Even when soldiers are not in combat, and are instead serving the American public and the many peoples of the world abroad via merchant shipping protection and humanitarian aid, they are obliged, Taguba stated, to abide by this strict moral code, since their very presence has a profound effect on the American image. Despite the horrors of combat, Taguba stated unequivocally that troops "are not immune or exempt from criminal acts, bad behavior, or tragedy in their operations."

Just as troops are not immune from prosecution-indeed, they must be held accountable for their actions-so must senior civilian officials be held accountable for policies that systematized and legitimized torture and other abuses of power by U.S. troops in the War on Terror, Taguba stated. If the "torture memos" penned by John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales, and David Addington, among others, were catalysts for the soldiers to engage in criminal acts, as Taguba surmised, these officials need to be held accountable.

"Abu Ghraib emerged from a structure developed by senior officials in the Bush White House and by those who thought it was necessary to blindly advance the Bush administration's goals," the General declared. "Abu Ghraib was not just happenstance. It was a morbid consequence of a policy that emanated from the Office of Legal Counsel and the Justice Department."

According to Taguba, these failures not only constitute war crimes, but also have emboldened America's enemies abroad, leading to greater numbers of American deaths in Iraq.

However, far from being held accountable, senior administration officials have quietly ridden off into the sunset. Indeed, after seventeen high level investigations, army soldiers were signaled out for punishment despite presence of evidence regarding upper level officials' awareness and support. "Over 200 soldiers and officers were punished…unfortunately no civilian officials or contractors have been punished for their involvement," Taguba stated