WP: Former Abu Ghraib Guard Calls Top Brass Culpable for Abuse

[DeepModem Mom]

Former Abu Ghraib Guard Calls Top Brass Culpable for Abuse
Wife of Jailed Soldier Says Tactics Were in Place From Start
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 23, 2006; Page A03


Stepping into the Abu Ghraib prison for the first time, Megan Ambuhl was stunned. There were naked men in dusty cells, male prisoners wearing women's underwear, others hooded and shackled in contorted positions to metal railings.

An enlisted officer giving her a tour of the U.S. facility in October 2003 pointed to a group of detainees chained to a cell. He said the bars had often "been decorated like a Christmas tree," with prisoners as ornaments.

"He explained it was a military intelligence tactic," Ambuhl said in a recent interview, speaking publicly for the first time since the Abu Ghraib prison abuse was disclosed nearly two years ago. "He said it was to break the detainees that were being interrogated. It was clear it was a military intelligence facility. As I saw it, I thought that if they were doing it, it must be all right for them to be doing it."

One of the original seven military police soldiers singled out by the Pentagon for their roles in abusive techniques, Ambuhl is speaking out because she believes the truth has been obscured by high-ranking officials intent on covering up a policy of abuse. Though her defense differs little from the arguments made previously by the defendants' attorneys, Ambuhl's first-person description of the macabre world of Abu Ghraib provides a vivid perspective on how things went out of control at the prison outside of Baghdad, a place where there were few rules and little guidance. Her account also shows that some of the abusive tactics were in place when the MPs arrived at the prison.

Ambuhl has since married one of her fellow MPs -- Charles A. Graner Jr., the man the military has labeled the ringleader of the abusers -- and is on a mission to secure his release from prison....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/22/AR2006012200928.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. BushCo Skull & Boner Dominionists = Torture

Sick schmucks. Nothing is sacred to BushCo & Corrupt Torturing Cronies.

[HuffleClaw]

2. it'll take them a few days and then

the pentagon will retaliate somehow. i bet her husband in prison will pay the price.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. How can the Pentagon retaliate?

After all, it was just a few loose cannons, unsupevised enlisted people that did this all on their own. How were we to know :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

On edit: sorry for all the similes, just wanted everyone to know what I meant

[IndianaGreen]

3. Graner got Lindy England pregnant

That's some husband Megan has.

[Dunvegan]

4. Maybe now Lynndie will tell tales...

...mad as hell, with nothing left to lose?

Actually, Graner is a world-class jerk.

[sandnsea]

6. 251 military members

"Thus far, allegations against more than 251 military members have been addressed in courts-martial, non-judicial punishment and other adverse administrative actions," Boyce said.

A little more than the few bad apples we've been told about. As much as I think Graner is a jack ass and this woman has some serious co-dependency issues, they probably still need support in getting their story out to more people. This is just hideous and we haven't gotten the entire story yet.