INDEPTH: IRAQ
U.S. military prisoner abuse inquiries
CBC News Online | Aug. 23, 2004
At least eight U.S. military investigations into prisoner abuses have been held, are underway or are planned. Of the reports released so far, none has implicated senior U.S. officials in the abuse scandal, other than to say they failed to provide leadership and created conditions that allowed the abuse to occur.
Taguba report:
Maj.-Gen. Antonio Taguba (AP Photo)
|
- Began: Jan. 31, 2004.
- Ordered by: Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
- Investigator: Maj.-Gen. Antonio Taguba, deputy commanding general for support for U.S. Central Command.
- Focus: Alleged abuse of prisoners by members of the 800th Military Police Brigade in Abu Ghraib.
- Reported: May 11, 2004.
- Results: The report said soldiers in the 372nd Military Police Company (part of the 800th) had committed "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses." "Supervisory omission was rampant," said Taguba.
Read the complete report (pdf file).
CBC story: Prison abuse a 'failure of leadership': general
Mikolashek report:
- Began: February 2004.
- Investigator: Lt.-Gen. Paul Mikolashek, army inspector general.
- Focus: Training and prison procedures in the Central Command area.
- Reported: July 22, 2004.
- Results: Investigation revealed 94 cases of reported abuse in 16 prison facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 20 deaths in military custody. Mikolashek concluded that the incidents didn't result from systemic problems, and called them "unauthorized actions taken by a few individuals."
CBC story: U.S. army report lists 94 prisoner abuse cases
Jones-Fay report:
Inside Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison (AP file photo)
|
-
Began: April 23, 2004.
- Ordered by: Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
- Investigators: Lt.-Gen Anthony Jones, deputy commander of army training; Gen. George Fay, deputy chief of staff of army intelligence; Gen. Paul Kern, army materiel command.
- Focus: Alleged misconduct of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, in charge of Abu Ghraib.
- Report due: The week of Aug. 23, 2004.
- Results: An article in the New York Times said the report will lay the blame for the abuse on lower-level troops, none having a rank above Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the unit in charge of the prison. The report will say military medical personnel witnessed the abuse or treated injuries that resulted from abuse and did not report it up the chain of command, the Times said.
However, the Times said the investigators found that senior U.S. officials played no role in ordering the abuses, but they had created conditions that allowed them to occur by failing to provide leadership.
Read the complete report (pdf file).
CBC story: Report blames low-level troops for Abu Ghraib abuses
Schlesinger panel:
-
Began: May 7, 2004.
- Ordered by: Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
- Investigators: Four members of Rumsfeld's Defence Policy Board. Former defence secretaries James Schlesinger and Harold Brown, retired air force general Charles Horner and former U.S. representative Tillie Fowler.
- Focus: Widest scope, looking at all the other investigations. Interrogation techniques, command structure and training of personnel, as well as a timeline of who knew what when.
- Report due: Aug. 24, 2004.
Read the complete report (pdf file).
Church report:
-
Began: May 12, 2004. Scope of investigation widened on May 25.
- Ordered by: Donald Rumsfeld
- Investigator: Vice-Admiral Albert Church, navy inspector general.
- Focus: Interrogation of prisoners in the army prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and naval brigs in South Carolina, Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Report due: End of August 2004.
Ertman report:
-
Began: March 2004.
- Ordered by: Lt.-Gen James Helmly, chief of the army reserve.
- Investigator: Col. Beverly Ertman, army reserve command inspector general.
- Focus: Training of reserve units in military police and intelligence in ethics and the laws of warfare.
Jacoby report:
-
Began: Mid-May 2004.
- Ordered by: Lt.-Gen. David Barno, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
- Investigator: Brig.-Gen. Charles Jacoby, deputy operational commander of the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
- Focus: Conditions at 20 U.S. jails in Afghanistan, including the main prison in Bagram.
Moore report:
-
To start: After the completion of the Jones-Fay and Church investigations.
- Investigator: Admiral William Moore, former commander of the 5th Fleet.
- Focus: Review the Jones-Fay report and compare it to the findings of the Church investigation.
^TOP
|
|
 |
 MENU |
|
|
| EXTERNAL LINKS: |
|
|
| MORE: |
|
|
|
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. Links will open in new window.
