Former fort soldiers implicated in Iraqi prisoner abuse investigation

FORT HUACHUCA - While much of the turmoil involving the abuse of Iraqi prisoners has centered around improper actions by Military Police soldiers, the military intelligence community is not immune.

A report by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba highlighted some problems within the intelligence community involving the mistreatment - physical and mental - of Iraqis.

Leaders, soldiers and civilians at the Intelligence Center on Fort Huachuca are dealing with the realization that some intelligence soldiers could be involved in the abuse. For many, the shocking news including photographic proof of what MPs did, reportedly by some under orders from intelligence officers, it is even more disheartening.

Every intelligence soldier, commissioned, warrant officers, noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted members go through training on the post.

Maj. Gen. James Marks, commander of the intelligence center condemns the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, noting that torture is not part of any course taught on the fort.

"The U.S. Army Intelligence Center neither trains nor condones the types of activities described in recent media reports, which do not even remotely fall within the realm of Army values," Marks said. "Bottom line (is) we do not train, condone nor accept this type of behavior."

Primarily those who are under a black cloud are intelligence soldiers involved in human intelligence collection activities and interrogators.

A spokeswoman for the Department of the Army said another investigation, this one centered on military intelligence, has begun and is expected to be completed within a month.

One of Taguba's targets was Col. Thomas M. Pappas, currently the commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade.

The report also mention's Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, who a week after arriving on Fort Huachuca last year as the deputy commander of the Intelligence Center, left for Iraq. Fast is scheduled to return to the post soon to become the commander of the center and the fort. Marks, who served in Middle East before the war began and in Baghdad later, is retiring in June.

Taguba's report mentions that another general, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the now relieved commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, said Fast would not release prisoners which contributed to the problem.

The main part of Taguba's investigation was to look at the actions of the 800th Military Police Brigade and that led the general to find what he considered irregularities in part of the intelligence community.

As for the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade and the 800th Military Police Brigade, the general found evidence of wrongdoing involving Iraqi prisoners at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad. When Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, the prison was the main part of his regime's torture and killing program.

As for Pappas, who at one time was the chief of the Architectures Division of the Intelligence Center's Futures Directorate on Fort Huachuca, Taguba has recommended he be given a general officer memorandum of reprimand. Pappas assumed command of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade in June 2003, after attending the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

Friday, Army officials have said Pappas is now facing criminal charges as part of a judicial investigation against the officer.

Taguba noted in his report that Pappas failed to ensure soldiers under his direct command were properly trained, failed to ensure they understood and followed the Geneva Convention and failed to properly supervise his soldiers at Abu Ghraib.

The general also noted another intelligence officer and two civilian contract intelligence employees also be punished.

The three others are Lt. Col. Steve L. Jordan, the former director of the Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center and the liaison officer to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade; Steven Stephanowicz, a contract interrogator for the brigade; and John Israel, a contact interpreter with the 205th.

In his report, Taguba said, "Specifically I suspect that Col. Thomas M. Pappas, Lt. Col. Steve L. Jordan, Mr. Steven Stephanowicz and Mr. John Israel were either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib and strongly recommend immediate disciplinary actions ..."

Jordan was determined to have made misrepresentations to the investigation team including his leadership role at Abu Ghraib and like Pappas did not properly supervise the soldiers under his command. Jordan was recalled to active duty to support the war in Iraq, according to an Army spokeswoman.

As for Stephanowicz, the general said he made a false statement to the investigating team regarding the locations of his interrogations, the activities of his interrogations and his knowledge of abuses.

He also allowed and possibility instructed MPs who had no knowledge of interrogation techniques to facilitate the activities by setting conditions which he "clearly knew his instructions equated to physical abuse," Taguba's report states.

Israel denied he had ever seen any interrogations, which was contrary to several witnesses and he did not have a security clearance, the report states.

Taguba said both civilians should be given an official reprimand, have their security clearances reviewed, and, in the case of Stephanowicz, have his security clearance revoked and his employment as a civilian contractor terminated.

As for Jordan, Taguba recommended he be given a general officer memorandum of reprimand.

Within the Army a general officer memorandum of reprimand is considered a career killer.

As for Fast, Taguba wrote that she, Karpinski and Col. Marc Warren, the Staff Judge Advocate for Combined Joint Task Force-7, were the Detainee Release Board.

Fast was the "Detainee Release Authority" for inmates being held for committing crimes against coalition forces, which the report stated Karpinski said made up 60 percent of the detainee population and the category was growing fast.

However, Karpinski said Fast "routinely denied the board's recommendations to release detainees in this category who were no longer deemed a threat and clearly met the requirements for release," the report states.

According to Taguba, Karpinski said the ineffective release process contributed to the overcrowding of the prison.

What he did find that it was improper for the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade to be given control of the prison complex.

"With respect to the 800th MP Brigade at Abu Ghraib, I find that there was clear friction and lack of effective communications between the commander of the 205th MI Brigade (Pappas) ... and the commander of the 800th MP Brigade (Karpinski) ... There was no clear delineation of responsibility between commands, little coordination at the command level and no integration of the two functions," the report states.

Karpinski, an Army Reserve officer, did not support MP units from being under the tactical control of the commander of the 205th MI Brigade, the report states, adding, "This effectively made an MI officer, rather than an MP officer, responsible for MP units conducting detainee operations at that facility. This is not doctrinally sound due to the different missions and agendas assigned to each of these respective specialties."

According to Taguba, Karpinski was highly emotional during the four hours he interviewed her and she could not bring herself to admit there was a failure of leadership, including her, when it came to the 800th Military Police Brigade, which is an Army Reserve unit.

The bottom line that the report states is that there was a lack of leadership in both the MP ad MI communities at the prison complex.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said during congressional testimony Friday that additional photographs and videotapes show even more horrendous actions by soldiers.

So far, seven soldiers, all MPs, have been notified they face court-martial charges. Karpinski and no other MP officers are on the current list of those facing criminal charges.

The leadership gap led to "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses (that) were inflicted on several detainees," according to the report.

The systemic and illegal abuse of detainees was perpetrated by several members of the MP guard forces, Taguba said.

"In addition to the aforementioned crimes, there were also abuses committed by members of the 325th MI Battalion, 205th MI Brigade and the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center," the report states.

The report also noted that on one occasion a number of prisoners, called "ghost detainees" being held for "Other Government Agencies," which were not identified, moved the prisoners around "to hide them from a visiting International Committee of the Red Cross survey team," which Taguba noted was "deceptive, contrary to Army doctrine and in violation of international law."

Taguba also listed three individuals who refused to take part in abusing Iraqi prisoners:

Spc. Joseph Darby of the 372nd Military Police Company discovered evidence of abuse and turned it over to military law enforcement. Darby was also praised during Rumsfeld congressional testimony before Senate and House of Representative committees on Friday.

First Lt. David Sutton of the 229th Military Police Company, who stopped an incident of abuse and reported it through his chain of command.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class William Kimbro, a dog handler, who "refused to participate in improper interrogations despite significant pressure from the MI personnel at Abu Ghraib," according to the report.

Hi SandRat! Here is the response from one of my "partners in Terror!"

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/
7 May 2004 - An Open Letter to the Iraqi’s “Tortured” by American Soldiers
by Laura Mansfield

Salam Aliekum. Peace be unto you. I’m writing you this letter in hope that you will read it. I’d like to tell you a few things about Americans.

It’s important that you listen because you do not understand us. And we do not understand you either.

We care about people – not just our own citizens, but we care about the people of the world. That’s why we give money in large amounts to organizations such as CARE and Save the Children – organizations that exist for the sole purpose of reducing poverty, providing food and health care, and building infrastructure throughout the world. In the 1960’s, President John F. Kennedy created an organization called the Peace Corps, where people of all ages volunteer to go to other, less developed countries and teach them the skills they need to improve their quality of life. We work to build schools, hospitals, water treatment plants, and factories to produce the products that are needed to help the people in those countries have better lives for themselves, and their children, and their grandchildren. We don’t care if those people are religious or have no religion; we do not care what God they choose to worship.

You see, we aren’t like you. We don’t drag charred bodies through the streets. We don’t shoot women and children for political reasons. We don’t take airplanes full of civilians and use them like missiles, bringing down buildings that hold tens of thousands of people at work.

Instead, we build buildings for the people of the world; we build airports so that you can import food and medical supplies, as well as the tools to build your infrastructure. We raise money in our communities, and network with doctors and health providers to bring injured or sick children to our country for the best health care that we have available. We don’t do this for personal gain; we take the money that we work hard to earn and share it, voluntarily, with others in other lands.

Our caring nature is showing up in our newspapers, on the internet, and on television sets around the world. And you are ridiculing it, and making fun of it. You see it as a sign of weakness.

As a society, we are compelled to continuously question our humanity, to hold ourselves to a higher standard that the rest of the world. That is what keeps us strong and great as a nation. We make mistakes, we admit them, apologize, and take steps to make sure that they do not recur. We see it as a sign of strength; you see it as an indication that we are close to defeat.

For years, prisoners in jails in the Islamic world have truly been tortured. I don’t mean they’ve been embarrassed, or had their feelings hurt. I mean they have been tortured. Ask you leader Dr. Ayman Zawahiri about the torture he received in Egyptian jails; he should be able to explain to you the difference between being humiliated and being tortured. Not much more than a year ago, in that same prison in Iraq, where some of your countrymen were hazed, Iraqi civilians were being murdered day in and day out. They were beaten, electrocuted, raped, and fed through industrial shredders. They had eyes poked out, and body parts amputated. That’s torture.

That doesn’t mean what our soldiers did was right. It wasn’t. But I daresay those prisoners are not in jail for jaywalking, or even smoking marijuana. They are in Abu Graith because they tried to kill OUR countrymen. They will try again the first chance they get. That has been proven over and over again.

We have made our disgust with the actions of our soldiers known. Our President and our Secretary of Defense have apologized. The persons who perpetrated these acts have been relieved of duty and will be subjected to military discipline. It won’t be fun.

Now if you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if you could answer a couple of questions for me.

With all of the oil money, I’m sure you can list a few places where you have gone and built schools and hospitals. What was the name of your international aid agency? What charities have you donated to recently? What happened to all the money you paid in Zakat, the alms for the poor, that Islam requires of you as one of its five pillars?

What happened to those who tortured Iraqi civilians in that same building? Have they apologized? Have they been disciplined? Have they had to answer for their crimes? Has anyone in the Arab world even complained about those actions? Nope, I didn’t think so.

What about those responsible for bringing down the World Trade Center, for attacking our embassies and ships around the world, for executing the Italian hostage, for murdering those school children in Basra a couple of weeks ago? Should I call the networks and book some time for them to make a public apology? Nope, I didn’t think so.

You laugh at our 911 Commission, and the fact that our President and our Vice-President were required to answer their questions. But you don’t understand. It is the very concept of accountability, of accepting personal responsibility for ones actions that keep us human. That is what allows us to respond with outrage at the photos that degrade Iraq prisoners, and to ignore the fact that maybe that prisoner killed an American serviceman, or an Iraqi kindergartener.

What you see as weakness is a deep-rooted strength that can only grown in an atmosphere of freedom. We do not just have the basic freedoms granted us in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, but we also have the freedom to question ourselves, and to hold our leaders accountable.

And we also have the right to hold you accountable for your actions. I’m sure you’ll find it an enlightening experience.

How do you see it as "expanding.

I was at the lake last weekend and didn't see much news or get near a computer, and even I picked up on about 12 on pending charges of which only six were the MPs in the released photos.

We have known all along that the MPs were the parallel to the MI unit at the prison.

We have known right away about Fast.

We knew about abuse charges some months ago.

All that we did not know was the lengths to which the media would salivate and sandbag once they knew that there would be pictures. And sensational pictures. Oh....my....God......a journalsitic wet dream.

The vaunted US Military, Bush's beloved Military, was going to be able to be depicted as represented by a meer 12 nightshift loonies and the utter vileness of Right-wing-War could finally be shown to mom and pop.

The Progressive vision of America returning to their true place in the world, at the feet of the UN World Socialist Government in Formation could finally be vindicated. The triumph of the Sixties Generation could be realized as the turn to one of the Happy Warriors for the NVA begins in time for the election.

Yes, it is "expanding." In the dreams of Democrats so craven they will sell the souls of America's sons and daughters. < /rant >

Fast had release authority

As for Fast, Taguba wrote that she, Karpinski and Col. Marc Warren, the Staff Judge Advocate for Combined Joint Task Force-7, were the Detainee Release Board.

Fast was the "Detainee Release Authority" for inmates being held for committing crimes against coalition forces...

MP and MI friction

What he did find that it was improper for the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade to be given control of the prison complex.

"With respect to the 800th MP Brigade at Abu Ghraib, I find that there was clear friction and lack of effective communications between the commander of the 205th MI Brigade (Pappas) ... and the commander of the 800th MP Brigade (Karpinski) ... There was no clear delineation of responsibility between commands, little coordination at the command level and no integration of the two functions," the report states...

WOW! The more you read about the command leadership of the MP and MI units at this facility the more incompetent they appear to be. What's really astonishing to me is the incompetence of the highest ranking officers: Fast and Karpinski -I mean we have a Major General, a two star, and a Brigadier General, a one star, and neither can effectively run a brigade. How did they get their rank? The incompetence of the command of these units is the most troubling thing for our military to come out of the this mess.

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