Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	4/23/2005 8:06:02 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Army Clears Top Abu Ghraib Case Officers Outside The Beltway Posted by James Joyner at 21:14 The Army has formally exhonerated LTG Ricardo Sanchez and other senior officers on his staff of criminal wrongdoing in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Army Clears Top Abu Ghraib Case Officers (AP) <<< The Army has cleared four top officers — including the three-star general who commanded all U.S. forces in Iraq — of all allegations of wrongdoing in connection with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and will not be punished, officials said Friday. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who became the senior commander in Iraq in June 2003, two months after the fall of Baghdad, had been faulted in earlier investigations for leadership lapses that may have contributed to prisoner abuse. He is the highest ranking officer to face official allegations of leadership failures in Iraq, but he has not been accused of criminal violations. After assessing the allegations against Sanchez and taking sworn statements from 37 people involved in Iraq, the Army's inspector general, Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Green, concluded that the allegations were unsubstantiated, said the officials who were familiar with the details of Green's probe. Green reached the same conclusion in the cases of two generals and a colonel who worked for Sanchez. The officials who disclosed the findings spoke only on condition of anonymity because Congress has not yet been fully briefed on Green's findings and the information has not yet been publicly released. Green had scrutinized the actions of Sanchez and 11 other officers. >>> This is hardly surprising and, indeed, is almost certainly the right outcome. Sanchez and his staff were focused on running the overall operations in Iraq. It's simply unreasonable to hold them criminally responsible for the actions of subordinates several echelons beyond their span of control. Now, BG Karpinski, who actually commanded the prisons in Iraq, would be a reasonable target of such probes. outsidethebeltway.com news.yahoo.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	4/25/2005 12:06:19 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

US General Relieved of Command In Torture The Command Post From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) : <<< The US Army has relieved Brigadier General Jani Karpinski of her command amid evidence of dereliction of duty in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal. However, it has exonerated Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top US commander in Iraq, of wrongdoing in the Abu Ghraib scandal. A 10-member team began assessing any wrongdoing by top brass in Iraq in October. It has found that Lt Gen Sanchez and three other senior officers had not committed dereliction of duty. These four will not face criminal or administrative punishment. But the investigation has found that “allegations of dereliction of duty were substantiated” in the case of Army Reserve Brigadier General Janis Karpinski. […] The official says that Brig Gen Karpinski will not face criminal charges but has received an official letter of reprimand from a senior Army general. She has also been relieved of her command. Brig Gen Karpinski had been suspended, but not officially removed, from her command and removed from active duty last year. command-post.org abc.net.au

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	4/28/2005 8:30:38 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Believing the worst about America regardless of the evidence Power Line The editors of the Wall Street Journal explain that, given the outcome of the various trials and investigations of the abuses at Abu Ghraib, one of two things is true. Either the story was over-hyped last year or our government -- the Bush administration, the U.S. military, and independent investigators such as former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger -- has perpetrated a massive cover-up. The Journal thinks it's a case of the former -- an overhyped story, in an election year, with the goal of "stripping the Iraq War of moral authority and turning President Bush into another LBJ." Ted Kennedy, among others, apparently thinks it's the latter -- a perfidious refusal to punish the guilty. But, given the outcome of the many inquiries and legal proceedings on the matter and the evidence presented therein, the burden should rest with Kennedy and his fellow leftists to substantiate their claims of whitewash. Until they do, we should assume that these claims are asserted a priori, based on a combination of desire for political gain and raw contempt for the military and for our government in general. powerlineblog.com opinionjournal.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	5/1/2005 10:47:33 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Lynndie England to Plead Guilty, Lawyer Says Saturday, April 30, 2005 CHARLESTON, W. Va. — Relatives of Army Reserve Pfc. Lynndie England have accepted her decision to plead guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, a spokesman said Saturday. "They are secure in the knowledge that she knows what she's doing," said family attorney Roy Hardy. "They're not happy, but at the same time they've accepted it." England, who appeared in a photo that showed her holding a hooded, naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, will plead guilty in a military court Monday to two counts of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of dereliction of duty, her civilian lawyer, Rick Hernandez, said Friday. England faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison as part of the plea deal, which still must be accepted by a military judge, Hernandez said. She had been facing up to 16 years. The 22-year-old reservist, who was a clerk at the prison in the Baghdad area, had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday at Fort Hood, Texas. "In the long run it will benefit her more than not taking the plea," Hardy said of the plea agreement. "That's our understanding." One count of committing indecent acts and one count of failure to obey a lawful order will be dismissed, Hernandez said. England, from the West Virginia town of Fort Ashby, was one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting detainees at the prison. England's lawyers have argued that she and others in her unit were acting on orders from military intelligence to "soften up" prisoners for interrogations. But Army investigators testified during hearings last summer that England said the reservists took the photos while "they were joking around, having some fun." A panel of soldiers will determine England's punishment. If England is sent to prison, her son will live with her mother and sister, Hardy said, but the family hopes she is not given the maximum 11-year sentence. "We just want to bring her back here to West Virginia," he said. "On behalf of the family, we're confident the military will look at the evidence." Four other members of the 372nd and two low-level military intelligence officers have entered guilty pleas, with sentences ranging from no time to 81/2 years. Pvt. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of the abuses, is the only soldier to stand trial so far. foxnews.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	5/2/2005 6:42:04 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Much ado 'bout Abu Mudville Gazette Lynndie England, the "face of Abu Ghraib", pleaded guilty today to charges related to the abuse at the facility. CNN, in reporting the event, included some details I've previously never seen compiled anywhere other than this blog. <<< All of the incidents except the dog leash and the "rapeist" incidents took place on England's 21st birthday, November 7, 2003, when England -- a clerk, not a guard -- had come to the cell block to visit Graner. The detainees in the photographs were suspected of starting a riot in another area of the prison and had been brought to the cell block for further questioning. >>> Those simple facts change the story of government sanctioned torture of insurgents that has long been associated with the photos from Abu Ghraib. It almost begs the question why they are so under-reported. Ironically, few people know that CNN 'broke' the story of Abu Ghraib last January, months before the infamous photos made Lynndie England the most recognizable American face of the War on Terror. If none of this is the Abu Ghraib case you know from other media accounts, please read on. You are not alone. Here's why you don't know what you think you know about Abu Ghraib. mudvillegazette.com edition.cnn.com mudvillegazette.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	5/5/2005 8:27:14 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Bush OKs Demotion of Abu Ghraib General The Command Post In Torture President Bush has approved the demotion of Army Reserve Brig.Gen. Janis Karpinski , whose unit was in charge during the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuses in 2003, officials said Thursday. The Army also said three other, more senior generals had been cleared of wrongdoing in the prisoner abuse cases, actions that had been previously reported. That means Karpinski is the only general to be disciplined. Karpinski was demoted to colonel, a move that required approval by the president. She also received a written reprimand by Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody for dereliction of duty and shoplifting and was formally relieved of command of the 800th Military Police Brigade on April 8. Read more… foxnews.com command-post.org

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	5/16/2005 11:04:09 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Harman Guilty on 6 Abu Ghraib Abuse Counts By T.A. BADGER Associated Press Writer FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military jury on Monday convicted the second soldier to be tried in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, returning guilty verdicts on all but one of the seven charges she faced for her role in the abuse of Iraqi inmates. A panel of four Army officers and four senior enlisted soldiers convicted Spc. Sabrina Harman on one count of conspiracy to maltreat detainees, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of dereliction of duty. The 27-year-old reservist from Lorton, Va., was acquitted on one maltreatment count that accused her of photographing a group of Iraqi detainees who were forced to masturbate in public by Abu Ghraib guards. One of Harman's co-defendants testified last week that she was not present when that incident occurred. The jury also found that Harman did not commit two of the nine acts that were part of the dereliction charge, but she was convicted of the overall offense. Jurors deliberated for about 3 1/2 hours before returning their decision. Harman showed no reaction while the jury foreman read each of the verdicts. She left the building without speaking to reporters. Her sentencing hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday. Harman faces a maximum of 5 1/2 years in a military prison. Harman, a former pizza shop manager from Virginia, was the second soldier to be tried for allegedly mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. She was depicted in several of the most notorious photos taken at Abu Ghraib in late October and early November 2003, and she is accused of taking other pictures. Harman posed for a photo with Pvt. Charles Graner Jr. behind a group of naked detainees stacked in a pyramid. In another photo, she was shown with a prisoner on whose leg she is accused of writing "rapeist." Earlier Monday, prosecutors said in closing arguments that Harman and other guards on the night shift at Abu Ghraib conspired to mistreat the prisoners. "They were all acting together for their own amusement," said Capt. Chris Graveline. "There was no justification for what they did that night." Graveline said the group took pictures of what they were doing "so they could remember that night, so they could laugh again at these men. ... There's nothing funny about what happened at Abu Ghraib." Defense lawyer Frank Spinner said Harman was a novice soldier who had no prison guard experience and who received virtually no training before going to work at the chaotic and overcrowded prison as part of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company. "Shame on the Army for putting an ill-equipped, ill-trained junior specialist in a position where she had to challenge her (enlisted) leadership to do the right thing," he said after putting on a case that lasted only a few hours. "This is not one of the Army's finest moments." The final witness was Kelly Bryant, Harman's roommate in Virginia, who read part of a letter Harman wrote home in late October 2003. In the letter, Harman said she took pictures of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib because she was opposed to the treatment and wanted to document the wrongdoing. "At first I thought it was funny, but these people are going too far," Harman wrote. "Kelly, it's awful. I thought I could handle anything, but I was wrong." Harman said in the letter that her initial amusement at how the detainees were mistreated gave way to the realization that her co-defendants were engaged in illegal activity. "It hit me it was a form of molestation - you can't do that," she wrote. "What if that was me in their shoes?" Six co-defendants in the Abu Ghraib case have made plea bargains. Graner was convicted in January and is now serving a 10-year sentence in an Army prison. Pfc. Lynndie England, the most recognizable Abu Ghraib defendant, also reached a plea deal, but the judge threw it out in early May after Graner's testimony contradicted England's assertion that she knew her actions were wrong. © 2005 The Associated Press hosted.ap.org

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	5/29/2005 9:24:07 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Eyewitness Posted by Smash The Indepundit STINKERR has a stunning confession: <<< Okay, I'll have to come clean. I've never discussed this before, but now seems to be the time. I've been to Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) -- twice. On the first occasion I witnessed a prisoner in handcuffs being beaten repeatedly. I sat there behind a desk and didn't say a word to stop it, I didn't think I could stop it because the ones doing the beating outranked me and I never reported it. He wasn't tortured, but he was beaten with clubs and he was also kicked several times. It was the only time I witnessed anything like this happening there or anywhere else. I had drawn Shore Patrol duty and got assigned to the telephone duty desk at Shore Patrol headquarters. This put me in position to witness this "horrendous" act. /b> The prisoner was a very drunk deck ape off of the USS Brumby (DE-1044) and he kept foul mouthing and challenging the permanent SPs so they would beat him till he shut up. When they went away he'd start up again. This happened three or four times until this idiot realized that he was on the losing side every time. It was 1968 or 1969 so I don't know if we can blame Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon for this. It doesn't matter any more as they are both dead and while the President bore the ultimate responsibility, I'm pretty sure he never knew about it. I know I didn't tell him. This is a true story and I tell it to illustrate the ultimate disconnect between the Commander in Chief and the people for whom he bears ultimate responsibility. He didn't order that idiot beaten, nor would he have countenanced it, but he was responsible for it. I'm not going to bother looking up the Secretaries of Defense or Navy at the time, who were also responsible for this. They didn't know about it either. This behavior can't be attributed solely to the Navy or the military in general, either. My youngest brother got a similar lesson from civilian police. He was arrested on several charges one night. He was very drunk and very nasty. They stopped the elevator between floors at headquarters and taught him a similar lesson. He learned after the first time. BTW, as Smash and others have pointed out, the abuses and investigations thereof at Abu Ghraib were announced by the Pentagon and the news media had no interest in the story until a few months later when pictures became available. There have been other cases of abuse and even murder, I regret to say, which have been investigated and when found to be factual have seen the perpetrators and their commanders punished. We'd hear more about them but for the lack of sensational pictures. >>> As Glenn Reynolds might say, "Heh." indepundit.com indepundit.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8415)	6/7/2005 12:31:08 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 35834

Connelly - "There have been many homicides of prisoners." "Close to 100" Posted by Trey Jackson Jackson's Junction You can watch the video HERE. treyjackson.net <<< Connolly: There have been many homicides of prisoners. Hume: How many? Connolly: I believe close to 100. Hume: A hundred murders? Connolly: Homicides around the world. In Afghanistan. In Iraq. That have come through Pentagon investigations. >>> What bothered GP and me the most was no one challenged this leftist hogwash. Everyone acts surprised, but no one says: "That is not true!" Gateway Pundit finds the real number is 27 and adds: <<< The 27 confirmed or suspected homicides occurred during 24 separate incidents, 17 of them in Iraq and seven in Afghanistan. The CID has determined that there were homicides in 16 of the incidents and is continuing to investigate the other eight incidents. >>> Need I say this? Go read the whole thing!! HERE. gatewaypundit.blogspot.com This segment was aired on Fox News Special Report with Brit Hume. Update: </b>The Gateway Pundit says he's still investigating, that he thinks the number of 27 is still to high. Stay tuned. treyjackson.typepad.com