U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq
 

SHUT UP!

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. general who was in charge of Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison said on Saturday she had met an Israeli interrogator in Iraq, a claim Israel denied but which was likely to irritate many in the Arab world.

So this "General" is either lying or divulging what I would imagine would be highly classified information (if it is true) and running the risk of inflaming the entire Arab World, putting at risk Israeli women and children - not to mention US troops, to deflect attention from her own sad sack performance? If I were King, her courts martial would now include treason.

Jeez, at what point does the Army shut her up? I mean come on does someone need to issue her a gag order?

I am shocked that she would do such a thing. Especially with her rank. It not only makes her look bad, but also the army for letting her hold that very important posistion. I guess some people instead of taking responsibility, run the other way. :(

Like her subordinates, she clearly does not know, or does not care how badly she damages this country, or the soldiers still there.

I thought initially that she was a stupid POS who should have been relieved.

I now think that she should be prosecuted and incarcerated to the maximum extent of the law.

TR

Rank never made anyone smart, better looking, taller, or increased one's value in the overall scheme of things unless they were able to use that newly gained power to enable their subordinates to succeed. Just my opinion of course.

Jack Moroney

My AKO account is down, anyone got her AKO email?

I don't know Sir. When I made E7, I gained two inches on my biceps and an inch on my chest. Plus I became bullet-proof. And I was already a bad ass as an E6.:lifter

Guess its a good thing I didn't hang around to make SGM. LOL

Obviously an exception to the opinion, but then I think I have an explanation in your case. Wasn't that just about the time when we got that larger rucksack that allowed you to carry and additional 50 pounds of light weight sh....? Could account for that bulking up. Now if that was an officer's claim, I think I would be looking for a couple of missing blood pressure cuffs to explain the biceps and the B-7 he "forgot" to turn in before validating his swim test. :D

Jack Moroney

I don't know, you look like you were in pretty good shape in those pics you posted - probably hanged a monkey or two by the old guns I imagine. LOL

Alas, but I considered my self a soldier that just happened to be commissioned. Others considered me as handicapped because I had no neck. Art Hutchins considered me a refrigerator as he took pride in demonstrating one day when he attemped to open my dress whites jacket and reach in for a beer. And Jake Jakovenko was amused because when he put me thru a crash SCUBA program I had negative boyancy and didn't need a weigh belt when we were using Dragers. And most of my superiors considered me as the Anti-Christ when it came to meeting their ideal of what an officer should look like. So if I stayed in respectable shape it was only to be able to run with the big dogs all of which were also soldiers regardless of rank.:o

Jack Moroney

Wonder if Jake is still punching manhole covers?

He is out in Tennessee making long guns. Got his address if you'd like it.

Jack Moroney

I appreciate it Sir, but he wouldn't remember me. I only met him through Gary O once at the very end of his career. I was very impressed and I didn't say a word after "Nice to meet you Living Legend". Of course I was thinking, "Note to self, - be very, very careful around this man." LOL I doubt he even noticed I was sitting in the corner very quietly while they all talked about Vietnam and other things. That's how I learned to be whatever kind of troop I ended up being, listening to the guys. It was a great time to be there. Raiders, A Camp guys and SOG all over SWC and the leadership positions. A worm could learn an awful lot if he just keep his such shut and listened.

Rumsfeld gave go-ahead for Abu Ghraib tactics, says general in charge
By Julian Coman in Washington
(Filed: 04/07/2004)


The former head of the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad has for the first time accused the American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, of directly authorising Guantanamo Bay-style interrogation tactics.

Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski, who commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade, which is at the centre of the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, said that documents yet to be released by the Pentagon would show that Mr Rumsfeld personally approved the introduction of harsher conditions of detention in Iraq.


Brig Gen Karpinski [left] with Donald Rumsfeld, after Guantanamo chief jailer Maj Gen Miller's visit to Iraq

In an interview with The Signal newspaper of Santa Clarita, California, which was also broadcast on a local television channel yesterday, Gen Karpinski was asked if she knew of documents showing that Mr Rumsfeld approved "particular interrogation techniques" for Abu Ghraib.

Gen Karpinski was interviewed for four hours by Maj- Gen Antonio Taguba, who was ordered to investigate abuse at Abu Ghraib and produced a damning report, which heavily criticised Gen Karpinski for a lack of leadership at the prison.

During inquiries into the scandal, she has repeatedly maintained that the treatment of Iraqi detainees was taken out of her hands by higher-ranking officials, acting on orders from Washington.

"Since all this came out," she replied, "I've not only seen, but I've been asked about some of those documents, that he [Mr Rumsfeld] signed and agreed to."

Asked whether the documents have been made public, Gen Karpinski replied "No" and went on to describe the methods approved in them as involving "dogs, food deprivation and sleep deprivation".

The Pentagon has consistently denied that Mr Rumsfeld authorised the transfer of harsher techniques of interrogation and detention from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib, where all prisoners are supposed to be protected by the Geneva Conventions.

Replying to Gen Karpinski's allegations, a spokesman for the Pentagon told The Telegraph: "Mr Rumsfeld did not approve any interrogation procedures in Iraq. The Secretary of Defence was not in the approval chain for interrogation procedures, which would have remained within the purview of Central Command, headed by Gen John Abizaid."

The Bush administration has been dogged by suspicions that harsh interrogation methods employed at Guantanamo were transferred to Abu Ghraib, as Iraqi insurgents began to score significant hits against coalition forces last year. In May, before the Senate armed services committee, Stephen Cambone, the under-secretary of defence for intelligence, publicly denied charges that Mr Rumsfeld had approved Guantanamo-style interrogations in Iraq.

Last month, the White House took the unusual step of releasing hundreds of internal documents and debates concerning interrogation procedures at Guantanamo. Extreme interrogation techniques at the camp, it was revealed, now require the explicit approval of Mr Rumsfeld. The Bush administration insists, however, that the notorious abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib was an aberration on the part of a handful of rogue soldiers. A Pentagon spokesman said that all relevant documents on interrogation techniques in Iraq would be made public but could not say when.

Gen Karpinski has been suspended from duty pending ongoing investigations into abuse of prisoners at the Baghdad prison. In a recent interview with the BBC, she complained of being turned into a scapegoat for the scandal, arguing that the running of the prison was taken out of her hands.

In a separate embarrassment for the Department of Defence last week, six recent studies, leaked to the Los Angeles Times, heavily criticised the military for failing to screen adequately potential recruits with violent and even criminal backgrounds.

The reports were written by a senior Pentagon consultant. One was delivered in September 2003, weeks before the worst abuses of Iraqi prisoners took place. The title of the report was Reducing the Threat of Destructive Behaviour by Military Personnel.

In it the author, Eli Flyer, a former senior analyst at the Department of Defence, stated: "There are military personnel with pre-service and in-service records that clearly establish a pattern of sub-standard behaviour. These individuals constitute a high-risk group for destructive behaviour and need to be identified."

According to a 1998 report by Mr Flyer, one third of military recruits had arrest records. A 1995 report found that a quarter of serving army personnel had committed one or more criminal offences while on active duty. In his 2003 study, Mr Flyer said that military personnel officers had been reluctant to toughen up screening procedures, fearing that the result would be a failure to meet recruitment goals.

Curtis Gilroy, who oversees military recruiting policy for the Pentagon, told the Los Angeles Times: "It's hard to pick out all the bad apples, but we are striving to improve the system and are doing so."