On the American side of the torture scandal, the general in charge of the Iraqi prisons, General Janis Karpinski, said on May 2, 2004, that the cells shown in the pictures were under military intelligence control. She also said that intelligence officers tried to keep her and the International Red Cross from visiting these cells.
On May 21, 2004, it was revealed that the top US general in Iraq, Ricardo Sanchez, issued an order in October 2003 giving military intelligence officers control over the Abu Ghraib prison with the aim of abusing detainees to get information. This is coming out when the US military authorities are saying that eight more death of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan are being investigated bringing the total to 33.
On May 24, 2004, The Guardian reported that the commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, was present at some prisoner interrogations at Abu Ghraib prison and witnessed some of the abuses. General Sanchez denied the claim but it looks more and more like the US military authorities were aware, and probably ordered, the torture and abuses. One of the soldiers incriminated for what went on at the prison, Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick, said through his lawyer, Captain Robert Shuck, that Frederick's company commander, Captain Donald Reese, would, in return for immunity, testify that General Sanchez was present at some interrogations, torture and abuses. The International Red Cross gave a list of the Abu Ghraib prisoner complaints to the US commanders whose only comment was that "these prisoners were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva conventions"!
On May 26, 2004, we were told that the most senior US general in Iraq, Ricardo Sanchez, will soon be replaced. Of course, it is presented as a normal rotation but it is certain that his being mixed up someway in the torture and abuses in Abu Ghraib prison is also an important factor. He should be replaced by a four stars general, George Cassey, who will have responsibility over all US troops in Iraq. General Sanchez had no authority over the Special Forces for instance.
On November 30, 2004, we were told that a report by retired Colonel Stuart A. Herrington to the military leaders in Iraq warned of prisoner abuses. This report was sent one month before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was discovered. It also mentioned unwarranted and unnecessary arrests and imprisonment of innocent Iraqis.
On December 18, 2004, we were told Janis Karpinki's version of the abuses on Iraqi prisoners. She was the Brigadier General Army reservist in command of the 800th MP Brigade at Abu Ghraib prison in May 2004.In December 2003 she said that the Iraqi prisons had been improved after the end of Saddam Hussein's regime. She went as far as saying that for many prisoners "living conditions now are better in the prisons than at home." Then came the revelations of the abuses at Abu Ghraib. An Army report said that she rarely visited the prisons and that her soldiers were "poorly prepared and untrained." In May 2003 she was suspended.
The top US general in Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez authorised interrogation techniques including the use of dogs, stress positions and disorientation, a memo has shown on March 30, 2005. The ACLU says the measures go beyond generally accepted practice and says Gen Sanchez should be made accountable. The memo authorised techniques including putting prisoners in stressful positions, using loud music and light control, and changing sleeping patterns. It also authorised the presence of muzzled military working dogs to, as the memo puts it, "exploit Arab fear of dogs while maintaining security during interrogations". The presence of dogs and other measures, all of which required approval by Gen Sanchez, were rescinded a month later because of opposition from military lawyers. Gen Sanchez says advance permission was required every time one of these techniques was requested, adding that he never gave such permission.
On July 3, 2004, the US general formerly in charge of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq said that she has evidence Israelis were involved in interrogating Iraqi detainees. General Karpinski, who was suspended by the US military in May over allegations of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be an Israeli during a visit, related to the Abu Ghraib torture affair. I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter "He said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here and of course I speak Arabic but I'm not an Arab. I'm from Israel.' I was really kind of surprised by that... An Israeli security source told Reuters: "Israel was not and is not involved in the interrogation of anyone in Iraq."
The former commander of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Colonel (ex-general) Janis Karpinski, has blamed General Geoffrey Miller for prisoner abuses. She said he introduced the use of human pyramids and dog leashes in the abuse of detainees; she believes that abuse may still be continuing there. Miller headed the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and was sent to Iraq to recommend improvements in intelligence gathering and detention operations there.
On March 16, 2005, we were told that at least 108 people have died in US custody in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and roughly a quarter of the cases have been investigated as possible US abuse, according to government data. The figure, far higher than any previously disclosed, includes cases investigated by the Army, Navy, Central Intelligence Agency and Justice Department. Some 65,000 prisoners have been taken during the US-led wars, most later freed. The Pentagon has never provided comprehensive information on how many prisoners taken during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have died. The 108 figure, based on information supplied by Army, Navy and other government officials, includes deaths attributed to natural causes.
Former commander of US troops in Iraq Lt General Ricardo Sanchez has been
cleared over abuses at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq on April 23, 2005. A new inquiry
found no evidence of wrongdoing by General Sanchez and three of his top aides,
US officials say. The US army inspector general's report says only Brig General
Janis Karpinski, commander at the jail, has been found guilty and reprimanded
over the abuse.