Posted on 09/09/2004 6:05:22 AM PDT by OESY
...The vast majority of our force has behaved in Iraq with extraordinary forbearance -- including countless acts of kindness. In this respect, its performance has been vastly better than in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.... I can only say... OUR TROOPS HAVE PERFORMED WELL....
[W]e have identified some 300 cases of possible abuse of which fewer than 100 have been confirmed: and a third of those have been at the point of capture. In combat, passions run high.
Donald Rumsfeld established our panel to provide an independent and objective assessment of what went wrong in U.S. detention operations in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere; to review the other DoD investigations that were underway for gaps; and to provide any recommendations and additional observations.... He added: "Let the chips fall where they may." We have striven to fulfill that mandate. In that effort, we received the full cooperation of the Department of Defense, which is already moving ahead with reforms to prevent a recurrence....
Our panel found no policy that encouraged or justified abuse -- and more than a few actions taken to avoid abuse.... [W]ouldn't we be naïve to limit ourselves to "name, rank, and serial number"? In the conditions of today, aggressive interrogation would seem essential; but the injunction from above was to ensure "humane treatment" of detainees.... Admittedly, "humane treatment" is a subjective concept....
The photographs taken at Abu Ghraib are quite misleading.... Not one of the detainees abused in the photographs was a target of interrogation to gain intelligence.
Nonetheless, abuses did occur at Abu Ghraib (and elsewhere) during interrogation....
Some have seized upon the photos to suggest that torture was condoned. That is simply wrong.... The members were off on their own. As one participant admitted: "We did it for the fun of it."...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
If anyone should have a definitive word on Abu Ghraib, it's James Schlesinger - with life-long, respected, and distinguished service in the area of national defense. A good man.
How very unhappy some have to be that they cannot attribute Abu Ghraib to the national character, to the command structure, and to all the men and women in our armed forces.
Indeed it is the detractors of the war rather than those who are fighting it that create the oft foggy reporting about such events. Our Military is one of the most dedicated, humane and responsible forces in history and they are doing one heck of a job - for all of us. May God Bless them all!
The nutcases are demanding an "independent" group to oversee the Abu Graib massacres, they fear a whitewash. Expect them to get louder as the election approaches.
This prison abuse scandal was the most successful they've tried in hurting Bush and the US efforts in Iraq. I fully expect a major rehash in October, perhaps shocking new documents and eyewitness accounts.
Hmmm, wonder why the MSM has not picked up this independent
panels ivestigation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.