghraib torture and violation of human rights, efforts implemented to address the causes of what happened and hold the responsible persons accountable are ineffective.
Only responsible persons at the bottom of the command chain were held accountable for Abu Ghraib. The power structure of the US military and the coercive tactics of torture employed by the senior US officials was the major driver of the Abu Ghraib scandal (Zimbardo 329). Before the incident, senior military officials were defiant of abusive activities and subjected to foreigners imprisoned in war zones until Joe Darby, a junior officer. Notwithstanding that all junior officers directly involved in Abu Ghraib were held guilty of torture and abuse, the only senior officer reprehended for the same was Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan. High ranked military officials are yet to be taken to trial and held accountable.
Since Abu Ghraib, there has been a heated debate about whether torture and abusive interrogation tactics are ethical ways of obtaining information from terrorists. Even after multiple legislations prohibiting torture and abuse in human experiments and military operations in response to Abu Ghraib, government agencies have been reported to violate the laws. Considering not all people liable for Abu Ghraib atrocities were charged and the pervasive reports illegal torture expedited by government agencies, enough has not be done to mitigate the causes of the syndicate and impose retribution for violated obligation.
Works Cited
Letta, Tayler, and Elisa, Epstein. “Legacy of the ‘Dark Side.’” Human Rights Watch, Web.
Yachot, Noa. “’The Actual Critique Is Being Lost’: The Truth about Jihad Rehab, the Year’s Most Controversial Documentary.” The Guardian, Guardian News, and Media, Web.
Zimbardo, Philip. The Lucifer Effect: How good people turn evil. Random House, 2011. Web.