I believe the fundamental cause of the mess the Coalition is in, is that there was no plan or infrastructure ready to deploy when the Forces 'won' the war. The Coalition was supposed to make Iraq a place for the people to go about their daily lives free of tyranny, terror and oppression; instead, we are largely seen as an occupying force.
What should have happened was that Iraq should have been flooded with units designed to win the hearts and minds - vast numbers of engineers equipped to quickly restore essential utilities such as water, electricity and sewage; part of that force should have been large numbers of specialists to police the towns and villages, including personnel trained in proper and effective people and prisoner handling and interrogation. Had we done that right at the beginning, more of the ordinary Iraqi in the street would have been right on-side and working with us to expose individuals and groups that threaten the aims of the operation.
Instead, they got a muddle of planning, where winning the hearts and minds disappeared amongst the need to set priorities within the limited resources available; those who waited expectantly for the 'liberators' to make their lives easier were sorely disappointed and rapidly disillusioned, a perfect formula for non-cooperation.
Add to that the propaganda effect of the few relatively insignificant incidents that the Allied authorities and media blew out of all proportion, and the whole situation descended into a quagmire perfect for exploitation by the 'anti' brigade. They are the added dimension that is very effectively disrupting the transition to self-determination for the Iraqi people.
It is still not too late to rectify the situation, but it will call for a vast effort in manpower, materiel and money to get things right for the individual in the street throughout the country.
And it is fundamentally wrong for civilised people to mis-treat captives, no matter what they are accused of having done...