Know When You'll Walk Out

The soldiers made many mistakes while they were stationed at Abu Ghraib, but one of the worst occurred before they took a step into the prison or joined the army. They committed themselves to a stressful system without having a set of values etched into their characters. Instead, they relied on the military and their superiors to guide their decisions and therefore their morals. In traumatic situations where your life is in danger daily, imprisonment is a result of disobedience, and you have the responsibility of authority it is vital to have a strong sense of self. The soldiers that were interviewed looked back on their experiences with a distant regret but as they performed “standard operating procedures” they knew their actions were wrong. The rationalization for the torture was that soldiers were being killed and that the information the prisoners had would help end it. But how far will someone allow another to guide their moves before they stop? The soldiers didn’t have a definite answer.