by Aidan DelgadoFrom the publisher:
A young man's transformation from Army Reserve volunteer to Buddhist conscientious objector and critic of the war in Iraq
In 2003 Aidan Delgado was deployed to Nasiriyah and Abu Ghraib with the U.S. Army Reserve. When his colleagues learned that he spoke some Arabic, they made use of him but also began to mistrust him. Delgado's opposition to the war mounted as he saw American arrogance and abuse of unarmed Iraqis run rampant. Concluding that war ran counter to his Buddhist principles, he sought Conscientious Objector status and was honorably discharged. Back home, he began to speak out against the injustices he had seen.
The Sutras of Abu Ghraib is Delgado's account of those days in Iraq. In chronicling the struggles of military life and the dehumanizing effects of war, he examines the attitudes that make prisoner abuse possible and explores his own developing Buddhist beliefs against a brutal backdrop. It is a tale of the cost—but also the urgent necessity—of moral courage.
Aidan Delgado served with the U.S. Army Reserve in Iraq and is now an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. A 2006 graduate of the New College of Florida, he lives in Sarasota, Florida.
