Aidan Delgado is a cosmopolitan, but no stint abroad changed his life so dramatically as his year with the U.S. Army Reserve in Iraq. Delgado was in the process of enlisting when the planes hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001; he arrived in Iraq with the 320th Military Police Company in 2003. When his fellow soldiers learned that he spoke some Arabic and enjoyed meeting Iraqis, they made use of him but they also began to mistrust him.

As he witnessed more and more racism, arrogance, and abuse of unarmed Iraqis, his opposition mounted. Within months, Delgado concluded that war was immoral and ran counter to his Buddhist principles. He turned in his weapon and began the long process of securing Conscientious Objector status. After finishing his tour of duty as a mechanic, he was granted CO status and honorably discharged. Back in the states, he created a sensation when he spoke out against what had he seen.

The Sutras of Abu Ghraib traces a young man�s transformation from naive soldier to conscientious objector, a journey that leads him to question everything he once believed about war and justice. It is the story of a soldier who refused to succumb to violence, and a raw and riveting account of military life-and a thoughtful young man�s inner life-during the downturn of U.S. fortunes in Iraq. In chronicling the daily struggles and the dehumanizing effects of war, Delgado examines the attitudes that make international prisoner abuse possible and explores his own developing Buddhism against a brutal backdrop. It is a tale of physical bravery, moral courage, and the cost of holding on to you identity while everyone around you is losing theirs. Candid, wise, and occasionally tragic, it is urgent reading for those who care deeply about American ideals overseas.

Sutras of Abu Ghraib: Notes from a Conscientious Objector, Aidan Delgado, Beacon Press, Hardcover, 2007, 228 Pages, $24.95

Aidan Delgado served with the US Army Reserve in Iraq and is now an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Buddhist Peace Fellowship. a 2006 graduate of the New College of Florida, he lives in Sarasota, Florida.