CNN - The Truth Comes Out About Abu Ghraib
Report: Abu Ghraib was ‘Animal House’ at night
Interestingly enough, despite the tabloid headline, the real truth comes out in this Report “the four-member advisory panel appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in early May to investigate abuse allegations” chaired by by James Schlesinger. The fact is, abuse occurred at the Abu Ghraib facility - abuse that ended in death for five of the detainees. That is a hideous scar on the reputation of our country and there is no excuse for it. But the attempts by popular media to make our entire military structure appear evil, conspiratorial and sadistic are refuted by this article. Of course, the The ever-trustworthy CNN is faithful to include these details… buried far enough down in the article that most will never see them.
When viewed objectively several points come out. Senior officials made very clear that Geneva regulations should apply. They failed in not providing adequate supervision and by a low officer to prisoner ration (75/1 as mentioned in the article). However, the investigative panel doesn’t recommend Rumsfeld’s resignation and if we read the numbers… Out of 50,000 people detained - there were only 300 allegations of abuse - even after apparent efforts to “encourage” prisoners to report. And though the investigations are only 1/2 completed, only 66 cases of the 155 reported have been substantiated. And the investigators are fair in reporting the “great stress” the officers endured at Abu Ghraib including daily shelling of the facility, Iraqi police smuggling arms to the prisoners and the aforementioned ratio of officers to prisoners.
Here are a few highlights from the article
Schlesinger noted, however, that there was “no policy of abuse.”
“Quite the contrary,” Schlesinger said. “Senior officials repeatedly said that in Iraq, Geneva regulations would apply.”
Those who ran the facility, which held as many as 7,000 prisoners just outside Baghdad, were often under great stress, said Schlesinger, who also served as President Carter’s secretary of energy.
The building was constantly shelled, and Iraqi police sometimes slipped arms to the inmates, he said.
Panel member Charles A. Horner, who led the air campaign in the 1991 Iraq War and was former commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Space Command, urged caution in affixing blame.
“We all have 20/20 hindsight that makes us perfect,” said the retired Air Force general.
In addition, the ratio of prisoners to military police officers was 75-to-1, versus 1-to-1 at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base. The guards at the Iraqi facility lacked training and arrived without equipment, he said.
Asked if Rumsfeld should resign, Schlesinger said, “His resignation would be a boon to all of America’s enemies and, consequently, I think it would be a misfortune if it were to take place.” The three other panel members concurred.
Of the 300 allegations of abuse that have been made from the 50,000 people detained in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, 155 investigations have been completed and 66 cases of abuse substantiated, the report said.
