Dear Keith:
Conditions were in fact worse. The prisoners, as they did not get trials, and were held as POWs demanded not to do prison work, or wear prison clothes, rights guaranteed under the Geneva Convention. So, if they were not wearing prison clothes they were not allowed clothes at all. They were not allowed to empty the buckets in which they defecated unless they put on prison clothes. So, they found that the only way to cut down on the stench was to smear the feces on the walls of their cells so it would dry faster. They beds, and all furniture were taken out of the cells, and so they had to sleep naked on concrete floors in their own filth. Now, it is true, that once they had been "convicted" there was less torture, but there still was a lot of beatings and brutality. I am not saying this to keep the past alive, but in order to understand what our nations are doing today, we need to understand what we did in the not to distant past.
I know many former prisoners of the British army, many are still suffering from the effects of torture and beatings. We might find that Abu Greb is worse then so far has been reported, and it is not important to say which was in fact worse, both are horrific and a stain on our national reputations.
Peace
lor