Abu Ghraib: Bigger than a Mere Scandal

[thedrifter]

05-06-2004 <br />
<br />
From the Editor: <br />
<br />
Abu Ghraib: Bigger than a Mere Scandal

[thedrifter]

One MP said in a sworn statement, “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. … Corporal Granier … stated that the Agents and MI soldiers would ask him to do things, but nothing was ever in writing he would complain (sic). Also the wing belongs to MI and it appeared MI personnel approved of the abuse.”

Taguba concluded that “[T]here was clear friction and lack of effective communication between the Commander, 205th MI Brigade, who controlled FOB Abu Ghraib (BCCF) after 19 November 2003, and the Commander, 800th MP Brigade, who controlled detainee operations inside the FOB. There was no clear delineation of responsibility between commands, little coordination at the command level, and no integration of the two functions. Coordination occurred at the lowest possible levels with little oversight by commanders.”

That’s probably how the CIA managed to stash their infamous “ghost detainees” – prisoners whose whereabouts were unlogged and identities cloaked – inside a U.S. Army facility.

None of this happened in a vacuum. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Abu Ghraib and met Karpinski in a highly-publicized event. There is a clear chain of command linking the lowest-ranking MPs to Lt. Gen. Sanchez and his subordinate generals. CENTCOM commanders in the fall of 2003 were anxious to roll up the former regime leaders still on the lam, including Saddam Hussein, and clearly pressed interrogation experts such as Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller to incorporate stronger techniques to get Iraqi detainees to talk.



A number of officers and senior enlisted men from the 800th MP Brigade have already been relieved of command and received letters of reprimand. Investigators are still looking into the activities of the 205th MI Brigade. Accountability will not stop there, nor should it. There should be courts-martial.



This appalling incident does more than undercut the progress of our mission in Iraq. For years, people familiar with the U.S. military have decried the gap between actual capabilities and the unceasing mission overstretch battering a force slashed by 40 percent after the end of the Cold War. For years, compliant military commanders have covered up the worsening situation with adjectives and adverbs.



What Tagabu’s report shows us in unrelenting candor is that the critics were right: the U.S. military is in danger of coming apart at the seams. A scandal such as Abu Ghraib is merely how it plays out.



Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at dweditor@yahoo.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com. © 2004 Ed Offley.


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Ellie

[Sparrowhawk]

http://www.sftt.org/sftt_title_article.jpg

WHO CLAIMES TO BE "The Voice of the Grunt"

IS NOTHING BUT A HACK WORTHLESS PRODUCTION AGAIN;

http://www.sftt.org/

[yellowwing]

"Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Abu Ghraib and met Karpinski in a highly-publicized event. " - When did this happen?