[Vision2020] 05-12-04 NY Times: Abuse Hearing Conflicts + Editorial
Art Deco aka W. Fox
deco@moscow.com
Wed, 12 May 2004 08:54:20 -0700
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May 12, 2004
Rumsfeld Aide and a General Clash on Abuse
By ERIC SCHMITT
ASHINGTON, May 11 - The Army general who first investigated abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison stood by his inquiry's finding that military police officers
should not have been involved in conditioning Iraqi detainees for interrogation,
even as a senior Pentagon civilian sitting next to him at a Senate hearing on
Tuesday disputed that conclusion.
The officer, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, told the Senate Armed Services
Committee that it had been against the Army's doctrine for another Army general
to recommend last summer that military guards "set the conditions" to help Army
intelligence officers extract information from prisoners. He also said an order
last November from the top American officer in Iraq effectively put the prison
guards under the command of the intelligence unit there.
But the civilian official, Stephen A. Cambone, the under secretary of
defense for intelligence, contradicted the general. He said that the military
police and the military intelligence unit at the prison needed to work closely
to gain as much intelligence as possible from Iraqi prisoners to prevent attacks
against American soldiers. Mr. Cambone also said that General Taguba
misinterpreted the November order, which he said only put the intelligence unit
in charge of the prison facility, not of the military police guards.
While General Taguba depicted the abuses at the prison as the acts of a
few soldiers under a fragmented and inept command, he also said that "they were
probably influenced by others, if not necessarily directed specifically by
others." His report called for an inquiry into the culpability of intelligence
officers, which is still under way.
The unusual public sparring between a two-star Army general and one of
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's most trusted aides cast a spotlight on
the confusing conditions at the prison last fall when the worst abuses occurred,
as well as the sensitive issue of whether the Pentagon's thirst for better
intelligence to combat Iraqi insurgents contributed to the climate there.
"How do you expect the M.P.'s to get it straight if we have a difference
between the two of you?" said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of
Massachusetts.
Later in the day, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the Army's deputy chief of
staff, said the issue of who controlled the military police officers accused of
abusing the prisoners "has to be ironed out." The key question, he said, is
whether the intelligence unit's commander told the M.P.'s "how to do their job."
As senators demanded explanations for the abuses that were caught on
photographs and videos taken by Army prison guards, the Bush administration and
the Senate leadership reached an agreement that would give senators a chance to
view the pictures. But the White House and the Pentagon signaled that they now
have serious reservations about publicly releasing the photographs and video
clips.
Administration officials said no decision had been made about what to do
with the images. Political advisers to Mr. Bush have been pressing for a quick
release, saying full disclosure is the best way to contain the damage.
But Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials emphasized their
concern that any public release could endanger efforts to prosecute the
Americans responsible for the abuse.
"I'd say there are a lot of equities here besides just satisfying the
desires of the press that want to have more pictures to print," Mr. Cheney said
in an interview with Fox News. "There are serious questions about people's
rights, as well as our ability to be able to prosecute. We wouldn't want, as a
result of the release of pictures and the mistreatment of that kind of
information, to allow guilty parties off the hook, so that they couldn't be
prosecuted."
Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said that when
President Bush went to the Pentagon for a briefing on Monday, Gen. John P.
Abizaid, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, told him he was
concerned about maintaining the integrity of the criminal proceedings. Speaking
over a video link from his headquarters in the region, General Abizaid said the
worst outcome as far as public opinion in the Arab world was concerned would be
for the prosecutions to fall apart, Mr. Bartlett said.
The decision about how to handle the pictures has been left largely to the
Pentagon, Mr. Bartlett said, adding that the president "trusts their judgment."
Asked whether there was a division of opinion within the administration
about how to proceed with the pictures, Mr. Bartlett replied, "There's no
daylight between the White House and the Pentagon on that front."
Senate leaders announced Tuesday night that members of the Senate who wish
to view the hundreds of photos and videos will be able to do so from 2 p.m. to 5
p.m. Wednesday in a secure room on the fourth floor of the Capitol under
Pentagon supervision. No staff members will be allowed.
But leaders of both parties said the material would remain the property of
the Pentagon, keeping a decision on what to release a matter for the Bush
administration to decide, not Congress.
At an open meeting with Pentagon civilian and military personnel, Mr.
Rumsfeld said Tuesday that abuse at Abu Ghraib was "a body blow" to America
delivered by "a few who have betrayed our values." He said that acts of violent
abuse and sexual humiliation captured in photos and video images at Abu Ghraib
"ought not to be allowed to define us - either in the eyes of the world or our
own eyes, adding, "We know who we are."
In the Senate hearing's three-hour morning session, General Taguba said he
found no evidence of a military policy to soften up detainees for interrogation,
but uncovered plenty of examples of guards collaborating with interrogators who
were "influencing their action to set the conditions for successful
interrogations."
General Taguba and Mr. Cambone agreed that the main culprits so far were a
small group of low-level military police officers who suffered from "a lack of
discipline; no training whatsoever; and no supervision." Seven soldiers face
charges of abuse. He also left open the possibility that members of the Central
Intelligence Agency as well as civilian contractors were culpable.
A separate Army inquiry is under way into what role military intelligence
officers played in the abuses. In afternoon testimony, senior Army intelligence
officers told senators that none of their people were implicated despite
conclusions to the contrary in General Taguba's report.
General Alexander, head of military intelligence for the Army, said he
believed that the abuses were carried out by "a group of undisciplined military
police," adding that he had seen no evidence that military intelligence officers
had told them what to do.
Those assertions were greeted with skepticism by even some Republicans on
the committee.
Senator Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine, said she found it difficult
to believe that junior military police officers would have chosen on their own
to use "sexual humiliation, which is particularly embarrassing to Muslim men,"
if they had decided on their own to abuse the men.
General Alexander disclosed that two or three more individuals who had
witnessed the abuses but had not reported them would be held accountable. The
Army's judge advocate general, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Romig, said the Army was now
tracking a total of 83 different prisoner abuse cases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The pattern of abuse seen in the photographs began around Oct. 15, 2003,
and lasted through late December or early January, General Taguba said.
Late last fall, the Red Cross forwarded a report containing allegations of
abuse at Abu Ghraib to the top lawyer at the American military command in Baghda
d, Army officials said. On Nov. 6, the report was sent to Brig. Gen. Janis L.
Karpinski, head of the 800th Military Police Brigade, which operated the
American-run prisons in Iraq.
General Karpinski forwarded her response to the Red Cross on Dec. 24, but
Army officials said there was no indication that she ever began investigations
into any reported abuses by military police or intelligence officials. "I do not
know if she in fact started an investigation into those, because they are
serious," General Alexander said.
General Taguba said he agreed with the conclusions in the Red Cross report
that coercive practices, like holding prisoners naked for long periods, were
used in a systematic way as part of the military intelligence process at the
prison.
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the committee,
called that "not just oversight or negligence or neglect or sloppiness, but
purposeful, willful determination to use these techniques as part of an
interrogation process," and asked General Taguba, "Would you include that in
your definition of failure of leadership?"
"Yes, sir," the general replied. "They were."
Mr. Cambone and other military officials said the interrogation techniques
approved for use in Iraq were straight out of the Army manual and followed the
Geneva Conventions. In that respect, he said, they differed from harsher
techniques, like sleep deprivation and forcing prisoners to disrobe entirely for
interrogations, that are authorized for use at the American prison at Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba.
Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of American forces in the
Middle East, said that under a policy issued last Oct. 12, the only
extraordinary measure authorized for use in Iraq was placing prisoners in
solitary confinement for more than 30 days. That step required the approval of
the American commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, but General Smith
said he was not aware of it ever being used.
General Smith said the use of military working dogs was allowed so long as
the animals "will be muzzled and under control of a handler at all times to
ensure safety." Photographs published by The New Yorker magazine this week
showed two unmuzzled dogs menacing a naked Iraqi prisoner.
Much of the morning session centered on the impact of a visit to Iraq last
August and September by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller to improve the flow of
intelligence from Abu Ghraib. General Miller, who is now the chief of
interrogations and detentions in Iraq, has defended his recommendations to have
prison guards prepare detainees for interrogations. He has said those
recommendations played no role in the later abuse and humiliation of prisoners.
The hearing's sharpest exchange came when Mr. Cambone objected to a
characterization of the visit by Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat.
"Your suggestion that the report on the phrase 'setting the conditions' is
tantamount to asking the military police to engage in abusive behavior, I
believe, is a misreading of General Miller's intent," Mr. Cambone said.
"Mr. Secretary, what I'm suggesting is anyone in your position should have
asked questions," Mr. Reed shot back. "One specifically would be: What does it
mean to set the conditions for these troops under the Geneva Convention? Did you
ask that question?"
"I didn't have to," Mr. Cambone replied. "We had been through a process in
which we understood what those limits were with respect to Iraq, and what those
were with respect to Guantanamo."
Richard W. Stevenson, Thom Shanker, Joel Brinkley and Carl Hulse
contributed reporting from Washington for this article.
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May 12, 2004
The Abu Ghraib Spin
he administration and its Republican allies appear to have settled on a
way to deflect attention from the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib: accuse
Democrats and the news media of overreacting, then pile all of the remaining
responsibility onto officers in the battlefield, far away from President Bush
and his political team. That cynical approach was on display yesterday morning
in the second Abu Ghraib hearing in the Senate, a body that finally seemed to be
assuming its responsibility for overseeing the executive branch after a year of
silently watching the bungled Iraq occupation.
The senators called one witness for the morning session, the courageous
and forthright Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who ran the Army's major investigation
into Abu Ghraib. But the Defense Department also sent Stephen Cambone, the under
secretary of defense for intelligence, to upstage him. Mr. Cambone read an
opening statement that said Donald Rumsfeld was deeply committed to the Geneva
Conventions protecting the rights of prisoners, that everyone knew it and that
any deviation had to come from "the command level." A few Republican senators
loyally followed the script, like Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who offered
the astounding comment that he was "more outraged by the outrage" than by the
treatment of prisoners. After all, he said, they were probably guilty of
something.
These silly arguments not only obscure the despicable treatment of the
prisoners, most of whom are not guilty of anything, but also ignore the evidence
so far. While some of the particularly sick examples of sexual degradation may
turn out to be isolated events, General Taguba's testimony, and a Red Cross
report from Iraq, made it plain that the abuse of prisoners by the American
military and intelligence agencies was systemic. The Red Cross said prisoners of
military intelligence were routinely stripped, with their hands bound behind
their backs, and posed with women's underwear over their heads. It said they
were "sometimes photographed in this position."
The Red Cross report, published by The Wall Street Journal, said that
Iraqi prisoners - 70 to 90 percent of whom apparently did nothing wrong - were
routinely abused when they were arrested, and their wives and mothers
threatened. The Iraqi police, who operate under American control and are
eventually supposed to help replace the occupation forces, are even worse -
sending those who won't pay bribes to prison camps, and beating and burning
prisoners, according to the report.
The Red Cross said most prisoners were treated better once they got into
the general population at the larger camps, except those who were held by
military intelligence. "In certain cases, such as in Abu Ghraib military
intelligence section, methods of physical and psychological coercion used by the
interrogators appeared to be part of the standard operating procedures by
military intelligence personnel," the report said.
It was alarming yesterday to hear General Taguba report that military
commanders had eased the rules four times last year to permit guards to use
"lethal force" on unruly prisoners. The hearing also disclosed that Lt. Gen.
Ricardo Sanchez, the commander in Iraq, had authorized the presence of attack
dogs during interrogation sessions. It wasn't very comforting that he had
directed that these dogs be muzzled.
These practices go well beyond any gray area of American values,
international law or the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Cambone tried to argue that Mr.
Rumsfeld had made it clear to everyone that the prisoners in Iraq were covered
by those conventions. But Mr. Rumsfeld's public statements have been ambiguous
at best, and General Taguba said that, in any case, the Abu Ghraib guards had
received no training. All the senators, government officials and generals
assembled in that hearing room yesterday could not figure out who had been in
charge at Abu Ghraib and which rules applied to the Iraqi prisoners. How were
untrained reservists who had been plucked from their private lives to guard the
prisoners supposed to have managed it?
General Sanchez did give some misguided orders involving the Abu Ghraib
prison and prisoners in general. But the deeply flawed mission in which he
participates is the responsibility of the Bush administration. It was Mr. Bush
and Mr. Rumsfeld, not General Sanchez, who failed to anticipate the violence and
chaos that followed the invasion of Iraq, and sent American soldiers out to
handle it without the necessary resources, manpower and training.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search
| Corrections | Help | Back to Top
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<H5>May 12, 2004</H5><NYT_HEADLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" ">
<H2>Rumsfeld Aide and a General Clash on=20
Abuse</H2></NYT_HEADLINE><NYT_BYLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" =
"><FONT=20
size=3D-1><STRONG>By ERIC SCHMITT</STRONG></FONT><BR></NYT_BYLINE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><NYT_TEXT>
<P><IMG height=3D33 alt=3DW=20
src=3D"http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/w.gif" =
width=3D46=20
align=3Dleft border=3D0>ASHINGTON, May 11 =97 The Army general who =
first=20
investigated abuses at Abu Ghraib prison stood by his inquiry's =
finding=20
that military police officers should not have been involved in=20
conditioning Iraqi detainees for interrogation, even as a senior =
Pentagon=20
civilian sitting next to him at a Senate hearing on Tuesday =
disputed that=20
conclusion.</P>
<P>The officer, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, told the Senate Armed =
Services Committee that it had been against the Army's doctrine =
for=20
another Army general to recommend last summer that military guards =
"set=20
the conditions" to help Army intelligence officers extract =
information=20
from prisoners. He also said an order last November from the top =
American=20
officer in Iraq effectively put the prison guards under the =
command of the=20
intelligence unit there.</P>
<P>But the civilian official, Stephen A. Cambone, the under =
secretary of=20
defense for intelligence, contradicted the general. He said that =
the=20
military police and the military intelligence unit at the prison =
needed to=20
work closely to gain as much intelligence as possible from Iraqi =
prisoners=20
to prevent attacks against American soldiers. Mr. Cambone also =
said that=20
General Taguba misinterpreted the November order, which he said =
only put=20
the intelligence unit in charge of the prison facility, not of the =
military police guards.</P>
<P>While General Taguba depicted the abuses at the prison as the =
acts of a=20
few soldiers under a fragmented and inept command, he also said =
that "they=20
were probably influenced by others, if not necessarily directed=20
specifically by others." His report called for an inquiry into the =
culpability of intelligence officers, which is still under =
way.</P>
<P>The unusual public sparring between a two-star Army general and =
one of=20
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's most trusted aides cast a =
spotlight=20
on the confusing conditions at the prison last fall when the worst =
abuses=20
occurred, as well as the sensitive issue of whether the Pentagon's =
thirst=20
for better intelligence to combat Iraqi insurgents contributed to =
the=20
climate there.</P>
<P>"How do you expect the M.P.'s to get it straight if we have a=20
difference between the two of you?" said Senator Edward M. =
Kennedy,=20
Democrat of Massachusetts.</P>
<P>Later in the day, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the Army's =
deputy chief=20
of staff, said the issue of who controlled the military police =
officers=20
accused of abusing the prisoners "has to be ironed out." The key =
question,=20
he said, is whether the intelligence unit's commander told the =
M.P.'s "how=20
to do their job."</P>
<P>As senators demanded explanations for the abuses that were =
caught on=20
photographs and videos taken by Army prison guards, the Bush=20
administration and the Senate leadership reached an agreement that =
would=20
give senators a chance to view the pictures. But the White House =
and the=20
Pentagon signaled that they now have serious reservations about =
publicly=20
releasing the photographs and video clips.</P>
<P>Administration officials said no decision had been made about =
what to=20
do with the images. Political advisers to Mr. Bush have been =
pressing for=20
a quick release, saying full disclosure is the best way to contain =
the=20
damage.</P>
<P>But Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials emphasized =
their=20
concern that any public release could endanger efforts to =
prosecute the=20
Americans responsible for the abuse.</P>
<P>"I'd say there are a lot of equities here besides just =
satisfying the=20
desires of the press that want to have more pictures to print," =
Mr. Cheney=20
said in an interview with Fox News. "There are serious questions =
about=20
people's rights, as well as our ability to be able to prosecute. =
We=20
wouldn't want, as a result of the release of pictures and the =
mistreatment=20
of that kind of information, to allow guilty parties off the hook, =
so that=20
they couldn't be prosecuted."</P>
<P>Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said =
that when=20
<A=20
=
href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/top/news/washington/campaign2004/candidate=
s/georgewbush/index.html"><FONT=20
color=3D#000066>President Bush</FONT></A> went to the Pentagon for =
a=20
briefing on Monday, Gen. John P. Abizaid, the commander of =
American forces=20
in the Middle East, told him he was concerned about maintaining =
the=20
integrity of the criminal proceedings. Speaking over a video link =
from his=20
headquarters in the region, General Abizaid said the worst outcome =
as far=20
as public opinion in the Arab world was concerned would be for the =
prosecutions to fall apart, Mr. Bartlett said.</P>
<P>The decision about how to handle the pictures has been left =
largely to=20
the Pentagon, Mr. Bartlett said, adding that the president "trusts =
their=20
judgment."</P>
<P>Asked whether there was a division of opinion within the =
administration=20
about how to proceed with the pictures, Mr. Bartlett replied, =
"There's no=20
daylight between the White House and the Pentagon on that =
front."</P>
<P>Senate leaders announced Tuesday night that members of the =
Senate who=20
wish to view the hundreds of photos and videos will be able to do =
so from=20
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday in a secure room on the fourth floor of =
the=20
Capitol under Pentagon supervision. No staff members will be =
allowed.</P>
<P>But leaders of both parties said the material would remain the =
property=20
of the Pentagon, keeping a decision on what to release a matter =
for the=20
Bush administration to decide, not Congress.</P>
<P>At an open meeting with Pentagon civilian and military =
personnel, Mr.=20
Rumsfeld said Tuesday that abuse at Abu Ghraib was "a body blow" =
to=20
America delivered by "a few who have betrayed our values." He said =
that=20
acts of violent abuse and sexual humiliation captured in photos =
and video=20
images at Abu Ghraib "ought not to be allowed to define us =97 =
either in the=20
eyes of the world or our own eyes, adding, "We know who we =
are."</P>
<P>In the Senate hearing's three-hour morning session, General =
Taguba said=20
he found no evidence of a military policy to soften up detainees =
for=20
interrogation, but uncovered plenty of examples of guards =
collaborating=20
with interrogators who were "influencing their action to set the=20
conditions for successful interrogations."</P>
<P>General Taguba and Mr. Cambone agreed that the main culprits so =
far=20
were a small group of low-level military police officers who =
suffered from=20
"a lack of discipline; no training whatsoever; and no =
supervision." Seven=20
soldiers face charges of abuse. He also left open the possibility =
that=20
members of the Central Intelligence Agency as well as civilian =
contractors=20
were culpable.</P>
<P>A separate Army inquiry is under way into what role military=20
intelligence officers played in the abuses. In afternoon =
testimony, senior=20
Army intelligence officers told senators that none of their people =
were=20
implicated despite conclusions to the contrary in General Taguba's =
report.</P>
<P>General Alexander, head of military intelligence for the Army, =
said he=20
believed that the abuses were carried out by "a group of =
undisciplined=20
military police," adding that he had seen no evidence that =
military=20
intelligence officers had told them what to do.</P>
<P>Those assertions were greeted with skepticism by even some =
Republicans=20
on the committee.</P>
<P>Senator Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine, said she found =
it=20
difficult to believe that junior military police officers would =
have=20
chosen on their own to use "sexual humiliation, which is =
particularly=20
embarrassing to Muslim men," if they had decided on their own to =
abuse the=20
men.</P>
<P>General Alexander disclosed that two or three more individuals =
who had=20
witnessed the abuses but had not reported them would be held =
accountable.=20
The Army's judge advocate general, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Romig, said =
the=20
Army was now tracking a total of 83 different prisoner abuse cases =
in Iraq=20
and Afghanistan.</P>
<P>The pattern of abuse seen in the photographs began around Oct. =
15,=20
2003, and lasted through late December or early January, General =
Taguba=20
said.</P>
<P>Late last fall, the Red Cross forwarded a report containing =
allegations=20
of abuse at Abu Ghraib to the top lawyer at the American military =
command=20
in Baghdad, Army officials said. On Nov. 6, the report was sent to =
Brig.=20
Gen. Janis L. Karpinski, head of the 800th Military Police =
Brigade, which=20
operated the American-run prisons in Iraq.</P>
<P>General Karpinski forwarded her response to the Red Cross on =
Dec. 24,=20
but Army officials said there was no indication that she ever =
began=20
investigations into any reported abuses by military police or =
intelligence=20
officials. "I do not know if she in fact started an investigation =
into=20
those, because they are serious," General Alexander said.</P>
<P>General Taguba said he agreed with the conclusions in the Red =
Cross=20
report that coercive practices, like holding prisoners naked for =
long=20
periods, were used in a systematic way as part of the military=20
intelligence process at the prison.</P>
<P>Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the =
committee,=20
called that "not just oversight or negligence or neglect or =
sloppiness,=20
but purposeful, willful determination to use these techniques as =
part of=20
an interrogation process," and asked General Taguba, "Would you =
include=20
that in your definition of failure of leadership?"</P>
<P>"Yes, sir," the general replied. "They were."</P>
<P>Mr. Cambone and other military officials said the interrogation =
techniques approved for use in Iraq were straight out of the Army =
manual=20
and followed the Geneva Conventions. In that respect, he said, =
they=20
differed from harsher techniques, like sleep deprivation and =
forcing=20
prisoners to disrobe entirely for interrogations, that are =
authorized for=20
use at the American prison at Guant=E1namo Bay, Cuba.</P>
<P>Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of American forces =
in the=20
Middle East, said that under a policy issued last Oct. 12, the =
only=20
extraordinary measure authorized for use in Iraq was placing =
prisoners in=20
solitary confinement for more than 30 days. That step required the =
approval of the American commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. =
Sanchez,=20
but General Smith said he was not aware of it ever being used.</P>
<P>General Smith said the use of military working dogs was allowed =
so long=20
as the animals "will be muzzled and under control of a handler at =
all=20
times to ensure safety." Photographs published by The New Yorker =
magazine=20
this week showed two unmuzzled dogs menacing a naked Iraqi =
prisoner.</P>
<P>Much of the morning session centered on the impact of a visit =
to Iraq=20
last August and September by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller to =
improve the=20
flow of intelligence from Abu Ghraib. General Miller, who is now =
the chief=20
of interrogations and detentions in Iraq, has defended his =
recommendations=20
to have prison guards prepare detainees for interrogations. He has =
said=20
those recommendations played no role in the later abuse and =
humiliation of=20
prisoners.</P>
<P>The hearing's sharpest exchange came when Mr. Cambone objected =
to a=20
characterization of the visit by Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island =
Democrat. </P>
<P>"Your suggestion that the report on the phrase 'setting the =
conditions'=20
is tantamount to asking the military police to engage in abusive =
behavior,=20
I believe, is a misreading of General Miller's intent," Mr. =
Cambone said.=20
</P>
<P>"Mr. Secretary, what I'm suggesting is anyone in your position =
should=20
have asked questions," Mr. Reed shot back. "One specifically would =
be:=20
What does it mean to set the conditions for these troops under the =
Geneva=20
Convention? Did you ask that question?" </P>
<P>"I didn't have to," Mr. Cambone replied. "We had been through a =
process=20
in which we understood what those limits were with respect to =
Iraq, and=20
what those were with respect to Guantanamo." <!--author id start =
--></P>
<P><EM>Richard W. Stevenson, Thom Shanker, Joel Brinkley and Carl =
Hulse=20
contributed reporting from Washington for this=20
article.</EM></P></NYT_TEXT><BR>
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<H5>May 12, 2004</H5><NYT_HEADLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" ">
<H2>The Abu Ghraib Spin</H2></NYT_HEADLINE><NYT_BYLINE =
version=3D"1.0"=20
type=3D" "></NYT_BYLINE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
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<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><NYT_TEXT>
<P><IMG height=3D33 alt=3DT=20
src=3D"http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/t.gif" =
width=3D29=20
align=3Dleft border=3D0>he administration and its Republican =
allies appear to=20
have settled on a way to deflect attention from the torture of =
prisoners=20
at Abu Ghraib: accuse Democrats and the news media of =
overreacting, then=20
pile all of the remaining responsibility onto officers in the =
battlefield,=20
far away from <ALT-CODE idsrc=3D"nyt-per-pol" value=3D"Bush, =
George W"=20
/>President Bush and his political team. That cynical approach was =
on=20
display yesterday morning in the second Abu Ghraib hearing in the =
Senate,=20
a body that finally seemed to be assuming its responsibility for=20
overseeing the executive branch after a year of silently watching =
the=20
bungled Iraq occupation.</P>
<P>The senators called one witness for the morning session, the =
courageous=20
and forthright Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who ran the Army's major=20
investigation into Abu Ghraib. But the Defense Department also =
sent=20
Stephen Cambone, the under secretary of defense for intelligence, =
to=20
upstage him. Mr. Cambone read an opening statement that said =
Donald=20
Rumsfeld was deeply committed to the Geneva Conventions protecting =
the=20
rights of prisoners, that everyone knew it and that any deviation =
had to=20
come from "the command level." A few Republican senators loyally =
followed=20
the script, like Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who offered the =
astounding comment that he was "more outraged by the outrage" than =
by the=20
treatment of prisoners. After all, he said, they were probably =
guilty of=20
something.</P>
<P>These silly arguments not only obscure the despicable treatment =
of the=20
prisoners, most of whom are not guilty of anything, but also =
ignore the=20
evidence so far. While some of the particularly sick examples of =
sexual=20
degradation may turn out to be isolated events, General Taguba's=20
testimony, and a Red Cross report from Iraq, made it plain that =
the abuse=20
of prisoners by the American military and intelligence agencies =
was=20
systemic. The Red Cross said prisoners of military intelligence =
were=20
routinely stripped, with their hands bound behind their backs, and =
posed=20
with women's underwear over their heads. It said they were =
"sometimes=20
photographed in this position."</P>
<P>The Red Cross report, published by The Wall Street Journal, =
said that=20
Iraqi prisoners =97 70 to 90 percent of whom apparently did =
nothing wrong =97=20
were routinely abused when they were arrested, and their wives and =
mothers=20
threatened. The Iraqi police, who operate under American control =
and are=20
eventually supposed to help replace the occupation forces, are =
even worse=20
=97 sending those who won't pay bribes to prison camps, and =
beating and=20
burning prisoners, according to the report. </P>
<P>The Red Cross said most prisoners were treated better once they =
got=20
into the general population at the larger camps, except those who =
were=20
held by military intelligence. "In certain cases, such as in Abu =
Ghraib=20
military intelligence section, methods of physical and =
psychological=20
coercion used by the interrogators appeared to be part of the =
standard=20
operating procedures by military intelligence personnel," the =
report=20
said.</P>
<P>It was alarming yesterday to hear General Taguba report that =
military=20
commanders had eased the rules four times last year to permit =
guards to=20
use "lethal force" on unruly prisoners. The hearing also disclosed =
that=20
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander in Iraq, had authorized =
the=20
presence of attack dogs during interrogation sessions. It wasn't =
very=20
comforting that he had directed that these dogs be muzzled.</P>
<P>These practices go well beyond any gray area of American =
values,=20
international law or the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Cambone tried to =
argue=20
that Mr. Rumsfeld had made it clear to everyone that the prisoners =
in Iraq=20
were covered by those conventions. But Mr. Rumsfeld's public =
statements=20
have been ambiguous at best, and General Taguba said that, in any =
case,=20
the Abu Ghraib guards had received no training. All the senators,=20
government officials and generals assembled in that hearing room =
yesterday=20
could not figure out who had been in charge at Abu Ghraib and =
which rules=20
applied to the Iraqi prisoners. How were untrained reservists who =
had been=20
plucked from their private lives to guard the prisoners supposed =
to have=20
managed it?</P>
<P>General Sanchez did give some misguided orders involving the =
Abu Ghraib=20
prison and prisoners in general. But the deeply flawed mission in =
which he=20
participates is the responsibility of the Bush administration. It =
was Mr.=20
Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld, not General Sanchez, who failed to =
anticipate the=20
violence and chaos that followed the invasion of Iraq, and sent =
American=20
soldiers out to handle it without the necessary resources, =
manpower and=20
training.</P></NYT_TEXT><BR>
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