hanoi john once more caught in An Exercise in Hypocrisy.
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Pardon me if I meander a bit, but this whole prisoner abuse thing has more sides than the Pentagon and a lot more intrigue than that which slithers along its multiple corridors.
It is, of course, the current media and political firestorm, the flames regularly fanned with the piece-by-piece release of photographs and videos showing increasingly shocking instances of outrageous behavior against detainees being held in the luxurious suites of the Abu Ghraib Prison, by a handful of servicemen and women.
It is said that pictures tell more than a thousand words, and this has never been as true as it is today, as the photos and videos prove. The words describing the scandal starting leaking out late last year, were written in Army press releases early in January and finally compiled into a scathing and incredibly thorough report issued by Major General Antonio M. Taguba.
But none of the tens of thousands of words had any real impact until those photos found their way into the happy hands of CBS 60 Minutes 2 which showed them to the world. Those photos and videos were the sparks that ignited the firestorm.
Despite Gen. Taguba's meticulously documented report laying out in detail the facts in the case, there is much that needs to be explained and that's where the hypocrisy kicks in.
Democrat bloodhounds thinking they smell a faint odor of Bush blood, are hot on the phantom trail seeking to show that the responsibility for the mistreatment of the prisoners leads all the way up to the office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and through him to the Oval Office.
They of course have not a shred of proof that the responsibility goes one level above the brigade level as Gen. Taguba insists. And to that level only because the brigade commander failed to run even the loosest of tight ships.
From that point on we have only speculation as to where lies the specific blame for the humiliating treatment of what were apparently a crew of insurgent thugs being caged in a cell block for the worst and most dangerous detainees.
Thanks to those photos and videos we know the identity of MPs committing the acts shown but it should be abundantly clear that they were not acting on their own. It begs the imagination to believe that these largely untrained MPs, told by intelligence people at the prison to "soften up" detainees being interrogated by military intelligence had even the vaguest idea on their own how to go about softening them up.
Somebody with training in the psychology of interrogation of Muslim prisoners had to have informed the MPs that nothing was more shameful to a Muslim male than to be stripped naked in the presence of women, and worse, to be photographed apparently committing what to them are disgusting sexual acts. It emasculated them psychologically. The MPs could not have known it otherwise.
In his report Gen. Taguba wrote: SGT Javal S. Davis, 372nd MP Company, stated in his sworn statement:
I witnessed prisoners in the MI hold section, wing 1A being made to do various things that I would question morally. In Wing 1A we were told that they had different rules and different SOP for treatment. I never saw a set of rules or SOP for that section just word of mouth. The Soldier in charge of 1A was Corporal Granier. He stated that the Agents and MI Soldiers would ask him to do things, but nothing was ever in writing he would complain (sic).
When asked why the rules in 1A/1B were different than the rest of the wings, SGT Davis stated, "The rest of the wings are regular prisoners and 1A/B are Military Intelligence (MI) holds." When asked why he did not inform his chain of command about this abuse, SGT Davis said, "Because I assumed that if they were doing things out of the ordinary or outside the guidelines, someone would have said something. Also the wing belongs to MI [Military Intelligence] and it appeared MI personnel approved of the abuse."
SGT Davis also stated that he had heard MI insinuate to the guards to abuse the inmates. When asked what MI said he stated: "Loosen this guy up for us." Make sure he has a bad night." "Make sure he gets the treatment." He claimed these comments were made to CPL Granier and SSG Frederick.
Finally, SGT Davis stated that (sic): "the MI staffs to my understanding have been giving Granier compliments on the way he has been handling the MI holds. Example being statements like, ‘Good job, they’re breaking down real fast. They answer every question. They’re giving out good information, Finally, and Keep up the good work. Stuff like that.’
So we can up the level of responsibility to both the military and civilian intelligence officers at the prison. And until it can be proven that specific higher ranking officers were complicit in ordering the MPs to do what they did, the buck stops far below them.
General Taguba had harsh words for Brigadier General Janet Karpinski who was supposed to be running the prison. He scornfully recounts a four-hour interview with Karpinski where, he notes, in what should be headed "the interview with the weeping general," that the lady became very "emotional." Here were his allegations against Karpinski:
# Failing to ensure that MP Soldiers at theater-level detention facilities throughout Iraq had appropriate SOPs for dealing with detainees and that Commanders and Soldiers had read, understood, and would adhere to these SOPs.
# Failing to ensure that MP Soldiers in the 800th MP Brigade knew, understood, and adhered to the protections afforded to detainees in the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
# Making material misrepresentations to the Investigation Team as to the frequency of her visits to her subordinate commands.
# Failing to obey an order from the CFLCC Commander, LTG McKiernan, regarding the withholding of disciplinary authority for Officer and Senior Noncommissioned Officer misconduct.
# Failing to take appropriate action regarding the ineffectiveness of a subordinate Commander, LTC (P) Jerry Phillabaum.
# Failing to take appropriate action regarding the ineffectiveness of numerous members of her Brigade Staff including her XO, S-1, S-3, and S-4.
# Failing to properly ensure the results and recommendations of the AARs and numerous 15-6 Investigation reports on escapes and shootings (over a period of several months) were properly disseminated to, and understood by, subordinate commanders.
# Failing to ensure and enforce basic Soldier standards throughout her command.
# Failing to establish a Brigade METL.
# Failing to establish basic proficiency in assigned tasks for Soldiers throughout the 800th MP Brigade.
# Failing to ensure that numerous and reported accountability lapses at detention facilities throughout Iraq were corrected. Gen. Taguba concluded that there isn't a shred of evidence that any officer or Pentagon official above Karpinski had any responsibility for the prisoner abuse.
For those Democrats demanding Rumsfeld's ouster or resignation, it is a shameful exercise in sheer hypocrisy.
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