Letters from Abu Ghraib

by Joshua Casteel

Cultural Writing. Biography and Memoir. LETTERS FROM ABU GHRAIB, a collection of e-mail messages sent by Joshua Casteel to his friends and family during his service as a US Army interrogator and Arabic linguist in the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, is the raw and intimate record of a soldier in moral conflict with his duties. Once a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point and raised in an Evangelical Christian home, Casteel found himself stationed at Abu Ghraib prison in the wake of the prisoner abuse scandal. He was troubled by what he was asked to do there, although it was, as he writes, "miles within the bounds of what CNN and the BBC care about." Forced to confront the nature of fundamentalism, both religious and political, Casteel asks himself a fundamental question: "How should I then live?"

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

118 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2008

Reviews

[Logan Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this 2008 Essay Press release, fellow Iraq veteran Joshua Casteel recounts his 2004 deployment as an Army interrogator via a series of email exchanges with friends and family. A very quick read, Letters from Abu Ghraib include vivid and compelling tales of everyday life and not-so-everyday musings. Casteel is clearly contemplating the role of Christians amidst war and violence with every fiber of his being. We listen in as he responds to both concern and criticism from people he cares about, all the while trying to maintain moral coherency within circumstances that he shows us are anything but morally coherent. It is not until near the end of this short book that we learn of his eventual decision to apply for discharge from the US Army as a conscientious objector.

I picked this book up as part of a survey of memoirs by Iraq veterans, hoping to gain some insight into how other combat veterans were digesting an experience (unbeknownst to them) we share. Joshua’s account is the first that I have found to have interpreted his experience primarily theologically, instead of merely politically. He reflects on Hauerwas and Bonhoeffer, and a number of theological concepts appear throughout (that, had it not been for a year of seminary, I otherwise would not have recognized).

The most concrete difference is the structure – no other book I have discovered literally takes us into their world, sharing with us the very intimate and unguarded correspondence they shared with friends and family during their combat tour. We see Joshua in all his humanity, for good and bad. He wrestles viscerally with his role as an interrogator at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison at the same moments in time that I too found myself fighting in Iraq including the 2004 election cycle that saw Bush gain reelection. I found myself noting my whereabouts correlating to many of the individual emails. A number of them are artfully composed, and I found myself caught up in imagery made up by my own time in-country. Furthermore, memory seems to be one of the touchstones that can set off his most creative meanderings, most notable of which are his entries for July 21st, 2004 and October 15th, 2004 (pp. 32 & 97, respectively). These two entries seemed inspired by the death of one of Joshua’s heroes, Jacques Derrida, a notable French philosopher.

[Andrea Schoenbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so wish you were still here, Josh, so I could discuss this with you! It was heart-wrenching to read the conflicts you faced with your beliefs as a Christian and a soldier. I have never had a clear understanding of the conflicts in the Middle East and I read this book immediately after reading "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It revealed a lot to me to see the similarities between the two books. Especially coming from two men of completely different backgrounds. I realize that I may be completely biased with my opinion since I knew you, but I truly loved this book. You were an amazing man and it shows through your writing. I miss you, Josh!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished writing a review of this book, and it definitely got under my skin. Casteel has compiled his e-mails from when he served as an interrogator at Abu Ghraib, post torture scandal. The introduction by Christopher Merrill invokes MLK and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a spurious comparison (they were imprisoned, and Casteel was not) that made my gorge rise. His initial messages can seem almost sanctimonious, and I was downright uncomfortable with some of his theological formulations, but the internal crisis that emerges feels real and dramatic, and I couldn't stop reading. He was, after all, brave to let his vulnerabilities be broadcast as they are in the book, and his desire to develop and enact a scrupulous ethics is admirable.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very challenging read. A Christian interrogator at Abu Ghraib (post-scandal) comes to terms with the right-ness of what he does there. I worry that this book is initially too theologically heavy for the casual literary reader, and too out-of-the-comfort-zone for the Christian reader, yet both would do well to work through this book and its questions. The letters--Casteel's actual e-mails--are presented without the responses from the people he writes to, as though Casteel himself were a voice in the wilderness (we get two e-mails from others: a forwarded article about Derrida's death and an e-mail from a friend who no longer wants to hear from Casteel).

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very moving account of Joshua's experience at Abu Ghraib, the struggles described were very palpable. But left me wanting to know more details, to understand in-depth the struggles and decisions. There is obviously so much complexity in all the decisions and emotions of his work in Iraq. I am anxious to read further memoirs - this seemed like just a teaser.

[Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this collection of emails today. As emails, they can read alternately as self-indulgent and as remarkably immediate. Either way, Casteel is engaged with the most fundamental questions from those who profess to be Christian and American. Think of this book as a marker, a promise for a more systematic account-- that will be the book to read.

[Brent Armendinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really haunting and important book - Casteel is somewhat of a modern day Simone Weil in his struggle to reconcile his spirituality with the fact of war. It makes me think of how crucial doubt really is.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book.

[Naeem · Rating 5 out of 5]

[review to come later -- probably in December:]

[Spencer Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of letters written from an American who interrogated prisoners in Abu Ghraib. This book is a powerful witness showing a serious grappling with faith and war, politics and belief