“A [February 2004] report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal, found that the [Iraqi prisoner] abuses were not confined to a handful of rogue guards at Abu Ghraib but appeared to be ‘part of the standard operating procedures by military intelligence personnel to obtain confessions and extract information.’ Over the next month, leaks in the major newspapers revealed that the [Bush] administration had effectively authorized the interrogation techniques at Abu Ghraib in a series of secret memos and legal opinions that condoned torture or other acts of cruelty.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Elisabeth Bumiller, Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, Page 240