Why did Abu Ghraib happen?
May 21, 2004 AUSTIN, Texas — It’s pretty easy to get to the point where you don’t want to hear any more about Abu Ghraib prison and what went on there. But there are some really good reasons why Americans should take a look at why this happened. I suspect the division here is not between liberals and conservatives (except for a few inane comments made by some trying to be flippant), but between those who are following the story closely and those who are not. I particularly recommend both Sy Hersh’s follow-up piece in the current issue of The New Yorker and the investigative piece in the current issue of Newsweek. What seems to me more important than the “Oh ugh” factor is just how easy it is for standards of law and behavior of slip into bestiality. The problems go all the way back to the administration’s refusal to abide by the Geneva Conventions. President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft “signed off on a secret system of detention and inter
