In 2004 photographs of American soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq became public. In August an independent panel led by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger reported to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It found that “the abuses were not just the failure of some individuals to follow known standards.” It added: “There is both institutional and personal responsibility at higher levels.”
The panel opposed Rumsfeld’s resignation. Senator John Kerry, then running for president, said: “It’s not just the little person at the bottom who ought to pay the price of responsibility.”