Army sticks by Fast to lead Huachuca: Kolbe, others object in view of Abu Ghraib role

Arizona Daily Star ^ | 08/28/04 | Carol Ann Alaimo

[SandRat]

Kolbe, others object in view of Abu Ghraib role.

The Army is standing behind the two-star general set to take command at Fort Huachuca, despite formal findings this week that her inaction may have contributed indirectly to abuse of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

 

An Army spokesman at the Pentagon said Friday that the service has not changed its plan to install Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast as commander of the Sierra Vista post and its military intelligence training school.

 

"There is no change to her status," Lt. Col. Gerard Healy said in an e-mail statement to the Arizona Daily Star.

 

Healy said: "The Army announced that she would be the commander of Fort Huachuca and the Army Intelligence School back in April. The date of when she will assume command will be released when it becomes available."

 

Healy didn't say when that might be, or what the reason is for the holdup.

 

Fast, who served as chief of military intelligence during the prison scandal, returned to Southern Arizona one month ago but has yet to assume her new job - a delay some see as a sign that the Army is privately weighing her future.

 

Fast has not been recommended for discipline and has been unavailable for comment.

 

Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., added his voice Friday to those questioning the wisdom of putting Fast in charge of intelligence training at this point.

 

A statement from Kolbe's office said it would be "inappropriate" for anyone associated with the scandal to assume new command duties "until we know the full extent of culpability of all who may have been involved." Another Arizona Republican, Sen. John McCain, has taken a similar stand.

 

At least two probes are still in progress. Fast could also be called as a witness in upcoming Senate hearings and in the military trials of some soldiers charged with abuse, which was depicted in graphic photos that shocked the world.

 

Two investigations released this week found that Fast and other senior leaders had an indirect role in the prisoner abuse because they failed to put in place measures that might have prevented it.

 

Fast was responsible for advising Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, on intelligence collection and interrogation matters. A report released Tuesday said she should have let Sanchez know what measures were required to properly run intelligence collection operations.

 

A second Abu Ghraib report, released Wednesday, said Fast was part of a command team that failed to set clear policies and standards at the prison and that the resulting uncertainty may have led to some of the abuse.

 

A military intelligence officer to whom Fast and Sanchez were giving direction - Col. Thomas Pappas - has been disciplined and faces possible prosecution for his role at Abu Ghraib.

 

John Bryant, of Tucson, a retired Army colonel who once worked at NATO headquarters, said the fact that Fast has not assumed her new job is a sign the Army is considering her future.

 

"I think it's clear that they are hesitating, and I can't say I blame them," said Bryant. He said the Army now faces a delicate situation in deciding what to do with Fast.

 

Bryant said that based on what is known to date from various investigations, an argument could be made that Fast shouldn't be held responsible for the abuse.

 

That's because she wasn't directly involved and because many aggravating factors, such as a shortage of troops, poor training, confusing chains of command and an insurgency for which the Pentagon failed to plan, were not her fault, he said.

 

On the other hand, Bryant said, the Army doesn't want to be seen as rewarding someone whose performance was called into question at Abu Ghraib, because doing so could further harm America's already tattered reputation.

 

"This is a case where the whole world is watching," he said. Fast "may still have credibility in military circles, but there is a lot more at stake."

 

Marcus Corbin, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information, a Washington, D.C.-based military think tank, said putting Fast in charge of Fort Huachuca would send the wrong message to the world.

 

"It creates a huge PR problem," he said. "Regardless of her merits, this will be perceived as supporting the people who implemented the policies" at Abu Ghraib.

 

Fort Huachuca officials aren't commenting on Fast but did say steps have been taken to correct shortcomings in intelligence training identified in one Army investigation this week.

 

That probe found that a mobile training team Fort Huachuca sent to Abu Ghraib last fall gave faulty instructions to interrogators working at the prison, which may have led to some of the abuse. It also said soldiers were not adequately schooled in the Geneva Conventions and in their responsibilities to report wrongdoing.

 

"We are currently reviewing the report in great detail and will take appropriate actions, as necessary," Maj. Paul Karnaze said via e-mail late Thursday.

 

Abu Ghraib now is used as a teaching tool to emphasize the importance of honoring international law, Karnaze said.

 

"Our soldiers are shown what's right and told to question what doesn't look right," he said.

 

[SandRat]

Don't know if this is good or bad for us? I'm leaning to the bad side.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Bonaparte]

Welcome to the new politically correct Army, where PR means everything and accountability and morale mean nothing.

[ikka]

If it was a man in the exact same position, does anyone doubt he would not get the post?

[SandRat]

This was not the Army I served in and Retired from but thanks to the "social experimentation" of the left the writing was on the wall for what it would be moving to.

[SandRat]

He'd be lucky to be allowed to retire a full bird colonel.

[AFPhys]

I'm not sure good or bad matters. I think it is highly likely that this general will be called upon to be a witness in the multiple legal proceedings against those charged, and that can absorb a whole lot of time in preparation and testimony. That would not be a good situation for someone in any new assignment.
.

[Chief_Joe]

Fast has not been recommended for discipline and has been unavailable for comment...

Now, someone want to tell me the Pentagon is not filled to the gills with feminist who are all about advancing the military careers of their feminist sistren at the expense of our national security. Look how cleverly they've downplayed the incompetence of the two women in charge of the MP and MI units at the heart of the Abu Ghraib porno fest and ladies nightly peep show. I have not seen anything in this woman's service record that warrants the rank she's wearing or the position she's about to be given. The report absolving this woman's criminal performance is a white wash: it actually completely skips over her and Karpy to criticize LTG Sanchez for their direct failures. These two women, military empresses, have no clothes, and they should not be allowed to escape punishment. This is a case example of a blatant double standard, and it shows how female intra-group politicking ruins the discipline required of a well functioning military organization.

[SandRat]

If I told you about what I thought about this the Admin Moderator would ban me for life. You are right in your assumption though Chief.

[Chief_Joe]

If I told you about what I thought about this the Admin Moderator would ban me for life...

What's increasingly clear to me is how petrified the real military leadership is to criticize any woman in the military in general and these two women in particular. Even a cursory review of their performance shows tremendous failures in their leadership skills and all kinds of breakdowns of discipline in the units they commanded. Their troops were openly disrespectful and failed to maintain military bearing, but I have yet to see one senior military leader, civilian or otherwise, address the real issues with the amount of females in our service ranks, the positions in which they're serving, and their sub par performance.

[SandRat]

It goes back to Paula Kennedy. After screwing up the MI Corps she retired and went on to screw up the Girl Scouts.

[Chief_Joe]

I've been trying to hold back, hold back, hold back, but it's becoming more difficult to continue doing so. There are so many areas that need honest critique, but this is not the time to do it. I'll wait...

[SandRat]

(From where the sun now sits, I will fight on -FOREVER!)

and to add to your tag line This is a good day to die. Our lodges will hang heavy with the scalps of our enemies and we will count many coup before we die.

[Chief_Joe]

Awe yes, it may be time to do some maintenance to the tag line. That tag ling represents the defiant Chief_Joe. The real Chief Joseph's quote is often used to represent the broken spirit and loss of will of a defeated people, but my revision reflects what I believe to be the true undying spirit and pure belief in the American way, as created and intended from the blend of its peoples and the impetus for its form of governance. My mood has changed. I will temporarily change my tagline to something more consoling:

The Sun, it also rises...wash thy troubles away.

There's a central theme to both of the tag lines: all hope is not lost, but it is also not free. To close I will borrow from your tag line for little else needs to be said here: Duty, Honor, Country.