The more I read about Abu Ghraib , and the more pictures I see (graphic, be warned), and the more destructive interactions I see (3MB Frontline cip), the more ill I feel. Ill to be an American. Ill to be human. That we went to war in Iraq is an argument itself, but now that we’re there, to have such vile treatment (sodomy with brooms, public masturbation, genital electrocution) occur by US soldiers is disgusting. The prisoners are mostly citizens–arrested for looting probably 9 months ago–with no hope of release. This is the kind of thing that should bring charges against the United States by other civilized countries. This is the kind of reckless, ethnocentric, cowboy attitude that Americans are known for. One of the soldiers in charge referred to the prisoners as animals .

Part of me thinks, “This is what happens when you put 18- and 19-year olds in charge.” But it also reminds me of the Stanford Prison Experiment , a social psychology experiment that’s so infamous I’m surprised no one has mentioned it. Back in 1971, a researcher named Philip Zimbardo wanted to see how social roles were played out by average, run-of-the-mill college undergrads. He assigned half to the “prison guard role,” and gave them uniforms to wear as such; the other half were designated “prisoners,” and were locked together in small cells. The guards, over the course of a couple days, took on “guard” characteristics, and the prisoners took on “prisoner” characteristics, too. To the point that, a week into the experiment, half of the prisoners could not answer why they were in the prison, only that they knew they needed a lawyer so they could get out. What’s striking is the similarity to the lack of guard training from soldiers at Abu Ghraib. From the Prison Experiment site:

bq(quote). The guards were given no specific training on how to be guards. Instead they were free, within limits, to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order in the prison and to command the respect of the prisoners. The guards made up their own set of rules, which they then carried into effect under the supervision of Warden David Jaffe, an undergraduate from Stanford University. They were warned, however, of the potential seriousness of their mission and of the possible dangers in the situation they were about to enter, as, of course, are real guards who voluntarily take such a dangerous job.

Man, and you wonder why some of the Iraqis are trying to kill us.

6 Comments »