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THE ARTICLE

Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier at the centre of the Iraqi prison photos scandal, has pleaded guilty to abusing prisoners in Iraq. She confessed to a total of seven charges, including mistreating prisoners and not carrying out her duties correctly. England faces a maximum sentence of sixteen years in prison. However, she will probably receive less than ten years. Her lawyers will say that she has mental health and learning problems and that she has a newborn baby.

The photographs of Ms England and her colleagues laughing at naked Iraqi detainees shocked the world last year. Images of her holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a dog leash caused outrage in Arab countries. The U.S. military was widely criticized around the world and many people wanted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign. Lynndie claims the orders for the photos came from above. She says officers higher up in the U.S. chain of command told her to “soften up” the prisoners.

WARM UPS

1. CHAT: Talk in pairs or groups about: U.S. soldiers / Abu Ghraib prison / naked Iraqi prisoners scandal / Arab countries / Donald Rumsfeld / image of U.S. military / officers … For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

2. SCANDAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “scandal”. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. THE PHOTOS: In pairs / groups, interview each other about what you remember of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos. What images can you remember? What were your first thoughts when you saw the photos? Did you want to see all of the photos? How did you think the photos would affect world opinion? Who did you think was responsible?

4. PRISONER RIGHTS: What are the rights of prisoners of war (P.O.W.s)? Make a list of five basic rights with a partner. Change partners. Add your list to your new partner’s list and make a new list, putting five rights in order of importance. Return to your original partner and compare your new lists.

5. LYNNDIE OPINIONS: Look at the following opinions about the Lynndie England case and talk about them with your partner / group:

1. Lynndie England should receive the maximum 16 years in prison for her actions.
2. Donald Rumsfeld is the person most responsible. He should have resigned.
3. Lynndie has a little baby. She mustn’t go to prison.
4. The photos were not so shocking. That kind of thing probably happens in prisons everywhere.
5. Soldiers with learning problems should not be put in charge of prisoners.
6. U.S. soldiers should stick to the highest standards of behaviour.
7. Lynndie’s actions were wrong. That’s clear. But sixteen years in prison is too long.
8. George W. Bush must apologize to Arab nations for this outrage.

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Use your dictionary / computer to find word partners (collocates), other meanings, synonyms or more information on the words ‘prisoner’ and ‘abuse’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true or false:

1. Lynndie England has pleaded not guilty to charges of prisoner abuse.  T / F
2. Lynndie England faces a maximum sentence of sixteen years in prison.  T / F
3. Lawyers will say Lynndie has learning problems.  T / F
4. The Abu Ghraib photos caused uproar among Arab nations.  T / F
5. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned.  T / F
6. Lynndie said she received orders from above to “soften up” the prisoners.  T / F

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

4. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP FILL: Fill the gaps with the words in the column on the right.

Soldier admits guilt over Iraq photos

2. TRUE/FALSE: Check your answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Make notes for questions you would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP FILL: Check your answers to this exercise.

2. QUESTIONS: Ask the discussion questions you thought of above to your partner / group / class. Pool the questions for everyone to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT ABU GHRAIB SURVEY: In pairs/groups write down questions about the Abu Ghraib photo scandal. Ask other classmates your questions and report back to your original partner/ group to compare your findings.

5. "PRISONER" / "ABUSE": Make questions based on your findings from pre-reading activity #1. Ask your partner / group your questions.

6. DISCUSSION:

1. Did you like this article?
2. Did anything in the article make you angry?
3. Did you agree with everything you read  in the article?
4. How do you feel about the Abu Ghraib photo scandal?
5. Newspapers often use the word “scandal” in this story. Do you think “outrage” is a better word?
6. Should Lynndie England go to prison for the full sixteen years?
7. Do you think officers told her to take part in the photos?
8. Do you think Donald Rumsfeld should have accepted responsibility?
9. Do you think the photos harmed America’s image a lot?
10. How bad do you think the photos were?
11. A proverb says “all’s fair in love and war”. Do you think the actions in the photos were an acceptable way of getting information from prisoners?
12. Should the prisoners in the photos be given compensation?
13. Do the prisoners in the photos have the right to sue the U.S. Government?
14. If you compare what happens in wartime prisons, don’t you think these photos are a storm in a tea cup?
15. Should President George W. Bush apologize to Arab nations for the photos?
16. Did you like this discussion?
17. Teacher / Student additional questions.

7. ABU GHRAIB ROLE PLAY: Use the following role play cards in a discussion about the Abu Ghraib photos – You have to agree on a sentence for Lynndie England. With your role partners build your role and develop your “strategy” before the role play begins. The hints under each role may help you. After the role play, discuss whether you really believed what you were saying.

THE ROLES:

Student A
Lynndie England:
Orders from above / “soften up” / my baby / learning problems / learnt my lesson …

Student B
Lynndie England’s mother:
Wonderful daughter, Lynndie’s new baby, suffered enough, army officers …

Student C
Donald Rumsfeld (U.S. Defense Secretary):
Not my problem, justice must be done, maximum prison sentence needed to keep Arab countries happy, terrible woman to give America a bad image …

Student D
Abu Ghraib prisoner:
Terrible memories, humiliated, cannot sleep, pain, insult to my religion and people, she enjoyed it, want sixteen years in prison for Lynndie …

8. PRISONER RIGHTS: Your task is to decide which of the rights in the table below prisoners should have in a prisoner of war (P.O.W.) camp. Make rules next to the rights to explain your decisions.

After you have made you rules, tell another partner / group what you decided. Your partner(s) will give you feedback on your decisions.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find information on Abu Ghraib. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. LYNNDIE’S SENTENCE: You are the judge in the Lynndie England case. Decide her sentence and explain your reasoning.

4. PUBLIC IMAGE: Write an article on the effect of the Abu Ghraib photos on America’s image around the world.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

1. Lynndie England has pleaded not guilty to charges of prisoner abuse.  F
2. Lynndie England faces a maximum sentence of sixteen years in prison.  T
3. Lawyers will say Lynndie has learning problems.  T
4. The Abu Ghraib photos caused uproar among Arab nations.  T
5. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned.  F
6. Lynndie said she received orders from above to “soften up” the prisoners.  T

SYNONYM MATCH:

PHRASE MATCH:

GAP FILL:

Soldier admits guilt over Iraq photos

Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier at the centre of the Iraqi prison photos scandal, has pleaded guilty to abusing prisoners in Iraq. She confessed to a total of seven charges, including mistreating prisoners and not carrying out her duties correctly. England faces a maximum sentence of sixteen years in prison. However, she will probably receive less than ten years. Her lawyers will say that she has mental health and learning problems and that she has a newborn baby.

The photographs of Ms England and her colleagues laughing at naked Iraqi detainees shocked the world last year. Images of her holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a dog leash caused outrage in Arab countries. The U.S. military was widely criticized around the world and many people wanted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign. Lynndie claims the orders for the photos came from above. She says officers higher up in the U.S. chain of command told her to “soften up” the prisoners.