What Happened to The Women Involved?: Feminism and Abu Ghraib

Feminism and Abu Ghraib Prison

England and Charles Graner
Give Thumbs Up

Of the seven U.S. soldiers charged with sickening forms of abuse in Abu Ghraib, three were women: Spc. Megan Ambuhl, Pfc. Lynndie England and Spc. Sabrina Harman.

Abu Ghraib tells us that as Barbara Ehrenreich put it years back in the New York Times,  "a uterus is not a substitute for a conscience."

Barbara Ehrenreich:

"The photos did something else to me, as a feminist: They broke my heart. I had no illusions about the U.S. mission in Iraq — whatever exactly it is — but it turns out that I did have some illusions about women.


Of the seven U.S. soldiers now charged with sickening forms of abuse in Abu Ghraib, three are women [already named above]..

It was Harman we saw smiling an impish little smile and giving the thumbs-up sign from behind a pile of hooded, naked Iraqi men — as if to say, “Hi Mom, here I am in Abu Ghraib!” It was England we saw with a naked Iraqi man on a leash. . . . ."  Found at a 2004 Alternet site.

Barbara Ehrenreich reminds us of the experiments by Stanley Milgram. I am reminded of those by Philip Zimbardo, known as the Stanford Prison Experiments.

What Happened to Them? 

Lynndie England remains unremorseful and believes the prisoners ended up better off than she is. Prisoners' "lives are better. They got the better end of the deal.” She was sentenced to three years in prison and was  dishonorably discharged from the Army. From Newser 20 March 2012 on Lynndie England..

Sabrina Harman pointing to body of Manadel al-Jamadi,
Iraqi tortured to death at Abu Ghraib

Sabrina Harman wrote a letter home in which she said this: "The only reason I want to be there is to get the
pictures and prove that the US is not what they think. But I don't know if I can take it mentally. What if that was me in their shoes. These people will be our future terrorist. Kelly, its awful and you know how fucked I am in the head. Both sides of me think its wrong. I thought I could handle anything. I was wrong." She served six months in prison, received reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge.

Ambuhl observing England pull "Gus"
 from his cell by a leash.

Megan Ambuhl was convicted by court-martial on October 30, 2004, for dereliction of duty. In punishment, she was demoted to Private, discharged from the Army, and docked half a month's pay. In 2005 Ambuhl married Charles Graner, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, demotion to private, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances. He was released after 6 and a half years. Lynndie England during her trial was pregnant with Charles Graner's child.

Ali Shallal al-Qaisi

Ali Shallal al-Qaisi. The hooded man standing on the box. He has undergone six surgeries because of the torture. Al-Qaisi said: "I'm spending sleepless nights thinking about the agony I went through... I even have recurring nightmares that I'm in my cell at Abu Ghraib, cell 49 as they called it, being tortured at the hands of the people of a great nation that carries the torch of freedom and human rights." He owned a football pitch and US soldiers commandeered the pitch, using it to dump "severed body parts and left-over waste from fighting." Qaisi contacted the foreign media and broke the story to them. And that did it. "My picture was published in a news article with my complaints. The Americans then raided my home and arrested me," he said. "I wasn't a military commander or a government official. I was just a resident of Baghdad, where I grew up, and just like any other Iraqi I was against the US invasion and I spoke out against it," Qaisi said.

Not a single commissioned officer was sentenced. Higher-echelon commissioned military personnel also got off Scot-free. In short although those at the bottom of the pay grade scale were punished none of those supervising them were.