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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug R who wrote (19949)	8/24/2004 3:15:01 PM
From: James Calladine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

Rumsfeld faulted for 'sadistic' Iraq torture by Tuesday 24 August 2004 6:05 PM GMT Rumsfeld, Myers and half a dozen other officials are blamed The US Defence Department's most senior civilian and military officials share a portion of blame for creating conditions that led to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, according to a new report. The report, issued by a commission appointed by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, briefed him on its findings and recommendations in advance of a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday. The commission was headed by James Schlesinger, a former secretary of defence. "There was indirect responsibility at higher levels in that the weaknesses at Abu Ghraib were well known and that corrective action could have been taken and should have been taken," Schlesinger said. The report cited the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the military command in Iraq for leadership failures that resulted in naked detainees being abused and humiliated, the reports said. "The abuses were not just the failure of some individuals to follow known standards, and they are more than the failure of a few leaders to enforce proper discipline," the report said. Shlesinger also called described Abu Ghraib as an "animal house" where the abuse was "sadistic". Army report The Army report, initially headed by Major General George Fay, says at least two dozen lower-ranking military intelligence soldiers, as well as civilian contractors employed by the military, were responsible for the abuses, which were depicted in dehumanising photographs and videos taken by US soldiers. The Washington Post reported that a separate Army inquiry has found military police dogs "were used to 'frighten' detained Iraqi teenagers as part of a sadistic game". The Army report, which is also due to be released this week, "will show that MPs (military police officers) were using their animals to make juveniles, as young as 15 years old, urinate on themselves as part of a competition". Investigators were told that the use of dogs as torture were allowed Prison guards, referred to as 'handlers', have told investigators that the use of military police dogs was sanctioned by top military officers. The new report will show that MPs were using their animals to torture detainees as part of an unusual competition among themselves, the Post reported, citing a Pentagon source. The outside panel led by former Defence Secretary James Schlesinger criticizes Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez who was the top US commander in Iraq when the abuse occurred between October and December of last year. Sanchez faulted Sanchez is criticized "for not paying close enough attention to worsening conditions at Abu Ghraib, (and of) delegating oversight of prison operations to subordinates". The reports come as hearings and trials of several MPs implicated in the abuse at Abu Ghraib continue and amid different ongoing inquiries. A hearing for Private Lyndie England at Fort Bragg in North Carolina has heard claims that military intelligence officers were also involved in the abuse, although no intelligence officers have yet been formally charged. England, 21, was photographed smiling and mugging for the camera next to a line of hooded detainees masturbating. US President George Bush was forced to apologise after these degrading photographs were made public. A whitewash? Rights groups said the panel's investigation does not go far enough. Rights groups say Rumsfelds role in approving torture is ignored "They're talking about passive management failures when they should be talking about who in the Pentagon and the military command ordered, approved, or tolerated the torture of detainees," Human Rights Watch spokesman Reed Brody said. "The report does not seem to examine the relationship between Secretary Rumsfeld's approval of interrogation techniques designed to inflict pain and humiliation and the widespread abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo," Brody said. Schlesinger's four member panel was appointed by Rumsfeld to offer a critique of senior officers' roles. The Times said Rumsfeld would be briefed on the panel's findings by video-conference later today. It is then expected to present its findings at a Pentagon news conference. The panel is the only inquiry that has interviewed Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz and other senior officials. Both reports will be reviewed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in hearings scheduled for 9 September 2004. Aljazeera + Agencies By You can find this article at: english.aljazeera.net