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Complex Organizations and the Torture at Abu Ghraib Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2007 Thereby become a Monster: Complex Organizations and the Torture at Abu Ghraib Janine A. Bower Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Criminology Commons, and the Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons Recommended Citation Bower, Janine A., "Thereby become a Monster: Complex Organizations and the Torture at Abu Ghraib" (2007). Dissertations. 834. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/834 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THEREBY BECOME A MONSTER: COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS AND THE TORTURE AT ABU GHRAIB by Janine A. Bower A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology Dr. Gerald E. Markle, Advisor Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3265912 Copyright 2007 by Bower, Janine A. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3265912 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Janine A. Bower 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of people have contributed directly or indirectly to the development of this thesis. My mentor, Gerald Markle, influenced my choice of the topic of this study. He helped me to clarify my thoughts, and has provided a continuous stream of insights and support. I have benefited greatly over the years from his advice and generous support as my dissertation advisor. I am grateful for the encouragement given to me by Robert Ulin and Paula Brush. Both Robert and Paula have served as very models of a committed scholar, scrupulous passionate in their research. For her written and verbal comments on earlier versions of some of these chapters, I am indebted to Susan Carlson. I would also like to acknowledge my husband, Tim Bower, a fine sociologist who has among so many other roles been a constant intellectual companion. He has engaged me in ongoing debates that have always been stimulating, and I owe much to his strong- mindedness and insightful criticism. I am deeply grateful for his constant encouragement of me; he is the bedrock of my existence. I thank him for his unwavering love and support. Janine A. Bower ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................. ii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................. 1 Background...................................................................................................... 1 Historical Orientation....................................... 2 II. REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH...............................8 Background ................................................... 8 Organizational Environment .............................................. 9 Organizational Structure and Processes ............ 12 Cognition in Context.........................................................................................17 III. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS................................... 23 Background .......................................................................................................23 Case Study Method in Organizational Research .............................................. 23 Ethnographic Content Analysis .........................................................................25 Data Collection and Analysis............................................................................27 Summary...........................................................................................................33 IV. THE PRISON’S ENVIRONMENT............................... 35 Background .......................................................................................................35 Sanctioning Authority .......................................................................................37 Defining the Enemy.....................................................................................42 Delineating Torture and Its Justifications .........................................45 Summary...........................................................................................................51 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents - Continued CHAPTER V. THE ABU GRHAIB PRISON...............................................................................52 Background .......................................................................................................52 Culture ............................................... 53 Mission............................ 55 Goals............................... 56 Structure ......................................................... 61 Rules and Regulations ..................................................................................63 Hierarchy......................................................................................................69 Complexity and Growth.............................. 77 Formal and Informal Training .............. 80 Summary......................................................... 84 VI. THE STAFF: COGNITION IN CONTEXT..........................................................85 Background ..................... 85 Individual Experience................................... 86 Socialization......................................................................................................87 Defining the Situation ................................ 87 Defining the Enemy.....................................................................................88 Dehumanization and Neutralization ........................... 89 Anonymity and Occupational Insularity................ 92 Assigned Occupational Roles ....... 93 Summary......................................................... 101 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents - Continued CHAPTER VII. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, AND AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 104 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 104 Historical and Political Influences ..................... 105 Organizational Influences ............................................................................. 106 Individual Processes in Context ............... 108 Implications.................................................. 109 Areas for Future Research.... .................... 114 Conclusion ........................................ 116 REFERENCES............................................................... 118 APPENDICES.................................................................................................................124 A. Chronology ............................ 124 B. List of Key Actors................................................................................................140 C. Data Source List .............................................................................. 149 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. —Friedrich Nietzsche Background Photographs shown during an April 28,2004 60 Minutes //episode revealed shocking images: American soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners. There, numerous male detainees, captured following the invasion of Iraq were photographed hooded and naked, piled upon one another. They were leashed like animals. Some had wires attached to genitals and extremities; others were being assaulted by attack dogs. That these abuses occurred at the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison, infamous as Saddam Huessein’s most notorious of prisons added a cruel irony. Since then, accounts have come to light of similar abuses at American military prisons in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where prisoners held in the so- called ‘war on terror’ are detained. More than 135 military personnel have been disciplined or face court martial for abusing
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