Errol Morris, Standard Operating Procedure

Get the true life story on the atrocities that occurred at Abu Gharib in the early years of the war in Iraq. Director Errol Morris tells the BlackTree TV audience what led him to creating the documentary, and what happened to those prisoners. BlackTree TV goes one on one with Director Errol Morris.

Is it possible for a photograph to change the world? Photographs taken by soldiers in
Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and changed America's image of itself. Yet, a
central mystery remains. Did the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs constitute evidence
of systematic abuse by the American military, or were they documenting the aberrant
behavior of a few "bad apples"?
We set out to examine the context of these photographs. Why were they taken? What was
happening outside the frame? We talked directly to the soldiers who took the
photographs and who were in the photographs. Who are these people? What were they
thinking? Over two years of investigation, we amassed a million and a half words of
interview transcript, thousands of pages of unredacted reports, and hundreds of
photographs. The story of Abu Ghraib is still shrouded in moral ambiguity, but it is clear
what happened there.
The Abu Ghraib photographs serve as both an expose and a coverup. An expose,
because the photographs offer us a glimpse of the horror of Abu Ghraib; and a coverup
because they convinced journalists and readers they had seen everything, that there was
no need to look further. In recent news reports, we have learned about the destruction of
the Abu Zubaydah interrogation tapes. A coverup. It has been front page news. But the
coverup at Abu Ghraib involved thousands of prisoners and hundreds of soldiers. We
are still learning about the extent of it.
Many journalists have asked about "the smoking gun" of Abu Ghraib. It is the wrong
question. As Philip Gourevitch has commented, Abu Ghraib is the smoking gun. The
underlying question that we still have not resolved, four years after the scandal: how
could American values become so compromised that Abu Ghraib—and the subsequent
coverup—could happen?

http://www.blacktree.tv

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Iraq
• War
• Abu
• Gharib
• Torture
• Waterboarding
• American
• Soldiers
• Insurgents
• rumsfield
• george
• bush
• general
• patraeus

[Fero1981]

why you have to pay for good education...why you have to pay to get medical care...we destroy tons of aliments and people are starving....ask your government these questions...i would like to know the answers..think about it....

[blacktreemedia]

Fero1981 - The Gov't does not reflect the will of the people. More than ever it has just reflected the will of the priviledged, while more and more people are suffering everyday. So those are questions we would like to know of our Government also. As we would hope that all govenrments around the world had the will of their people at mind while Governing. But the Evil that men do is real, and it is something that we all have to deal with around the world. Good has to prevail over evil.

[SagaWrath]

WOW!! NO ONE POSTED ON THIS AFTER A WHOLE YEAR..... "FIRST" and ERROL MORRIS ROCKS... The Fog Of War Changed my opinion of my last 2 generations. My Granparents, WW2 Generation and My Parents, The Coldwar Generation.

[blacktreemedia]

Saga- Thank u for your post

[Medic09085]

GonnaKillYou123, You seem to be a very angry person. Hating Arabs because of September 11th, 2001 is wrong. Hating anyone is wrong. The people responsible for the attacks are the ones who need to be delt with, and they need to see we are a fair country, not one that tortures.That only gives them a weapon to spread hate of America. The Arab people are human beings too, and we need to respect them. The terrorist extermists are the ones who need to be stopped. The people should be protected.

[slyme1711]

you can't torture someone to find out if they're guilty or if they might have information, thats like throwing a witch in the river to see if she floats

[mikecorbeil]

The situation definitely is "terribly wrong". Fine interview.

[nitroh18]

Rappelez-vous lorsque l'on pouvait regarder des vidéos sans pub.

Rappelez-vous quand les vidéos étaient publiés par des usager, pas par VEVO.

Rappelez-vous quand toutes les infos des vidéos étaient vrai.

Rappelez-vous quand on pouvait noter de 1 à 5 étoiles.

Rappelez-vous le bouton jaune.

Rappelez-vous quand nous contrôlions Youtube, et pas les Multinationales

YOUTUBE EST MORT

Poste ça partout, et nous ferons une révolution!

faite rester ce post en haut!!

[JawboxKoppelganger]

I dislike a lot of people. But I DO HATE: CONSERVATIVES, TEABAGGOTS, BIRTHERS, AND THE FASCIST CONSTITIONALISTS. I THINK THAT HATE IS JUSTIFIED! OH, AND THE MILITARY.

[CokeSupply]

Did that ignorant cunt just say "they are people like you or me?" FUCK NO. NOT LIKE ME. A MILLION MILES FROM ME.

[emilyresnick]

@Fero1981 Learn how to speak correctly and then complain about how much money we pay towards education.

[jacksonwaspedo]

congratulaions you are a moonbat, wacko, loon, retarded, liberal dummocrap moron!!!

[issak]

jacksonwaspedo. the saddest part is that ignoramuses like still think that IRAQ was involved with 911- it wasn't.

Your armchair bravado might seem impressive and cute amongst those ignorant souls who think they know it all.

Fact is you were duped by the Boosh administration- your anger should be directed at them.

[MightyZoom]

It's wrong to blame the little guy. I like that summary. Errol Morris makes humble, truthful films. I'll go see it. I won't even bother addressing the hateful drivel posted here. I'm tempted to call it dumb, ugly, or weak minded, but that isn't accurate. What it is is hateful. And all hate is terror. All of it, period. "Our" side, "their" side - it doesn't matter. Hate is threatening, intimidating, fear inducing and mindless. It drags everyone down.