Posted on 05/05/2005 8:10:56 PM PDT by No Longer Free State
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A one-star Army Reserve general became the first high-level military officer punished in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal on Thursday when President Bush demoted her to the rank of colonel.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski was disciplined after Army leaders deemed her job performance "seriously lacking" and accused her of concealing a past shoplifting arrest.
The Army said in a statement Karpinski had been reduced in rank to colonel, although an investigation by the Army inspector general's office "determined that no action or lack of action on her part contributed specifically to the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib."
Karpinski said last year she was being used as a "convenient scapegoat" for detainee abuse that was the fault of others.
The announcement came 13 days after Army officials disclosed the Army had exonerated Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former top U.S. commander in Iraq, as well as three other senior officers.
The publication a year ago of photographs depicting U.S. forces abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib on the outskirts of Baghdad triggered international criticism of the United States. Numerous additional cases of detainee abuse have since surfaced.
Karpinski had commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade at the heart of the Abu Ghraib abuse. Previous investigations found Karpinski feuded with the head of the military intelligence unit at the prison, contributing to an atmosphere of chaos.
Bush approved a recommendation to demote Karpinski on the advice of Army and Army Reserve leaders and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Army said. It added Karpinski would not face criminal charges.
STOLEN COSMETICS
A U.S. official who asked not to be identified said Karpinski failed to inform the Army as required when filling out an official document about an earlier arrest on an Air Force base in the United States on a misdemeanor charge of stealing less than $50 worth of cosmetics from a military store.
Asked how Army investigators looking into detainee abuse learned of her shoplifting arrest, the official said, "Somebody ratted her out."
The Army confirmed what officials said previously -- that Karpinski received a formal written reprimand from the Army's No. 2 general and was relieved from command of the brigade. It also said Army leaders found that allegations of dereliction of duty by Karpinski were "substantiated."
The Army, which had been accused by human rights activists of punishing only a handful of low-ranking soldiers involved in the physical abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, also said it had taken disciplinary action against other officers in connection with detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They included a colonel, four lieutenant colonels, three majors, 10 captains, four 1st lieutenants and two 2nd lieutenants, the Army added, declining to identify them.
Five of the officers, none with a rank higher than captain, faced unspecified criminal charges, but most of the discipline was administrative punishment such as a formal letter of reprimand or a discharge from the military, the Army said.
In the latest military trial stemming from Abu Ghraib, a judge at Fort Hood, Texas, declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the case of Army Pfc. Lynndie England, who was photographed holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, after evidence at her trial undermined her guilty plea deal with prosecutors.
and an O-7 to boot ..... it looks like most of the Brigade's Chain of Command got hit! This really is something. I don't know too much about all the facts concerning her 'shoplifting' .... if it occurred as an Officer or NCO then something is really wrong ... but remember that both the VP and President have a criminal past ...
Thank you for such an excellent comment.
It is something that the command got hit, I hope more news will enlighten us to why the actions were taken.
It is just smarmy to have a Gen, shop lift in a military store. She has balls, that is for sure!
I'm just so tired of this story I don't know what to post. Bad soldiering, bad behaviour, and a bad media.
I'm glad that Karpinski has at least been given some punishment for this fiasco, and that Sanchez - by most reliable accounts an honorable officer - has not been made to take the fall for this Clintonoid hack.
Yes to everything you said.
This bitch is still a colonel in the US Military? Isn't there something wrong with this picture?
You got this part wrong, her demotion 1 grade level is absolutely and completely NOT fitting punishment for all the degredation that the US suffered because of HER failure. This bitch should be doing jail time. SHOPLIFTING??????? A active duty Colonel in the US Military????? DUH!!!!
bump!
If she was wearing a Marine Corps uniform, (which she would have had a very difficult time in achieving), she would have lost EVERYTHING and had hard time as well as a dishonorble discharge!
While I understand your anger, the shoplifting charge was, and is, a look into the ex-generals character.
I am aware that none are perfect, however persons that are in positions of power, affecting the national interest, must be of unquestionable character.
I'm afraid we, as a nation, have become lost in political correctness and are using affirmative action, gender and other "feel good" methods to choose our leaders, much to the detriment of this great country. Exactly what our enemies, both foreign and domestic desire.
If womyn and minorities are politically correct enough to be promoted to positions of authority and responsibility, they're politically correct enough to be demoted when they don't demonstrate proper authority and responsibility. This is a fine example of equal rights in action although I don't believe that the feminazis accept that.
Not to defend this idiot, but was she ever convicted of shoplifting? I see "arrest" but nothing beyond that listed.
That being asked, she still should have been busted down more... if she is still clinging to the "I had no clue what was going on in my command" as her defense, she doesn't deserve to have the bird on her uniform, that's for sure!
This cracked me up when I read it. Add this to the paper work not processed and she was just plain incompetent....but the pay was good.
Excellent!
One has only to remember the Navy episode of a few years back.
No true. Karpinski was a commanding officer, and could have been court-martialed under at least 3 of the punitive articles of the UCMJ. I sense that she struck a deal, which ultimately kept others out of the limelight.
Thanks for the ping. I agree with you and NLFS. For this woman to have been a general officer and a commander in Iraq says volumes about what the new "kinder, gentler military" has become. I was very much hoping for a court martial for her after hearing what she had said after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. I simply cannot even fathom a general officer whining like that. This does smack of a deal to keep the lid on, but I might be wrong. If she refuses any further comments on the situation, a deal was likely struck.
Your statement is wrong, and the last 30 years has demonstrated otherwise.
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