Response to Standard Operating Procedure
Standard Operating Procedure is a documentary film directed by Errol Morris. The film is about the Abu Ghraib U.S. military prison in Iraq that held suspected terrorists during the U.S. occupations of Iraq, and the massive scandal that took place there. Former military personnel who worked as guards in the prison were interviewed about what they did at Abu Ghraib and how prisoners were treated, and the film also showed pictures and videos of the daily operations at the prison. The message of the film is never directly stated, as the creators of the film never appear in it to tell the viewers what they want people think about this issue. Director Errol Morris leaves the content of this film entirely up to the interpretation of his audience, requiring viewers to form their own opinions on how Abu Ghraib was run. Despite not being told what we’re supposed to think of the film, the images shown, and the interviews of soldiers who worked there clearly present the injustices that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Abu Ghraib was made the main prison and interrogation center for suspected terrorists and Iraqi military personnel, which later became the center of a massive scandal that extended to the highest levels of the military. Images and videos were leaked that shows the prison guards doing highly questionable things to inmates. Pictures taken from the prison frequently show things such as; prisoners being stepped naked and being handcuffed into stressed positions, prisoners being forced to wear bags and women’s panties over their heads, guards forcing a group of naked inmates to form a human pyramid, and even a prisoner who was beaten to death during an interrogation. Video footage shows guards sicking attack dogs on one inmate, and guards forcing a group of prisoners to masturbate in front of them. One soldier who was interviewed said that they also blasted loud music to disrupt the inmates pray times.
Standard Operating Procedure also shows the interviews of soldiers who were assigned to work in the prison, including some who became infamous when they were mentioned in news reports on the scandal. They spoke about their actions towards the prisoners, interrogation tactics, how they were ordered to do these things by higher-ups, the secretive nature of their “superiors”, and the attempt at a cover-up. These interviews reveal other disturbing acts of our military in Iraq. One a soldier said that they did sweeps at night and arrested all fighting-age males whether or not they were suspected of a crime. Others said that they tried to hide the death of one inmate at the hand of interrogators, and that they were ordered to destroyed the evidence of prisoner abuse. Some of the soldiers that appeared in the film were sentenced to time in prison for their actions at Abu Ghraib, and even some who had no part in the abuse, but were present when these acts occurred.
Some of the interviewees claimed that they were following orders from their commanders, because they believed that the actions shown in the film were effective methods for interrogation. They thought that the techniques shown in the movie, would break the prisoners and cause them to divulge valuable information that would help the U.S. military in the Iraq war, and that would save American lives. Most people however, think that torture, abuse, and humiliation are the wrong approaches for getting information out of people. When human beings are put through these ordeals, most of them will say anything to stop their interrogators from harming them. Information gained in this manner is often times untrue or incomplete.
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