Officers Say U.S. Colonel at Abu Ghraib Prison Felt Intense Pressure to

[maddezmom]

Officers Say U.S. Colonel at Abu Ghraib Prison Felt Intense Pressure to Get Inmates to Talk
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Published: May 19, 2004


ASHINGTON, May 18 — As he took charge of interrogations at Abu Ghraib prison last September, Col. Thomas M. Pappas was under enormous pressure from his superiors to extract more information from prisoners there, according to senior Army officers.

"He likened it to a root canal without novocaine," a senior officer who knows Colonel Pappas said of his meetings with his superiors in Baghdad. Often, the officer said, Colonel Pappas would emerge from discussions with two of them, Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast and Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, without a word, but "clutching his face as if in pain."

Colonel Pappas, commander of the 205th Intelligence Brigade, relocated his headquarters from Camp Victory, near the Baghdad airport, to Abu Ghraib just days after a visit to Iraq last fall by another high-ranking Army officer, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller. General Miller encouraged the Army colonel to have his unit work more closely with military police to set the conditions for interrogations.

By the end of September, Colonel Pappas had asserted control of Tier 1 of the prison's "hard site," used for interrogation of Iraqi prisoners, which he maintained until February, when he and his brigade were transferred to Germany at the end of their yearlong tour. After Nov. 19, by order of General Sanchez, Colonel Pappas and his brigade took command of all of Abu Ghraib prison, taking over authority from the 800th Military Police Brigade.

~snip~
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/19/politics/19PAPP.html

[maddezmom]

1. Senior officer outting Sanchez, Miller and Fast

<I know that they were absolutely pressuring him to get more out of the intelligence teams," a senior Army officer said of Colonel Pappas's superiors, including Generals Sanchez, Fast and Miller. "Tom was really really smart, but he was very much — I don't know if the right word is in awe or intimidated. But it was mostly them telling him what he was going to do.>

[saigon68]

2. SLEEZY SANCHEZ UP TO HIS NECK IN THIS

or rather up to the top of the HUGE PISTOL RIG he is fond of wearing EVERY WHERE HE GOES, INCLUDING ON TELEVISION.-- the little Coward.

[Spazito]

3. I wonder if this will come up during the Senate hearings today...

it sure should, imo.

[nodictators]

4. "He (Col. Pappas) likened it to a root canal without novocaine"

Sounds like Pappas was tortured too, eh? Maybe Dr. Mengle got hold of him. Or is this remark just more CYA BS?

The fact remains, these torture policies go right up to Bush and Rummy.

We need torture reform!

[Spazito]

5. Kennedy is quoting from this article in the hearings...

Go Ted!