In July of 2004, President George W. Bush proclaimed that "We're the good guys. We're fighting the evil doers over there so that we won't have to fight them over here." Many Americans actually believed those sentiments for a few months, but then those infamous photos emerged from Abu Ghraib—notably the ones displaying smug young Lynndie England posing with naked Iraqi prisoners of war—holding a neck leash of a man lying on the floor, giving a "thumbs up" sign behind a pyramid of seven men, and pointing at a man being forced to masturbate. Media sources revealed more revolting photographs of additional naked Iraqi prisoners in stress positions, sexually suggestive poses, and with women's underwear masking their faces.

The work of a few bad apples according to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, but how could low level Privates be engaged in such disgusting behavior without the knowledge of a staff sergeant or higher? Suddenly the U.S. had lost credibility, even among ardent supporters, and Bush administration officials could never again spout moral supremacy without these images exposing their hypocrisy. The U.S. military gave the guise that the evil doers would be punished, but the abuse was so widespread and grotesque that investigations and court-martials have never proved convincing. Many believe that the U.S. has secretly engaged in systematic torture, and got caught with their pants down by amateur photographers in the digital age.

Now in Standing Operating Procedure Errol Morris tears through the façade with his "Interrotron" to interview various first hand participants, ranging from investigator Brent Pack, to contract interrogator Tim Dugan, to convicted specialists Jeremy Sivits, Roman Krol, Sabrina Harman, Megan Ambuhl Graner, and "poster child" Lynndie England.

If you've ever seen any of Morris' earlier documentaries—Gates of Heaven about pet cemetaries, The Thin Blue Line about a man wrongly convicted for murder in Dallas, Fog of War where Robert S. McNamara belatedly reveals background about the Vietnam War fiasco—you've seen Morris' remarkable investigative work in action. The interviewees look straight into our eyes, making their narratives all the more credible. Morris' camera stays longer and closer on his subjects than Igmar Bergman's as his subjects delve into the ongoing incidents at Abu Ghraib to elaborate on the shocking photos we've seen through the media.

Morris weaves these forthright interviews with appropriate (and often explicit) photographs, occasional archive footage, and digital effects wizardry together over the relentless and melancholy score of Danny Elfman to fashion the year's most important documentary to date. Although not a political muckracker like Michael Moore, Morris' kinder, gentler approach nevertheless gets under our skin even more effectively. And this post mortem examination is especially creepy.

Donald Rumsfeld described those wretched photos as the work of a "few bad apples," but what credibility does he have? The film shows him arriving at Abu Gharib to tour the facility, but after seeing Saddam's hanging room briefly, he says he's seen enough and leaves. Most of the people I've talked with figure that the youth photographed abusing the Iraqi prisoners were idiots and likely following orders, and that the military would find a way to cover up and scapegoat a few to avoid admitting to systematic corruption. But Rumsfeld had Lynndie England's graphic evidence to support his "bad apples" theory.

A sadder but somewhat wiser girl now, England explains that she posed for those pictures out of love—for Sgt. Charles Graner in particular. He ordered her to pose for those pictures, along with other things. She went along with it and had his child before realizing that he was two-timing her. Her naive and stupid acts turn out to be only the tip of the iceberg that Morris has begun to penetrate in Standing Operating Procedures. Put it on your "must see" list for whenever it comes to town. Of course, it doesn't paint a pretty picture, but it certainly provokes thought and provides perspective to understand that there's much more to seeing who the "evil doers" are than mere political posturing or finger pointing.