The Abu Ghraib Cases: Not Yet Over

[ProSense]

The Abu Ghraib Cases: Not Yet Over

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007 By ADAM ZAGORIN/WASHINGTON

Following the conviction of a few low-ranking soldiers for their roles in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, Lt. Col. Steven Jordan was found guilty Tuesday by a 10-member jury of only a single charge — failing to obey an order. The case is supposed to be the last of the criminal proceedings concerning this dark chapter of the Iraq war, but sources close to the Abu Ghraib legal drama tell TIME that two key civilians who worked as private contractors in the notorious facility's cell blocks could still face prosecution.

The only U.S. military officer facing a court-martial in the controversy, Jordan was charged with ordering dogs to be used for interrogations; cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners who were allegedly subjected to forced nudity and intimidation by dogs; dereliction of a duty to properly train and supervise soldiers in interrogation rules; and disobeying an order not to discuss the case with other witnesses. He could face five years in prison on his single conviction, but most observers believe his sentence will be lighter. The verdict represents a victory for the defense, which, amid prosecution missteps, managed to get dismissed before trial a series of charges that Jordan had lied to Army investigators.

But there may yet be more Abu Ghraib cases ahead. One person told TIME that during a recent appearance before a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia he answered questions about the role at Abu Ghraib of Steven A. Stefanowicz, a former employee of the U.S. defense contractor, CACI, that supplied interrogators to the prison, as well as of another civilian contractor. A variety of new materials obtained by TIME also offers evidence of Stefanowicz's role at the prison, in addition to whatever testimony the grand jury in eastern Virginia has heard.

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As for other senior officers, the Pentagon has maintained that none did anything wrong. But Stjepan Mestrovic, a Texas sociologist who has testified as an expert witness at several Abu Ghraib trials, calls the Pentagon's attempt to blame the scandal on a few low-ranking "bad apples" little more than "magical thinking."

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[izzie]

1. what happened to the pictures that we were going to see?

I do recall them saying they had more pictures and Congress saw them but some how they just got 'lost' I guess. Either that or 'the people' can not handle such things so our govt. has to keep them from us. As long as only part of this comes out and they think they can hide it behind a 'few' bad lower ranks it will not go away.

[backscatter712]

2. For me, it won't be over

until Bush and Gonzales are each serving life sentences for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Abu Ghraib happened because Bush and Cheney ordered it to happen. There are executive orders with Bush's signature on them that authorized the methods used at that prison. Bush and his puppeteer ordered the waterboarding, the cold rooms, the stress positions, the dogs, the sexual humiliation and the electric shocks with jumper cables.