Friday, March 17, 2006

Abu Ghraib: 279 Photos

Salon.com has posted 279 photos and 19 videos from Abu Ghraib. The images and accompanying documentation come from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which first investigated the scandal on the basis of materials provided by Spc. Joseph Darby.

The introduction to the collection of photos and videos is well worth reading for context and commentary. It concludes with these words:

Finally, it's critical to recognize that this set of images from Abu Ghraib is only one snapshot of systematic tactics the United States has used in four-plus years of the global war on terror. There have been many allegations of abuse, torture and other practices that violate international law, from holding prisoners without charging them at Guantánamo Bay and other secretive U.S. military bases and prison facilities around the world to the practice of "rendition," or the transporting of detainees to foreign countries whose regimes use torture, to ongoing human rights violations inside detention facilities in Iraq. Abu Ghraib in fall 2003 may have been its own particular hell, but the variations of individual abuse perpetrated appear to be exceptional in only one way: They were photographed and filmed.

[Via Body and Soul.]