CIAO DATE: 2/5/2008
November 2007
Let me make very clear the position of my government and our country. We do not condone torture. I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture. The values of this country are such that torture is not a part of our soul and our being.
—President George W. Bush June 22, 2004
When the American media published photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the Bush administration assured the world that the abuse was isolated and that the perpetrators would be held accountable. In a May 10, 2004 address, President Bush said that the “cruel and disgraceful” abuses were the work of "a small number" of soldiers and that some of those responsible had already been charged with crimes. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Iraq and offered similar assurances there3 Over the next three years, the Bush administration refi ned its narrative at the margins, but by and large its public position remained the same. Yes, the administration acknowledged, some soldiers had abused prisoners, but these soldiers were anomalous sadists who ignored clear orders. Abuse was aberrational—not systemic, not widespread, and certainly not a matter of policy.
Acknowledgments vii
Foreword ix
Introduction: Administration of Torture 1
Timeline of Key Events 45
Description of the Documents 53
The Documents A-1