The Context of the Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse Scandal

The summer and fall of 2003 saw the insurgency across the Sunni Triangle against the United States gain strength.  L. Paul Bremer had dissolved the Iraqi military leaving its troops out of work.  These men were trained in weaponry and many were angry at the US.  Attacks against coalition forces increased as improvised explosive devices (IED's) became more sophisticated and a common tool used against the troops.  The Jordanian Embassy was attacked with a car bomb in early August followed by a truck bomb at the United Nations building a few days later.  Police stations and even the Red Cross were targeted in the attacks.

The US troops responded harshly against the insurgents as well as the Iraqi population.  The US would launch dragnet operations, usually in the dead of night, looking for suspected insurgents.  Thousands of Iraqis were gathered and imprisoned, although most were not actually charged or guilty of any offenses.  Sometimes coalition forces would take family members of the person they were searching for and leave word for the wanted person to turn themselves in.  These raiding missions only served to anger the Iraqi population and strengthen the insurgency.