WHY ABU GHREIB HAPPENED

And no, it has nothing to do with war pr0n. Although discussion of same did lead to this trenchant post by Angry Bob on corpnews, which I’ll quote from at length because, well, it makes more sense than anything I’ve read on the subject yet.

From what I read, the entire command in charge of the prison system there is a composite reserves battalion. So nearly everyone there was a Reservist from units scattered all over the country. So lets see. You\’e2\’80\’99ve got guys worried about making the bills back home, worried about what sort of shit is going on with his family, with shitty gear he barely knows how to use, with very little military discipline still in him because in all realty he\’e2\’80\’99s been a civilian the whole time, in a country with a shitty climate and populated by people who hate him and the only people to keep him company are complete strangers who he may or may not get along with. And now he\’e2\’80\’99s charged with guarding people who are suspected of being the ones trying to kill him. Stir in what would almost certainly be an inadequate and mostly absent (command guys don\’e2\’80\’99t work nights and they don\’e2\’80\’99t like leaving AC) command structure made up of people who don\’e2\’80\’99t know each other and have never worked together before and you\’e2\’80\’99ve got a recipe for disaster.

These guys should have never, never, ever been put in charge of prisoners. By the Army\’e2\’80\’99s own admission they\’e2\’80\’99d never even been briefed on Geneva Convention rules or even told what was or wasn\’e2\’80\’99t legal to do. Being Reservists the shit they learned in Basic probably got forgotten within a few months of getting back home. Without a doubt, an Active Duty police unit should have had this command, with active duty MP\’e2\’80\’99s supplemented by reservists under their direct supervision.

Unfortunately, personnel seem to be so limited nowadays since abandoning the two war concept, they\’e2\’80\’99re using reserve units like they\’e2\’80\’99re active duty and they\’e2\’80\’99re just not made for it. Not in quality, attitude, or ability. And hey what do ya know, it turned around and bit us in the ass.

Yet another example of Rumsfeld thinking using enough troops for the job is “old thinking”. Bleah. I still think McCain/Powell ’00 would have led to a much safer world today. And an administration closer to core conservative values.