Punishments needed to set an example

Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (also known as Baghdad Correctional Facility) was the sight of countless acts of abuse, rape and torture of Iraqi prisoners by the US military. The amplitude of these events was magnified to the world do to a massive number of pictures and videos. Last year reports surfaced that the authority to commit such acts had come from high up. In November 2006, the former US Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, in-charge of Abu Ghraib prison, told Spain's El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Donald Rumsfeld which allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation. How can we make sure that these events don’t happen again? The first thing that should have happened is recognition that these acts were too obscene to commit. A line was crossed and someone needed to step up and say something. Another step that needs to be taken is harsher punishment for those involved. Very few soldiers were punished for these acts and no high up powers were held accountable. The leaders should be punished not only to set an example, but because it is morally right.