Abu Ghraib and the Mylai Massacre - Essay Example

? and Section # of War Crimes: The term “War crime” is used to describe situations where International Humanitarian laws are dishonoured and/or violated. War crimes can include genocide or ill-treatment of prisoners of war. Sometimes, even the civilians are subject to mistreatment by the opposing force and are either murdered, tortured or made slaves. These actions are unjustifiable and so, conventions were formed so that the countries could abide by its laws and regulations. Hague convention is one of the first ones to be made; however, it was broken during the First world-war. The Geneva Convention is still in place but hardly followed by governments or military. The third and fourth Geneva Convention clearly state how Prisoners of war and civilians should be treated and handled by the military personnel but most of the times, the rules are broken and violated. Abu Ghraib: Abu Ghraib Prison (formerly Baghdad Central Prison) was built in the 1950’s in Iraq. This prison came into public attention when pictures of sexual and physical abuse by the US army on Iraqi prisoners were aired on TV. There were rumours all over Iraq about such incidents that took place inside the prison but no one believed them until the pictures came into light. After the invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2003, the army took over the prison and used it to imprison Iraqi captives. In 2004, pictures of Iraqi prisoners in terrible conditions were aired on a TV channel and soon caught everyone’s attention. Those pictures showed how prisoners of war at the Prison were being sexually harassed, physically tortured and psychologically abused by the United States army. As investigations went underway by the media, it was revealed that the conditions at Abu Ghraib were indeed dreadful. The prisoners were tortured and made to live in worst conditions possible. They were deprived of sleep, forced to stand in painful positions, shackled for days and made to stay naked all of the time. The prisoners were abused physically as well as sexually. There were cases of soldiers urinating on prisoners, punching and beating already injured detainees, harassing them sexually by raping them and tying rope to the penis of the victim and dragging them around. All of these actions were clearly violating the laws of the Geneva Convention according to which, prisoners of war must be treated humanely with respect. They are to be supplied with proper food, clothing and must be given medical care. The guards who worked at Abu Ghraib prison were only trained in combat and battle. They were actual soldiers who had no prior experience of Prison duty. Not just that, they were also instructed by their superiors that the protections of the Geneva Convention did not apply to the detainees at Abu Ghraib. The guards were ordered to soften the detainees up for the interrogation that followed and so they did what was asked of them even though it was ethically and morally wrong. Around 13 soldiers were removed for duty and were charged with maltreatment, dishonour and assault. The chief commanding officer of All Iraq Detention facilities was rebuked severely by the government of United States; however, she claimed that the abuse was part of the interrogation that was ordered by her superiors and she had no say in that whatsoever. In times like these, individual responsibility should arise but not in this case. As mentioned by Taylor in his book, “As a rule, criminal behaviour does involve individual moral responsibility and assessment of psychological relationships, such as the motivated character of the criminal act.” (Taylor, P. 135) As Freud suggested, a man’s instinct is driven by two forces- erotic and destruction. In this case, it was destruction. The social conditions that were present around the army in Iraq might have triggered this behaviour of intense aggression towards the detainees. The soldiers were in the middle of the war and hence in constant danger. Their peers and comrades were dying or getting injured on a daily basis. Being away from home for so long had their morale level very low. The hot and warm desert climate also added to the stress and depression that the soldiers had to face every day. But what matters the most was the fact that after the attacks of 9/11, Americans looked at Muslims differently. Muslims being labelled as a terrorist and an extremist society has made many nations to dislike them. According to a survey, the US citizens viewed Muslims as someone who did not share the same kind of interest and were stereotyped and labelled as insincere and dishonest people. These thoughts must have triggered a sense of disgust for the Muslim detainees in the minds of the US soldiers. The culture of torture that was present in the Abu Ghraib prison was based on the phrase “hit somebody where it hurts most”. There were incidents inside the prison where prisoners, who were Muslims, were made to do things that are prohibited by Islam. For Muslim men, their honour and dignity is the most important, but they were forced to roam around naked without any sort of clothing on. In many situations, they were asked to deny the existence of Muslim God, Allah. A detainee at Abu Ghraib said in an interview that he was forced to eat pork and “curse” his religion. (Strasser, 2004) My Lai massacre: The Vietnam War took place in Vietnam and two of its neighbouring countries Laos and Cambodia in 1955. The war was fought during the ear of Cold war and it was fought between South Vietnam, which had the support of United States and other anti-communist nations and North Vietnam that had the backing of communist nations. Another party that played an important role in the war was the Viet Cong. Viet Cong was a slightly armed alliance which was found in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong shared a common front of fighting against anti-communist supporters. It was controlled by the communists and so they fought guerrilla wars against anti-communist forces that were present in the region. The Viet Cong, also called the 48th Local Force Bn, saw the American soldiers as enemies and thus killed many during attacks. Due to plenty of casualties and deaths, the US army was ordered to become more aggressive. My Lai was one of the areas where Viet Cong members would stay and hide and so it was a great target for the US force. The soldiers were incorrectly told that the civilians would be gone to the market by the time they strike. They were also told that the ones who will be present at the time of the attack would either be the Viet Cong themselves or their supporters. Hence, the soldiers were ordered to “kill everything that moves” as reported by one of the officers. On 16th March 1968, American battalion force entered a village in South Vietnam called My Lai. The soldiers were brought in by helicopters and were ordered to enter and kill anyone they encounter. The contingent proceeded but they found mostly women, children and elderly in the village. As per orders, the villagers were lined up and shot by the US soldiers. Women along with their children were killed and many were sexually assaulted before getting shot to death. Their bodies were thrown into ditches and well in order to contaminate the water. Crops were destroyed and Livestock were shot and dumped into the wells to poison the water and make it undrinkable. Another similar operation took place hours later in a village called My Khe. Since no enemy was encountered by the soldiers in My lai, another battalion was transported to My Khe where they brutally killed at least 90 civilians. (Burgan, 2008) Approximately 347-504 innocent civilians died in the My Lai Massacre. The massacre that took place around 40 years ago is still used to symbolize the atrocities and crimes that take place during wars. Captain Medina and Lt. Calley were the commanding officers of the battalion at that time but only Lt. Calley was convicted of murder and was sentenced to punishment. There were many soldiers who did not take part in the horrendous crime but neither did they report about it. Soldiers of war suffer a great deal of depression. Having to leave their families for such lengthy periods of time can be hard on anyone. They see violence and deaths every day. Sometimes, they themselves are victims of such violence and watch their peers die in front of them. At that time, America was losing the war. There was a sense of sheer anger and frustration that was found amongst the soldiers, especially the commanding officers. Many American soldiers were also killed by the hands of Viet Cong which could’ve caused such an aggressive behaviour. Another important point is how the hierarchal system works in the Army. The subordinates are neither encouraged nor allowed to question the authority of the higher ranks. After the World trade Centre had collapsed, the fire fighters who were present showed great responsibility by following orders as well as working as individuals. In the case of the My Lai Massacre, the soldiers were influenced by their commanders to such an extent that they agreed to follow their commands knowing that it was morally incorrect. Soldiers, who did not participate in the crime, could not pick up the courage to go against their officers and report the incident to higher authorities. Conclusion: Both the events taken from history happened during a war. Even though no one can justify these acts of torture and mass murder, but one should keep in mind the implications that social conditions of war can have on the human mind. If affects them psychologically, making them do things which are inhumane and ethically incorrect. References: Taylor, I. (1975, P 135,136). Critical Criminology. Routledge. Strasser, S. (2004, P 136, 137, 138). The Abu Ghraib investigations: the official reports of the independant panel and pentagon on the shocking prisoner abuse in Iraq. PublicAffairs. Burgan,M. (2008, P 2-23). The My Lai Massacre. Compass Point Books. “Abu Ghraib: Tortured Truth.” The Economist. (May 15th, 2008) “Nation: The My Lai Massacre” Time Magazine. (Nov 28th, 1969) International Committee of the Red Cross/ICRC. “The Geneva conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols”. November 18, 2011. http://www.icrc.org/eng/who-we-are/index.jsp CBC news/CBC.ca/Rowland, R. “In depth Iraq: Abu Ghraib”. November 18,2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/abughraib.html Read More