How We Came to Torture

Abstract

The ghastly pictures from Abu Ghraib have forced America to confront the reality of some of its tactics in the war on terror. The almost pornographic images have prompted quick condemnations of torture and the formation of a host of commissions to examine how the abuse came to pass. While many of the reports are yet to come, those already completed by Army investigators, independent commissions and reporters make clear that the abuse was not simply the product of "bad apples." Rather, it was at least in part the result of arrogance and callousness at the highest levels of government.