Excellent in depth analysis "Who's Responsible for Abu Ghraib

[Spazito]

snip

How responsibility for what went on in the prison can be determined is a thorny question with at least two answers. One is legal: the actions of individuals in the U.S. armed forces come under that country's Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Members of the U.S. military and any civilians who may be involved are also responsible under what is called International Humanitarian Law, including the Hague, Geneva and Anti-Torture conventions.

The "private contractors" reportedly involved – while not subject to U.S. military rules – could, under recent decisions from the tribunals handling war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, be brought to trial for crimes against humanity, including torture… if a venue could be found for such a trial.

The second answer is political. Since the end of the Second World War, and especially since Vietnam, the United States has been accused of having a double standard, of being harsher on its enemies than on itself.

more (long but worth reading)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/abughraib.html