Abu Ghraib- The Location, Atmosphere, & Situation at Abu Ghraib by September 2003

What the environment at Abu Ghraib created.


The stench of death wafted through the winding halls of the prison at Abu Ghraib. Paintings of Sadaam Hussein filled the prison, and the horrific details of the atrocities that had taken place in this prison had been communicated to the U.S. soldiers who were residing inside this terrifying place. This dark, hot, and oppressive setting was difficult for the military personnel who had been given the assignment to guard the prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Specifically the 372nd Military Police who were trained to support military operations would receive this task. Trained in military support, these soldiers would now become no more than corrections officers and prison guards. They were never trained to fulfill this role. Abu Ghraib was the most attacked prison in Iraq, and faced mortar attacks and shootings on a daily basis. And those soldiers within the walls of the prison had been commanded to lay their guns, weapons, and ammunition aside and guard prisoners day after day in a virtual hell. Many of these MPs describe the environment as impossible to handle and say they will never forget the sights and smells of Abu Ghraib.

The signs of torture from the Hussein regime were ever present and served as a constant reminder of the evil that had taken place in the barracks where American soldiers now laid their heads to rest every night. Bodies of prisoners who had been executed were buried on the grounds of Abu Ghraib in shallow graves. Knowing that the road in front of Abu Ghraib was the most dangerous stretch of road in the entire world, presented the American soldiers with a sense of hopelessness and the reality of their own death was constantly reinforced into their minds. Mental anguish, fear, uncertainty, and prison walls became a deadly combination upon the psyche of the guards within Abu Ghraib. Accompanying these horrible conditions was the surge in the prison population by the end of September 2003. The steady population of approximately one thousand prisoners had swelled to a number topping six thousand by September 2003. 300 MPs were charged with the responsibility of guarding and protecting all of these inmates. Untrained personnel, a hellish setting, devastating attacks daily, and unchecked power of thousands of prisoners contributed to the unfathomable actions of the U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib.  These impossible circumstances created the environment where evil ruled.