Peaches, I think you are probably closest to the truth, and the problems involved run fairly far up the chain of command (although not to W, I don't think!).
Reservists shouldn't be in the positions they are in. There appears to be a failure to properly monitor and control reservist units in the field, and they are being faced with things they never expected to see in their lives. Their reactions are not "normal", but certain incidents are not out of the realm of possiblity.
Where the chain of command fails is that someone higher than "grunt" seemed to think this was okay, and signed off on this time of mental "warfare" (peeing on naked prisoners is torture, no two ways about it). It is certain without a doubt that people up the chain of command were aware of what was going on and decided to either let it slide or encouraged it as a way to "break" the prisoners.
Alas, there is a second side to this situation, and one side should not get confused with the other:
part 2 is "who in the whitehouse or pentagon knew about it, when did the know about it, and why wasn't anything being done until the pictures made the papers?". That isn't a question about "why did it happen", but rather "why wasn't the situation resolved earlier?".
The shame isn't just in the acts. The shame is in people not working to stop the acts from re-occuring.
Alex
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Let's go to the edge of disaster Push the pedal and go a little faster Let's slam into a wall at ramming speed Let's go to the edge of a mountain Jump off and lets start countin' Hit the ground and tell me if it bleeds
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