Lawmakers Pursue Prisoner Abuse Issue, Extent of Wrongdoing

[TacticalPeek]

Lawmakers Pursue Prisoner Abuse Issue, Extent of Wrongdoing

By Pauline Jelinek Associated Press Writer

Published: Jul 15, 2004

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military's prisoner abuse scandal is coming to the fore again as lawmakers press still unanswered questions on the extent of the wrongdoing and whom to hold accountable.

Before Congress goes into recess at the end of the month, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner wants the Pentagon to provide witnesses for another public hearing into the issue.

The Virginia Republican has held three public hearings since May - calling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other high-ranking civilian and uniformed officials. But he put the issue on the back burner for more than a month as he worked to shepherd defense spending legislation through the Senate

His committee is getting a closed-door, classified briefing Thursday on where several Defense Department investigations into abuse now stand, some 2 1/2 months after the scandal exploded in the media with pictures of Iraqis naked, hooded and being mistreated by American soldiers.


more
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBVXCVGOWD.html

[flaminbats]

1. wasn't it a Republican who said "speak softly and carry a big stick"

I suppose this means that Congress should only speak softly and let Bush use the big stick. :spank:

[TacticalPeek]

2. Kick morning.

:kick:

[struggle4progress]

3. New Iraqi prisoner abuse claims

July 16, 2004 - 10:54AM

New cases of alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers have been uncovered, a US senator said, three months after US media broadcast photos of detainees being sexually humiliated at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

"We're still uncovering, as late as this morning, other incidents, other cases that will be promptly investigated by the Department of Defence," Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner said after his panel was briefed by Pentagon officials in a closed-door meeting.

Warner, a Virginia Republican, said there were possible violations of the Geneva Convention and Defence Department rules and regulations on prisoners.

However, a Republican congressional source speaking on condition of anonymity said the Pentagon was "dragging its feet and intends to postpone any hearing until after" the November 2 presidential election.
<more>

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/16/1089694526795.html


Republicans aren't pushing for hearings on prisoner abuse
By SUMANA CHATTERJEE
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Posted on Thu, Jul. 15, 2004

WASHINGTON - New information about the abuse of prisoners in Iraq is emerging every day in private briefings to members of Congress, but there'll be no public hearings until after the August congressional recess, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner said Thursday.
<snip>

But Warner's committee hasn't held any public hearings on the new information since May 19.
<snip>

The Pentagon has released documents on the abuse piece-meal. In May, it omitted 2,000 pages of Taguba's report. Then, after it certified the report complete, the Pentagon omitted a draft memo to the secretary of defense that reportedly links the approval of questionable interrogation practices to top civilian leadership.

And until this week, the Defense Department also withheld critical reports by the International Committee for the Red Cross, which document abuses and conditions at Abu Ghraib. The Senate had asked for the reports in May. On Thursday, the Pentagon gave senators 24 Red Cross reports.
<snip>

"I have a hundred questions. Starting with, where does this go in the chain of command?" said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate Armed Services panel. McCain, a former Navy pilot, was held captive and tortured for five years as a prisoner of war during Vietnam.
<snip>

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/9164508.htm