Report on Abuse Faults 2 Officers in Intelligence

An internal Army investigation has found a virtual collapse of the command structure in a prison outside Baghdad where American enlisted personnel are accused of committing acts of abuse and humiliation against Iraqi detainees.

A report on the investigation said midlevel military intelligence officers were allowed to skirt the normal chain of command to issue questionable orders to enlisted personnel from the reserve military police unit handling guard duty there.

The Army has already begun one investigation into the abuse allegations. Maj. Gen. George R. Fay, the incoming deputy commander of Army intelligence, is examining the interrogation practices of military intelligence officers at all American-run prisons in Iraq and not just the Abu Ghraib prison.

A second review was ordered Saturday by Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, head of the Army Reserve, to assess the training of all reservists, especially military police and intelligence officers, the soldiers most likely to handle prisoners. Six members of an Army Reserve military police unit assigned to Abu Ghraib face charges of assault, cruelty, indecent acts and maltreatment of detainees.

Gary Myers, a lawyer for Staff Sgt. Ivan L. Frederick II, one of the enlisted men charged in the case, requested over the weekend that the Army open a court of inquiry into the abuse at Abu Ghraib, a move that would expand the investigation beyond the six enlisted personnel to look at the broader command failures.

The widening prison-abuse scandal in Iraq, which has stirred anger in the Arab world just as the Marines have tried to defuse a bloody confrontation in Falluja, holds the potential to damage efforts by American officials to meet a June 30 deadline to transfer limited self-rule to the Iraqi people. It appeared to have caught senior Pentagon officials and some top officers off guard on Sunday, despite President Bush's condemnation of the abuses on Friday.

Appearing on three Sunday talk shows, Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave conflicting answers when asked if the problems at Abu Ghraib were systemic throughout detention centers in Iraq.

At first, General Myers insisted that the instances of mistreatment were not widespread and were the actions of "just a handful" of soldiers who had unfairly tainted all American forces in Iraq. But when pressed, he acknowledged that he had not yet read a classified, 53-page Army report completed in February by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, first reported in the May 10 issue of The New Yorker, that chronicled the worst of the abuses at Abu Ghraib. General Myers left open the possibility the abuses could be broader, saying, "We don't know that yet."

A spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that the secretary had not been briefed on General Taguba's report either, but had been kept abreast of the investigative process.

General Myers also acknowledged that he had asked the CBS News program "60 Minutes II" to delay broadcasting photographs of the abuses taken by guards inside the prison to avoid worsening tensions in Iraq at a time when attacks against American forces are on the rise and one soldier is being held hostage by insurgents. "I thought it would be particularly inflammatory at that time," General Myers said on the ABC News program "This Week."

The Taguba report, as well as other documents seen Sunday by The New York Times, also reveal a much broader pattern of command failures than initially acknowledged by the Pentagon and the Bush administration in responding to outrage over the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison.

The report on General Taguba's investigation identified two military intelligence officers and two civilian contractors for the Army as key figures in the abuse cases at Abu Ghraib. In his internal report on his findings in the investigation, General Taguba said he suspected that the four were "either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib and strongly recommended disciplinary action."

The Taguba report found that they were never properly trained or supervised. It found that in effect, the military police were told to soften up the prisoners so they would talk more freely in interrogations conducted by intelligence officials.

The Taguba report states that "military intelligence interrogators and other U.S. Government Agency interrogators actively requested that M.P. guards set physical and mental conditions for favorable interrogation of witnesses." It noted that one civilian interrogator, a contractor from a company called CACI International Inc., based in Arlington, Va., and attached to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, "clearly knew his instructions" to the military police equated to physical abuse.

The Taguba report's sharpest criticism was for officers in charge of the military police and military intelligence units in the prison.

"There is abundant evidence in the statements of numerous witnesses that soldiers throughout the 800th M.P. Brigade were not proficient" in basic skills needed to operate the prison, the report found.

A crucial problem, the report found, was the bad relationship between the commanders of the military police unit and the military intelligence officers. The report found that there "was clear friction and lack of effective communication" between Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the accused soldiers, and military intelligence officials operating in the prison.

The report said the "ambiguous command relationship" in the prison was made worse by orders that seemed to give military intelligence officials broad authority.

The orders from occupation commanders in Iraq effectively made a military intelligence officer, rather than a military police officer, responsible for the military police units, the report said. This arrangement was not supported by General Karpinski, the report added, and "is not doctrinally sound."

But while the Taguba report criticized military intelligence's role in the abuse, it did not spare General Karpinski. It recommended that she be relieved of command and reprimanded for command failures related to the abuse. General Karpinski said Saturday that she was sickened by the photos of the abuse.

The report identifies Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the 205th military intelligence brigade, Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the former director of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center and Liaison Officer to the 205th Military intelligence Brigade, Steven Stephanowicz, an Army contract employee from CACI, and John Israel, a contractor and civilian interpreter with CACI, as the people suspected of being "either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib."

The report concluded that Mr. Stephanowicz made a false statement to the investigation team regarding the "locations of his interrogations, the activities during his interrogations, and his knowledge of abuses." It recommended that he be dismissed.

Mr. Israel, the report found, "denied ever having seen interrogation processes in violation" of Army standards, "which is contrary to several witness statements." Colonel Pappas was recommended for a reprimand for, among other things, failing to supervise his soldiers properly, and failing to ensure that soldiers under his direct command knew, understood and followed the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of prisoners of war.

Efforts to reach Colonel Pappas by e-mail yesterday were unsuccessful, as were efforts to find a telephone number or e-mail address for Colonel Jordan. Officials at CACI did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages yesterday requesting comment. In the New Yorker article, a spokeswoman said the company had received "no formal communication" from the Army about the case.

Some photographs of abuse at Abu Ghraib have been broadcast and published in recent days, since "60 Minutes II" first broadcast them on Wednesday. One photo shows a naked Iraqi man kneeling in front of another naked Iraqi man, who is standing over him with a bag over his head, while another shows a female American soldier pointing as an Iraqi man with a bag over his head is masturbating.

Another photo shows an American soldier sitting on top of a naked Iraqi man, who is straining to look up, and still more photos show naked Iraqi men in a human pyramid.

The photographs, some included in evidence in the Army's investigation, support the conclusions of the Taguba report, which found that between October and December 2003 "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees" by members of the 800th Military Police Brigade. "This systemic and illegal abuse of detainees was intentionally perpetrated by several members of the military police guard force in Tier 1-A of the Abu Ghraib Prison."

In addition, the report said, "there were also abuses committed by members of the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, and the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center."

Documents from an April 2 military court hearing in Iraq for Sergeant Frederick provide new details about the abuse. The documents show that Specialist Matthew Carl Wisdom, of the 372nd Military Police Company at Abu Ghraib, appeared in the hearing and described some of the acts of abuse he saw.

"I went down to Tier 1 (the cellblock where much of the abuse is said to have occurred) and when I looked down the corridor, I saw two naked detainees, one masturbating to another kneeling with its mouth open," he is quoted as saying. "I thought I should just get out of there. I didn't think it was right, as it seemed like the wrong thing to do. I saw Staff Sergeant Frederick walking towards me, and he said, `Look what these animals do when you leave them alone for two seconds.' "

This has been up on Drudge for a while and he discussed it this evening, but I didn't see it posted. He also reports that the LA Times and the New Yorker Magazine have extended stories.

Too bad the media care more about ratings than the problems created by the report. I wonder how many additional brave men died as a result of its being broadcast.

I wonder how many additional brave men died as a result of its being broadcast.

As much as I would like to blame the media, I have to admit that this problem was created entirely within the military. One also has to wonder why, given that there were reports as early as February, the military chose to wait for the media before it sacked an incompetent general, and brought initial charges against some of the offenders. If the military had acted in a timely faction these abuses may not have gone as far as they did.

Al Jazeera broadcast the photos before General Myers made his comments. I take it from the time line that it was important that the American people not find out about it. A problem that most officials are having trouble with is that in the modern age, screw-ups are hard to keep secret. A more important topic to discuss is if Gestapo and SS interrogation tactics provide better intelligence than the old-fashioned methods of interrogating prisoners in line with established norms of human behavior.

General Myers left open the possibility the abuses could be broader, saying, "We don't know that yet."

The paragraph the above quote is from is an amazing piece of "journalist created news" even by The Times standards.

Essentially he's saying "Myers didn't deny it so it must be true". Using that standard, I expect his "President refuses to deny little green men found in Kansas" story any day now.

Cast the net as far as need be to catch ALL of those responsible and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Not only were their actions reprehensible and despicable, both they and the Arab world, in general, need to clearly understand that such behavior is NOT acceptable and NOT tolerated.

"The Taguba report, as well as other documents seen Sunday by The New York Times, also reveal a much broader pattern of command failures than initially acknowledged by the Pentagon and the Bush administration in responding to outrage over the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison."

Why didn't they just print "The Taguba report"?

Who gave the NYTimes "The Taguba report"?

The last paragraph, the most graphic by far, seems to depict the detainees own behavior, not that of the Coalition. It's hard to be sure, as not nearly enough context is given - inexcusable reporting for such a serious matter. Placed at the end of an article on prisoner abuse, this could be a quite intentional effort by the Times to lump detainee behavior in with the other charges.

With a trusted media, this wouldn't be an issue. But that's emphatically not what we have in the Times.

"A problem that most officials are having trouble with is that in the modern age, screw-ups are hard to keep secret."

This is a welcome and unavoidable "problem" in a society of free and decent men. Some conscientious American soldiers witnessed this disgusting behavior and brought it to light.

The genius of America is not that we are a better breed of people incapable of evil or of abusing authority -- but that we are a free people willing to speak out against, and take steps to put a stop to, such abuse.

I am angry and ashamed of the people who did these deeds and brought undeserved disgrace on our country and the vast majority of those serving in our military. Even more so at the people who devised such methods as a matter of "policy."

But I am very proud of the fact that such abuses and such a policy could not endure long, festering in secret, under the gaze of free and moral men.

Exactly. Also the report of a woman pointing to a detainee abusing himself begs the same question. Is that abuse? Whats the woman supposed to do? She didn't cause him to abuse himself. The Times is getting as much mileage as they can out of this.

Then the Times speaks of the "widening prison-abuse scandal in Iraq". Just how wide is this? Not nearly as wide as they wouls like it to be.

If the military had acted in a timely faction these abuses may not have gone as far as they did.

I won't implicate the entire military but only those responsible. Those found guilty of abuse and ignoring abuse need to be jailed.

This is the kind of thing that should be reported AFTER the war is over.

Reporting this during the war is yet more proof that the media is happy to sacrifice US interests and American lives on the altar of ratings.

"I am angry and ashamed of the people who did these deeds and brought undeserved disgrace on our country and the vast majority of those serving in our military. Even more so at the people who devised such methods as a matter of "policy.""

I hope my life never depends upon you having to quickly extract information from a determined prisoner.

I'd rather see drugs used to extract information from prisoners, than this stuff. When the Islamofascists see humiliating photos, that only encourages them to intensify their already brutal treatment of Westerners.

Moral qualms about using drugs for debriefing prisoners are outdated in a war where the enemy are Islamofascist kamikazes.

I've read claims that information extracted under the influence is 'unreliable.' But that complaint could me made against other methods too.

If the purpose is to save lives and win the war, I can see no moral reason to object to the use of sodium pentothal (or whatever pharmaceutical is best for eliciting information).

Drugs are unreliable except in the movies (although the scene in "True Lies" was funny).

Winning the guy over with warmth and friendship is one thing, if you have time. Otherwise it's best that the guy be fearful every time you unlock his cell door.

Remember, these Iraqis were the ones picked up in relation to insurgent activity, including placing roadside bombs.

Every day they don't talk is another day more soldiers will potentially die.

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