watch the prisoner abuse scandal widen

[mburbank]

If you don't feel like reading this whole article, the main points are:
1.) More cases under investigation than previously acknowledged
2.) Another disk of photos found
3.) A red cross report sent down the chin of command and never followed up on.


Army General Says U.S. Has 75 Prison Abuse Cases


By Alan Elsner
Reuters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has investigated 75 cases of abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan since late 2002, suggesting that mistreatment was more widespread than previously acknowledged, the head of the U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday.

Army Gen. John Abizaid, who is responsible for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee there were systemic problems at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where U.S. personnel took photographs of detainees being abused and sexually humiliated that have shocked and angered Americans and fueled anti-American anger overseas.

"The total number of detainee abuse cases that have been investigated since I believe the beginning of the conflict in Afghanistan is around 75," Abizaid told the committee.

He said the army was still investigating several homicides in Afghanistan that went as far back as December 2002 and which needed to be resolved quickly.

"Abuse has happened in Afghanistan, it's happened in Iraq, it's happened at various places. I think the question before us: is there a systemic abuse problem with regard to interrogation that exists in the Central Command area of operations," Abizaid said.

He promised to follow the trail of evidence wherever it led and hold accountable those who are responsible

Committee Chairman John Warner told the hearing the Defense Department has located another disc of images related to abuses of Iraqi detainees.

"I've just been informed ... that another disc of pictures has been located, and I'll soon advise the committee on the conditions under which and the timing they can be viewed," the Virginia Republican said.

Also testifying were Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq, and Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, deputy commander for detainee operations in Iraq.

Sanchez said that his order putting an intelligence officer in tactical control of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, previously used as a torture center under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, was for security purposes. It did not place military police at the jail under the control of intelligence officials.

He also said he had issued several directives in 2003 and 2004 making it clear prisoners were to be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and requiring that "all interrogations be conducted in a lawful and humane manner, with command oversight."

FACE PUBLIC OPINION

Some of the military police have charged that they were ordered to help "soften up" prisoners for interrogation.

Warner said it was time for top U.S. military leaders to face American and world public opinion.

Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, asked about warnings from the International Committee of the Red Cross that Iraqi prisoners were being abused that surfaced as early as May 2003, months before the U.S. military launched its first investigation.

Abizaid said he was aware of the report and sent it for comments to a lower-ranking officer but never received a written reply. He acknowledged that this suggested there was a problem in the way the U.S. military handled Red Cross complaints.