President Bush went on Arabic-language television today—not to apologize, but to tell the Muslim World that abuse of prisoners is abhorrent to him and unrepresentative of America. Under the Geneva Convention, what’s allowed and what’s not? Who’s responsible when violations occur? Six Army Reserve military police have been charged with assault, cruelty, indecent acts and maltreatment of detainees in Iraq. The family of one MP has circulated a lengthy memo he wrote about what he saw. We hear what he said, get reaction from the Middle East, and talk with the wife of an accused reservist and to an Army interrogator from the first Gulf War.

• Making News: Iraq Prison Scandal
  Despite Congress' call for heads to role, President Bush told reporters today he has complete confidence in Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and his military commanders. Spurning Al Jazeera, which the White House regards as anti-American, Bush also gave interviews to Arabic-language TV. But, says the Economist's Max Rodenbeck, to Arabs, the President's interviews appeared as little more than a mediocre attempt at damage control.
• Reporters Notebook: The Mind of a Torturer
  What turns ordinary people into torturers? Why do others stand by? These are some of the very disturbing questions raised by what went on at Al Ghraib Prison and other places as well. John Conroy, staff writer for the Chicago Reader and author of Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dynamics of Torture, offers an analysis.