The road to Abu Ghraib: U.S. Army detainee doctrine and experience

Military Review,  Jan-Feb, 2005  by James F. Gebhardt

Tags: Government, Regulations, Staff, U.S., U.S. Army

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THE NAKED, STARK images from Abu Ghraib prison fade from the news only to be displayed again as the next U.S. soldier is called forward to answer formal charges for what happened there. Meanwhile, the Army is ensuring it will not happen again--there, or anywhere else. Part of the repair process is determining the path that led to the situation at Abu Ghraib prison.

Geneva Conventions

In an effort to address shortcomings in the international law of land warfare exposed by the ravages of World War II, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) submitted four Geneva Conventions for delegates' approval on 12 August 1949. These conventions are titled and abbreviated as follows:

1. Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (GWS).

2. Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (GWS Sea).

3. Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (GPW).

4. Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GC). (1)

The third convention, GPW, consists of 143 articles divided topically into six parts. Part I, "General Provisions," contains 11 articles. Articles 3, 4, and 5, bear special mention. Article 3 establishes a basic standard of treatment rendered to persons no longer actively participating in hostilities because of sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause during armed conflict not of an international character. At the convention's signing, article 3 was viewed as an attempt to offer a basic minimum standard of protection to those fighting in civil wars and insurrections.

Article 4 defines who is entitled to prisoner-of-war (POW) status under the convention and who, thereby, is afforded additional protections. Article 4 includes a four-part test that applies to members of militias and volunteer corps:

1. They must be commanded by a responsible person.

2. They must have a fixed sign visible at a distance.

3. They must carry arms openly.

4. They must conduct operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

Article 5 mandates that a tribunal determine the status of a detainee when a status question arises.

Part II, "General Protection of Prisoners of War," consists of five articles (12 through 16) that list specific protections and rights accorded to qualifying persons who are POWs under article 4. Article 12 stipulates that a capturing power can transfer custody of POWs to another power only if the receiving power also observes the Geneva Conventions. Transfer of custody does not transfer responsibility.

Part III, "Captivity" (articles 17 through 108), regulates every aspect of the treatment of POWs during captivity. Soldiers often quote the portion of article 17 that requires them to give only name, rank, and serial number when questioned. Another portion of that same article prohibits the use of physical or mental torture or coercion against any detainee who refuses to give more than the required information.

Part IV, "Termination of Captivity" (articles 109 through 117), directs the repatriation of seriously wounded and sick prisoners during hostilities; the release and repatriation of prisoners at the conclusion of hostilities; and the disposition of remains of prisoners who die while in captivity.

Part V, "Information Bureau and Relief Societies for Prisoners of War" (articles 118 through 125), helps the parties of a conflict establish offices and agencies for tracking POWs and authorizes the ICRC to set up an international clearing house to receive and pass such information.

Part VI, "Execution of the Convention" (articles 126 through 143), provides tools for implementing the convention and also for denouncing it if a party wishes to do so. Although the United States was one of 54 nations that had signed all four of the Geneva Conventions by December 1949, the U.S. Senate did not ratify them until 2 February 1956.

Korean War, 1950-1953. On 23 July 1950, a month after the North Korean Army invaded South Korea, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur announced that the United Nations Command (UNC) had adopted and would observe the provisions of GPW. Republic of Korea President Syngman Rhee made a similar commitment on behalf of his government. (2) These were tough promises to keep. By mid-1951, the UNC had captured approximately 165,000 enemy prisoners of war (EPW), who were a mixed lot. Some were North Korean communists; some South Korean anti-communists conscripted by North Korea during its forward march down the peninsula; some Chinese communists; and some Chinese nationalist anti-communists forced into military service after their defeat in the recent civil war.

For a number of political and practical reasons, the UNC decided EPWs would remain in-theater and be contained in camps administered by the U.S. Army using Republic of Korea Army guard units. Camps, including a hospital camp in Pusan, were constructed on the mainland and on Koje-do, a large off-shore island. Prisoners were evacuated to this camp network from holding facilities using ground transportation. The ICRC regularly visited UNC EPW camps and reported its findings to the UNC and the ICRC headquarters in Geneva. (3)