GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB

Examines the abuse, torture, and murder of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison at the hands of U.S. military police in the fall of 2003 and debunks the “bad apples” theory. The film asks: how can decent young soldiers take these actions, and, what orders came from the chain of command. The filmmaker interviews former detainees, soldiers, and MPs involved in photographed degradation. He references Dr. Stanley Milgrim’s early 60’s experiments. The film also traces memoranda from Secretary Rumsfeld, General Sanchez, and the U.S. Department of Justice allowing various interrogation methods along with a 2003 visit to Abu Ghraib by General Miller, who had been running Guantanimo.

Our comments:
I like how the film starts and ends with the famous experiment on humans’ following authority blindly. Now Bush and cronies are gone. But Obama has succumbed to pressure and has decided not to release pictures of further abuse to keep the country safe from pissed off people. But what’s interesting is that if these pictures never were taken by a young guard who likes to take random photos this case never would have gotten out of the military secret files. This is an important one to watch. Former prison guards explain what they did and how life was in this horrid prison and what they were doing with suspects and their sometimes very young family members. Another important thing to think about while watching this film is, Who is to blame for Abu Ghraib?

Produced by:
Sheila Nevins, Diana Barrett, Rory Kennedy, Liz Garbus, Jack Youngelson, Nancy Abraham

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