For the soldiers in Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs’ unit in Afghanistan, the drug of choice was hashish – use of the drug was widespread among the soldiers in that unit, according to The New York Times. In a similar manner, soldiers who worked in Tier 1A, the notorious wing of Abu Ghraib in Iraq, in the fall of 2003 had their own shared, druggy experience: Robotripping, which was cough syrup, chased it down with Vivarin tablets At night, these soldiers would party in a prison cell at Abu Ghraib; during the day, they would beat up on prisoners.
[field name=iframe] The Abu Ghraib prison scandal broke in the spring of 2004 as photos of the mistreatment of prisoners were broadcast on television networks, and years later the scandal still casts a pall over the U.S. military. The similarities between the Abu Ghraib scandal and the accounts of Gibbs’ unit in Afghanistan are disturbing: Aside from drug use, some of the officers in the unit were accused of horrific crimes against Afghans, including murder, and there were attempts at a coverup. Gibbs allegedly tried to silence members in the unit by threatening to kill them if they told people about what had transpired.
Six years after the Abu Ghraib scandal, the damage continues to haunt the United States, as images of the hooded man and others from the prison are used by al-Qaida leaders to recruit new suicide bombers. For the victims of the crimes at the Abu Ghraib prison, there has been little accountability for the crimes or compensation for what they endured. None of the compensation payments – once promised by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld – have been paid out, as Associated Press Writer Pete Yost’s award-winning article, “Promises, Promises: Waiting for Abu Ghraib amends,” demonstrates.
Meanwhile, the scandal of Gibbs’ unit in Afghanistan continues to unfold as details about the crimes emerge in the media. It may be months, or even years, before the full story is revealed, and the perpetrators are held accountable.
