Abu Ghraib Probe Points to Top Brass (WP)

[struggle4progress]

By Josh White and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, August 20, 2004; Page A01

An Army investigation into the role of military intelligence personnel in the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison reports that the scandal was not just caused by a small circle of rogue military police soldiers but resulted from failures of leadership rising to the highest levels of the U.S. command in Iraq, senior defense officials said.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the report has not yet been completed, said the 9,000-page document says that a combination of leadership failings, confounding policies, lack of discipline and absolute confusion at the prison led to the abuse. It widens the scope of culpability from seven MPs who have been charged with abuse to include nearly 20 low-ranking soldiers who could face criminal prosecution in military courts. No Army officers, however, are expected to face criminal charges.
<snip>

The findings, elements of which were reported by other news organizations, appear to support contentions by defense attorneys for the charged MPs that the problems at the prison were pervasive and were exacerbated by a lack of leadership. The lawyers have asserted that their clients were acting on orders when they stripped detainees and kept them awake using stress positions and humiliating poses. Officials said the Fay report will stop short of saying that soldiers were ordered to abuse detainees.
<snip>

"The interrogation policy was misunderstood, and it was one of a few policies that failed," the official said. "There was total confusion about the military intelligence tactics, techniques and procedures."
<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17092-2004Aug19.html

Different take on the report than in yesterday's threads. Maybe some industrial strength damage control was applied ...

[Democat]

1. The buck never stops with Bush

Nothing is his fault, but he takes credit for anything good.

Time for a new leader for America!

[PurityOfEssence]

6. That's why he thinks he's god:

Everything good that happens is the result of his actions, and nothing bad is ever his fault.

He's a candy-assed little frat boy, and he touts his vaunted loyalty as he gets the bots to jump overboard for him. Tenet was suckered into taking to blame for not kicking up enough of an incredibly obvious ruckus about the nigeranium, and now Franks is saying that he was specifically the guy who claimed "Mission Accomplished". Clarke, of course, was marginal and not even in the loop, yet it's all his fault, too.

It doesn't even pass the sniff test: when little Junior specifically lets Clinton off the hook for intelligence failures, you KNOW he's running for cover; if there was ANY way to shift blame, it'd be done in a less than a heartbeat. (Remember, the god-prince has an extremely low heart rate; it's something like a beat every other minute.)

Mitch Daniels projected a 1 Billion Dollar deficit in August of '01, but it's all somehow 9-11. The energy administration, helmed by two wizards of the oil biz--CEOs, no less--can't cop to the biggest blackout in our history, even though it's specifically because of deregulation that they continue to espouse. It just goes on and on.

He's a ninny. Strut and bluster as he may, he's an embarrassment. If successfully sent packing, he will be the Bald Soprano of the conservatives: the name one can never mention in public.

I can't wait.

[grytpype]

2. Bullshit.

"Goarsh, we were so conFUUUUSED! We didn't know what we was doin Sarge!"

What bull-fricking-shit! The whole abuse program was organized at the very highest levels, in great detail! They are pretending the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding!

[nosmokes]

3. 9000 pages?

and no officers are expected to face charges? so WTF does it say for nine thousand pages? and if it was "leadership failings" that led to these atrocities, then why aren't some leaders failing?

[T Bone]

4. The headline doesn't jibe with the article does it. ?

My guess is the headline is right, but the article smells of whitewash. I heard a shill on NPR also stating that it was only rogue low-level people. That is bullshit, someone was commanding them.

What is od about this arrangement is that usually the headline minimizes impacts with the real news report in the article?

Disnfromation techniques themselves are getting confusing aren't they?
No wonder average people give up trying to understand.

[Pallas180]

5. Ditto (not to be funny) I heard on CNN

that it was just lower level people who had not been trained
properly.

And they expect us to believe that, when Rummy's orders have been
published and repeated along with General Miller's (Gitmo) statements
when he came to Abu Graib.

Somebody ought to make a few phone calls to that investigative committee...whose the chairman -

[shraby]

7. The chairman is John Warner (R)

need I say more? The only ones who asked any hard hitting questions of the generals in the round I saw were the Dems and John McCain. That's the one where they were asked about "ghost" detainees and they said they didn't find any until McCain asked harder questions about it and it came out that they didn't even look. McCain was not a happy camper.