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CPTMitch, I found your name to be ironic when you asked,
"Where were the people of conscience at Haditha or Abu Gharaib? Where were the people who would stand up for human dignity in the worst of circumstances?"
Perhaps you never heard of Christian Peacemaker Teams, commonly abreviated CPT. CPT's goal is to place pacifist protestors in crisis situations worldwide to witness for peace where the wars are happening. Their view is that if soldiers are willing to risk their lives for what they believe than where is the moral authority of the pacifists if they are not willing to do the same. To quote from the CPT web page, "CPT initiated a long-term presence in Iraq in October 2002, six months before the beginning of the U.S. led invasion in March of 2003. The primary focus of the team for eighteen months following the invasion was documenting and focusing attention on the issue of detainee abuses and basic legal and human rights being denied them." One focus from the beginning was the Abu Gharaib prison. They didn't just stand around and protest though. They interceded on behalf of Iraqis trying to gain access to relatives in Abu Gharaib and they documented stories of abuse long before we all heard about Abu Gharaib.
In November of 2005, four CPT members were kidnapped by Iraqi extremists. They were from several different countries with one American. On March 10, 2006 that American, Tom Fox, was found killed, apparently tortured to death. The others were released shortly after. So yes, the people of conscience were at Abu Gharaib. You're not going to hear about them on Fox News though. CPT are still in Iraq and CPT are still in many other countries where wars are taking place. Check them out, www.cpt.org.
Andy
