Posted on 05/25/2004 12:18:47 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An American general in charge of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq (news - web sites) when the abuse of prisoners took place has been suspended as commander of the military police brigade at the heart of the scandal and removed from active duty, the Army said on Monday.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who had commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade, was suspended from her duties, said Lt. Col Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon (news - web sites).
Karpinski previously was formally admonished on Jan. 17 by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
The Army returned Karpinski on Monday to the Army Reserve from active-duty status, said Al Schilf, an Army Reserve spokesman. In addition, Karpinski no longer serves as commander of her Uniondale, New York-based brigade, and was "temporarily attached" to the U.S. Army Readiness Command at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Schilf said.
The Army was seeking an "acting commander" of the brigade, Schilf said.
Seven U.S. soldiers have been charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib on the outskirts of Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba's report on the abuse faulted Karpinski's "poor leadership." Photographs show U.S. soldiers physically and sexually abusing and humiliating prisoners.
Asked whether Karpinski could face criminal charges, Schilf did not answer directly, but said, "This action doesn't close any doors."
"It's under review now," Schilf said of possible further steps regarding Karpinski. "It's ensuing from Major General Taguba's report. And the review is under way. And we don't know exactly how long it will take. But we want to be thorough and don't want to let any grass grow under it."
'TEMPORARY REASSIGNMENT'
Schilf said that the latest action "is not a punitive measure. This is a temporary reassignment of duties, pending review of her situation" by Lt. Gen. James Helmly, head of the Army Reserve.
Karpinski, who has served in the Army for 27 years, has argued that the cell blocks where the abuse was centered were controlled by U.S. military intelligence, not military police.
The pictures of abuse that took place late last year show Americans posing, smiling or giving the thumbs-up sign as naked, male Iraqi prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts with one another.
Taguba's report said the problems at Abu Ghraib "were caused or exacerbated by poor leadership and the refusal of her command to both establish and enforce basic standards and principles among its soldiers." The report said she was rarely present at Abu Ghraib, feuded with military intelligence, and failed to correct problems once they surfaced.
Karpinski has told the Army she was overruled by higher-ranking officers on decisions to give tactical control of the prison to military intelligence, and to permit the use of lethal force as a first step in maintaining order. Sanchez denied she raised these complaints with him.
Karpinski, in her civilian life, works as a consultant who operates executive-training programs.
Suspend? I believe the correct term is "relieved of command."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1132460/posts
An Army report into the abuses at the prison, written by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, faulted Karpinski and other commanders in the brigade and its subordinate battalions, saying leaders paid too little attention to the prison's day-to-day operations.
Previous abuses of prisoners or lapses at the prison went unpunished or unheeded, the report found.
Karpinski's subordinates at Abu Ghraib at times disregarded her commands, and didn't enforce codes on wearing uniforms and saluting superiors, which added to the lax standards that prevailed at the prison, said one member of the 800th MP Brigade.
The soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said commanders in the field routinely ignored Karpinski's orders, saying they didn't have to listen to her because she was a woman.
Sounds like a hell of a lot more than Karpinski to me..
Granted, she will be held responsible for it..
Karpinski was relieved of command back when she was a captain because whe was unable to control the troops. That alone should have ended her career but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that she was kept on because of political correctness.
2 Generals Outline Lag in Notification on Abuse Reports
"...General Abizaid and General Sanchez acknowledged there were plenty of warning signs from military officials that Abu Ghraib was a growing problem, but not for abusive behavior.
General Abizaid said he sent the Central Command inspector general to Abu Ghraib last August and was informed of a list of problems.
"They were overcrowded," General Abizaid said. "We didn't have the M.P.'s in the right place. We were moving into facilities that had been destroyed or damaged by the war. We had an intelligence problem in that the tactical units were not getting feedback from the detainees."
L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator in Iraq, was complaining to senior officers to improve the screening process at the prison, and to release those detainees who were not considered a security threat or source of intelligence.
By last summer and into November, when many of the worst abuses are said to have occurred, General Sanchez as well as the Army's senior law enforcement officer, Maj. Gen. Donald Ryder, had visited the prison. But officers said on Wednesday that they had no inkling of the abuses.
"Because General Ryder was there, because General Sanchez was there, because half a dozen other important people that went there to visit it didn't see it, it doesn't mean it wasn't happening," said General Abizaid. "We have a lot to understand about what went on in that organization and why and who was responsible."
Another officer, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then head of detention operations at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was sent by the Pentagon in August to assess intelligence, interrogation and detention practices at the Iraqi prisons. When his team found one site operating in an "unsatisfactory manner," General Miller said he immediately alerted General Sanchez, who ordered that corrections be made within 48 hours.
General Miller defended a series of recommendations that his team presented to General Sanchez, including having military police "set the conditions" for successful interrogations. General Miller said his recommendation called for military guards to conduct "passive intelligence gathering" by observing the prisoners and who they talked to, and reporting this to military intelligence officers before interrogations.
General Miller said 200 pages of detailed operating procedures were drafted from his recommendations and passed down the chain of command. He said all interrogation techniques in Iraq complied with the Geneva Conventions...."
The investigation that produced the Taguba Report began:
"..The abuses became public because of the outrage of Specialist Joseph M. Darby, an M.P. whose role emerged during the Article 32 hearing against Chip Frederick. A government witness, Special Agent Scott Bobeck, who is a member of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, or C.I.D., told the court, according to an abridged transcript made available to me, “The investigation started after SPC Darby . . . got a CD from CPL Graner. . . . He came across pictures of naked detainees.” Bobeck said that Darby had “initially put an anonymous letter under our door, then he later came forward and gave a sworn statement. He felt very bad about it and thought it was very wrong.”.."
Where did you hear this?
Can't find it now. But I know I read it back about a month ago.
OK thanks. If you see it please ping or FRmail me.
Bingo! Bottomline. End of story.
If she were a lowly Lt. Col. or even a full bird, maybe, just maybe, circumstances might have been out of her control. But she is a General Officer. That title alone, in a combat theatre, is power over life and death if need be.
She can blame everybody she wants because obviously she didn't take her own command seriously enough to actually be in charge.
6 - 6 and a kick!
I don't see how they can do anything other than Court Martial her. From the Taguba report, it is abundantly clear that the FRAGO giving MI control over Abu Ghraib was given 19 November 2003, but Karpinski and her command rebuffed the transfer of command, openly disrespected the TACOM of the 205th, and continued to operate the facility as if they were still in charge. I've never seen such open contempt for command leadership and refusal to carry out orders as I've seen with Karpinski. Her brigade was tasked to provide I&R, but she made no attempt to communicate this mission to her command, and she did not set up any procedures to ensure the mission was carried out. This is more than incompetence: it is sabotage, passive and intentional, of the mission.
If you find a link to the Karpinski as Captain story, I think a lot of us would be very interested. Thanks in advance.
Wow, if that's not a dude, I'll.... ECCHH I don't know what I'll do...
AACKKK!!!!!!!!!!! That one is even worse!!!
General Abizaid said he sent the Central Command inspector general to Abu Ghraib last August and was informed of a list of problems.
"They were overcrowded," General Abizaid said. "We didn't have the M.P.'s in the right place. We were moving into facilities that had been destroyed or damaged by the war. We had an intelligence problem in that the tactical units were not getting feedback from the detainees."
L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator in Iraq, was complaining to senior officers to improve the screening process at the prison, and to release those detainees who were not considered a security threat or source of intelligence.
I see no mention of laxness, lack of discipline, etc..
The complaints are similar to complaints made by Karpinski and others for why things were so bad at the prison....
Additionally, it is only within the last week that Bremer's complaints about "screening and release of non-threats" have apparently been addressed.. 9 months after those complaints by Bremer were made... ( Failure to repair.. UCMJ offense.. for EVERY Gen. Officer in the Central Command involved with prisoner operations. )
Another officer, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then head of detention operations at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was sent by the Pentagon in August to assess intelligence, interrogation and detention practices at the Iraqi prisons. When his team found one site operating in an "unsatisfactory manner," General Miller said he immediately alerted General Sanchez, who ordered that corrections be made within 48 hours.
General Miller defended a series of recommendations that his team presented to General Sanchez, including having military police "set the conditions" for successful interrogations. General Miller said his recommendation called for military guards to conduct "passive intelligence gathering" by observing the prisoners and who they talked to, and reporting this to military intelligence officers before interrogations.
General Miller said 200 pages of detailed operating procedures were drafted from his recommendations and passed down the chain of command. He said all interrogation techniques in Iraq complied with the Geneva Conventions...."
Gen. Miller is the person named by Karpinski as the one who advised her in October (12) that MI was taking over, and she "couldn't do a damn thing about it.." ( more or less a quote from some material I have either heard or read..I will try to find a source.. )
Further, by Miller's having involved MP's in the interrogation process, he set forth conditions that further eroded Gen. Karpinski's command, and gave MI / CIA officers / interrogators the status of "authority" figures..
By doing so, the MP's were pulled into a situational role they were completely unfamiliar with, and effectively placed under the "command" of people with a completely different mission, and set of rules for conducting that mission..
As for Miller's assurances that all procedures were in accordance with the Geneva Convention, I refer you to the Clinton era, and the word, "parsing".... ( 'nuff said )
Like Anti-Bubba, I cannot verify my source for it at this time..
I either heard it during the congressional hearings, (comment by Rumsfeld or one of the officers testifying) or read it in an article somewhere...
But I am quite sure it was not a comment by Karpinski, and it was from a White House / Defence - type source..
I am still searching for it..
I too, like to back up my "opinions" with facts..
I previously cited an example in Post 14:
"..A military investigation in late summer 2003 of the 800th Military Police Brigade under Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller found a breakdown in discipline at the prison. When told that her troops were not even saluting, the general refused to order them to begin doing so. Central Command, concerned about the breakdown but apparently worried about disciplining one of the highest ranking female Army officers in Iraq, devised a compromise bureaucratic solution to hand control of the critical central interrogation prison at Abu Ghraib to the military intelligence unit questioning the prisoners..."
In addition a summary of criticism of Karpinski in the Taguba report also addresses failures in her and her command throughout up to the point of the report:
Gen. Taguba had harsh words for Brig. Gen. Janet Karpinski, who was supposed to be running the prison. He scornfully recounts a four-hour interview with Karpinski where, he notes in what should be headed "the interview with the weeping general," the lady became very "emotional." Here were his allegations against Karpinski:
# Failing to ensure that MP soldiers at theater-level detention facilities throughout Iraq had appropriate SOPs for dealing with detainees and that commanders and soldiers had read, understood and would adhere to these SOPs.
# Failing to ensure that MP soldiers in the 800th MP Brigade knew, understood and adhered to the protections afforded to detainees in the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
# Making material misrepresentations to the Investigation Team as to the frequency of her visits to her subordinate commands.
# Failing to obey an order from the CFLCC commander, LTG McKiernan, regarding the withholding of disciplinary authority for Officer and Senior Noncommissioned Officer misconduct.
# Failing to take appropriate action regarding the ineffectiveness of a subordinate commander, LTC (P) Jerry Phillabaum.
# Failing to take appropriate action regarding the ineffectiveness of numerous members of her Brigade staff, including her XO, S-1, S-3 and S-4.
# Failing to properly ensure that the results and recommendations of the AARs and numerous 15-6 Investigation reports on escapes and shootings (over a period of several months) were properly disseminated to, and understood by, subordinate commanders.
# Failing to ensure and enforce basic soldier standards throughout her command.
# Failing to establish a Brigade METL.
# Failing to establish basic proficiency in assigned tasks for soldiers throughout the 800th MP Brigade.
# Failing to ensure that numerous and reported accountability lapses at detention facilities throughout Iraq were corrected.
Gen. Taguba concluded that there isn't a shred of evidence that any officer or Pentagon official above Karpinski had any responsibility for the prisoner abuse.
Gen. Miller was brought with a shovel to clean up after her.
Miller's recommendations for "setting conditions" were legal if the posted guidelines were followed. Obviously, they were not and went far beyond what was authorized.
It would be absolutely legal for guards in all prisons for all detainees to use, ""passive intelligence gathering" by observing the prisoners and who they talked to, and reporting this to military intelligence officers before interrogations."
The pentagon prior to the war established guidelines they thought were legal and employed them at Gitmo and later a version prepared for Iraq was posted and NOT followed by guards there who then compounded their stupidity by photographing their actions. In no case should the United States be bound by any Axis of Weasels, or their apologists, interpretation of what is legal under the the Geneva Convention. What the pentagon came up with as to procedure was harsh but legal and would have worked if the guards there had either the common sense or the benefit of leadership to apply them. No parsing is necessary here. From the beginning the pentagon relied on there own interpretation of what was legal, and properly so.
Links, please to confirm this.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1142510/posts
As reported by Steve Gill this morning.
P.S. It appears that I misspoke. Karpinski was disciplined for failure to adequately supervise troops resulting in the theft of 1000 rounds of ammo.
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