That pretty much says it. Did inmates who were released go to the press? Did a soldier come forth? Was it an international organization like Amnesty International? I heard on the radio today all about how the International Red Cross was there and knew about it, but didn’t break the story, so that got me wondering.
The IRC, AI, and other watchdog groups had been complaining of systemic abuse through much of 2003.
In January of this year, an MP presented his superiors with a CD-ROM containing photos and .mpg video clips of abuses which had been circulating for some time. A few days later, CentCom issued a press release saying that abuses at Abu Ghraib were being investigated, but the story didn’t get “legs” until 60 Minutes broadcast the photos they had (which they had been sitting on for a while.)
Then, uh, all hell broke loose.