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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (46388)	5/22/2004 9:43:11 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 794009

Post Exclusive Lawyer: Top U.S. Officer Knew of Prison Abuse By Scott Higham, Joe Stephens and Josh White Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, May 22, 2004; 7:05 PM A military lawyer for a soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib abuse case testified that a captain at the Baghdad prison said the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in Iraq was present during some "interrogations and/or allegations of the prisoner abuse," according to a recording of a military hearing obtained by The Washington Post. The lawyer said he was told that Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez and other senior military officers were aware of what was taking place on Tier 1A of Abu Ghraib. The lawyer, Capt. Robert Shuck, also said a sergeant at the prison was prepared to testify that intelligence officers told him the abuse of detainees on the cellblock was "the right thing to do." Shuck is assigned to defend Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II of the 372nd Military Police Company. During an April 2 hearing that was open to the public, Shuck said the company commander, Capt. Donald J. Reese, was prepared to testify in exchange for immunity. The military prosecutor questioned Shuck about what Reese would say under oath. "Are you saying that Captain Reese is going to testify that General Sanchez was there and saw this going on?" asked Capt. John McCabe, the military prosecutor. "That's what he told me," Shuck said. "I am an officer of the court, sir, and I would not lie. I have got two children at home. I'm not going to risk my career." So far, clear evidence has yet to emerge that high-level officers condoned or promoted the abusive practices. Officers at the prison have blamed the abuse on a handful of rogue, low-level military police officers from the 372nd, a company of U.S. Army reservists based in Cresaptown, Md. The general in charge of prisons in Iraq at the time has said that military intelligence officers took control of Abu Ghraib and gave the MPs "ideas." A Defense Department spokesman today referred questions about Sanchez to U.S. military officials in the Middle East, cautioning that statements by defense lawyers or their clients should be treated with "appropriate caution." Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the senior military spokesman in Iraq, said Sanchez was unavailable for comment last night but would "enjoy the opportunity" to respond later. At the April hearing, Shuck also said Reese would testify that Capt. Carolyn A. Wood, who supervised the military intelligence operation at Abu Ghraib, was "involved in intensive interrogations of detainees, condoned some of the activities and stressed that that was standard procedure, what the accused was doing," Shuck said in the hearing, which was held at Camp Victory in Baghdad. The Post obtained a transcript of the hearing today. In the transcript, Shuck said Reese was disturbed by the military intelligence techniques. "They said that there were some strange (inaudible) by the MI [military intelligence]," Shuck said. "They said, 'What's all this nudity about, this posturing, positioning, withholding food and water? Where's the Geneva Conventions being followed." Shuck noted that the abusive tactics deployed on Tier 1A of Abu Ghraib were not a secret. "All of that was being questioned by the chain of command and denied, general officer level on down," Shuck said. "Present during some of these happenings, it has come to my knowledge that that Lt. Gen. Sanchez was even present at the prison during some of these interrogations and/or allegations of the prisoner abuse by those duty [non-commissioned officers]." Reese did not testify that day because he had invoked the military version of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The civilian attorney for Frederick, Gary Myers, said that he is asking the military to add investigators to his legal team so he can track down Reese and other witnesses, who have been scattered in military jobs throughout Iraq. He said he will also ask that immunity be granted to a number of military personnel who he said had first-hand knowledge of what took place on Tier 1A. "We intend to seek immunity for a myriad of officers who are unwilling to participate in the search for the truth without protecting themselves," Myers said today. A more detailed version of this story will be available at washingtonpost.com later tonight. © 2004 The Washington Post Company