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Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Abu Ghraib torture: Pentagon makes sure Taguba has a minder 

Even, though, really, what Taguba has to say is not all that controversial:

Asked directly in "your own soldier's language" what had caused the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison, once the feared symbol of Saddam Hussein's dictatorial rule, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba recited a litany of ills.

"Failure in leadership, sir, from the brigade commander on down, lack of discipline, no training whatsoever and no supervision. Supervisory omission was rampant," Taguba, the author of a Pentagon report on the abuse, told the latest Senate hearing on the scandal.

At the Pentagon's insistence, Under Secretary of Defense Stephen Cambone, who is in charge of intelligence, and other Pentagon officials also appeared with Taguba to testify on the scandal that has sparked international outrage and calls for Rumsfeld's resignation.
(via Reuters)

And whaddaya know? The political appointees disagree with Taguba:

At the same time, questions about ultimate responsibility for control of the Abu Ghraib prison produced a disagreement between Taguba and Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

Taguba said that control had been turned over to military intelligence officials.

Cambone said that was incorrect, and it resided with the military police.

In a further disagreement, Taguba said it was against Army rules for intelligence troops to involve MPs in setting conditions for interrogations. Cambone said he believed it was appropriate for the two groups to collaborate.

Taguba also told the committee his investigation had not found "any order whatsoever, written or otherwise," that directed the military police to cooperate with intelligence forces at the prison.

Regardless of any disagreements, Cambone and others told the panel that troops in Iraq were under orders to abide by the Geneva Conventions, which dictate terms for humane treatment of prisoners.
(via AP)

No order?! That's the fog machine in action. "Lack of supervision" was the result of policy, designed to do exactly what it did. Who were the civilians giving orders to the soldiers? And who were the "foreign nationals" involved? On what computer system were the photos stored? Who had access? Who was on the distribution list? Were there backup copies? Who has the backups now? And so on. Oh, if only we had a free press...

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