Gen Sanchez witnessed "interrogations" at Abu Ghraib says Captain

[Rowdyboy]

The Highest ranking US officer in Iraq was present at "interrogations and aware of the abuse, along with other senior military staff. This is from a Captain stationed at the prison who is willing to testify that officers told him prisoner abuse was "the right thing to do..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48229-2004May22.html

[soothsayer]

1. ruh roh

Heads are gonna' roll! Let's hope they keep implicating those above 'em, too.

[slinkerwink]

2. my god.....this is big.

:wow:

[Gman]

3. Actually, I don't think its near as big as its going to be

when the forbidden words "war crimes" are used.

[Rowdyboy]

4. It sure looks like it to me...

If this guy is reliable, Sanchez and the whole senior staff would be guilty of offenses which should lead to courts martial.

[proud patriot]

5. bada bing bada BOOM

:mad: It goes all the way to the top .

[jimshoes]

6. The top Generals,

Sanchez, Abazaid, Miller did their best not to answer Sen Byrd's questions on whether their orders come directly from civilians in Rummy's pentagon. (I believe it was in Weds. testimony before the Armed Services Committee)

[azmesa207]

19. The Top Generals

It will be big if he live to tell it?

[Tinoire]

7. Damn it. You beat me by a minute! Gonna have to ask the mods to

lock my thread!

==

Lawyer: Top U.S. Officer Knew of Prison Abuse
Post Exclusive
Lawyer: Top U.S. Officer Knew of Prison Abuse

By Scott Higham, Joe Stephens and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, May 22, 2004; 7:05 PM


A military lawyer for a soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib abuse case testified that a captain at the Baghdad prison said the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in Iraq was present during some "interrogations and/or allegations of the prisoner abuse," according to a recording of a military hearing obtained by The Washington Post.

The lawyer said he was told that Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez and other senior military officers were aware of what was taking place on Tier 1A of Abu Ghraib. The lawyer, Capt. Robert Shuck, also said a sergeant at the prison was prepared to testify that intelligence officers told him the abuse of detainees on the cellblock was "the right thing to do."

Shuck is assigned to defend Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II of the 372nd Military Police Company. During an April 2 hearing that was open to the public, Shuck said the company commander, Capt. Donald J. Reese, was prepared to testify in exchange for immunity. The military prosecutor questioned Shuck about what Reese would say under oath.

"Are you saying that Captain Reese is going to testify that General Sanchez was there and saw this going on?" asked Capt. John McCabe, the military prosecutor.

"That's what he told me," Shuck said. "I am an officer of the court, sir, and I would not lie. I have got two children at home. I'm not going to risk my career."


<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48229-2004May22.html

"We intend to seek immunity for a myriad of officers who are unwilling to participate in the search for the truth without protecting themselves," Myers said today.


THE ROTTEN HOUSE OF CARDS IS CRASHING DOWN!

[Rowdyboy]

17. We're good, aren't we! I was really hoping I'd get to post it first

but the competition is fun!

:toast: and :thumbsup: to you!

[Tinoire]

20. ROFLMAO! You win my friend!

:toast:

One minute. I can't believe it! Every morning I get down on my hands and knees praying for news that will bring Bush down and you beat me do it!

What are you doing Rowdyboy? Holding raindances in the evenings?

:toast: & :thumbsup: to you!

[Rowdyboy]

21. Raindances, hell, I smoke the "peace pipe" and all manner

of ancient wisdom becomes available!

What can I say, just an aging :hippie: with too much free time on his hands (plus, my guys away for the weekend, so I can sit here all night and no one but the dog will care).

[Texican]

40. Bits and Pieces

ABC reported that the 372nd was being broken up and the troops were being sent to remote areas. They have orders to not talk to anyone and they will be unavailable until after November.

While no one was looking some Marines have been convicted of torture at another site.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040522-9999-1n22marines1.html

June 30th handover strips Iraqis of right to legal redress for what US and Brit troops do to them.

"British and American troops are to be granted immunity from prosecution in Iraq after the crucial 30 June handover, undermining claims that the new Iraqi government will have 'full sovereignty' over the state."

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1222817,00.html

[Nlighten1]

8. Holy shit...

This is beginning to run right up the flag pole. Check it out, this is concrete proof that those generals that testified before Congress LIED!

[cedarteeth]

10. whats that?

I think that's the sound of goverment officals everywhere trying to cover their asses

[Nlighten1]

14. Too late...

:)

The jig is up...

[Hubert Flottz]

25. As stupid and greedy as this bunch is nothing would surprise me

Look at the EASY Money Bushco and his CONtributors will miss out on if Shrub is fired in November! Then look at what these idiots have done already for money! Do you think that if Gore had not been cheated by the SCOTUS that Gasoline would be heading for three bucks a gallon now? I don't! Everyone connected to Bush is getting filthy rich and they will do about anything to keep on cashing in!

EDIT} UNPATRIOTIC BASTARDS are stealing us blind!!

[Nlighten1]

31. Indeed.

Why is it then that there are no real investigations into this taxpayer funded ripoff?

[Hubert Flottz]

39. Because the Repubs control Congress the WH and the ..........

SCOTUS! I knew when the GOPers TOOK OVER the Senate that gasoline would go sky high! I even told y'all it would!

[Cleita]

11. So if they lied under oath, isn't this a tad more serious than

Clinton lying about a BJ?

[Vickers]

12. You'd think so, wouldn't you?

But I think we'd have to have video of Georgie fellating the corpse of Raygun to counter The Blue Dress.

[Hubert Flottz]

15. Lying under oath falls under high crimes and misdemeanors I.....

think!

There is clearly pattern of abuse of the law of the land by Bushco! The underdogs get all the blame in the Iraqtica Scandal and the top dogs get off scott free! Sounds like the same thing that happened in the Enron case! Kenny Boy never knew what was going on just like Rummy didn't know! Rummy and pals may have lied under oath also, in the case of the POW torture calamity!

[Nlighten1]

16. High Crimes...

Especially since what we are talking about here is gross violations of the GC.

I think now is probably a good moment for a terrorist attack here in America. So these same lying Generals can declare martial law to "protect us".

[riverwalker]

9. verrrry interesting

<"Present during some of these happenings, it has come to my knowledge that that Lt. Gen. Sanchez was even present at the prison during some of these interrogations and/or allegations of the prisoner abuse by those duty .">

Will they try to say "present at the prison" is not the same as "present during the atrocities"? We have photos of Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz present at the prison during the period of the torture, yet they still claim ignorance. If it was not a secret, then clearly they knew. They toured the place, and probably had lunch there, perhaps a nice cup of tea. If Sanchez takes the fall, I hope he will take Rummy, Wolfowitz and Feith with him.

<"Shuck noted that the abusive tactics deployed on Tier 1A of Abu Ghraib were not a secret.">

I think we will be hearing more about Capt. Carolyn Wood in the future:

<"At the April hearing, Shuck also said Reese would testify that Capt. Carolyn A. Wood, who supervised the military intelligence operation at Abu Ghraib, was "involved in intensive interrogations of detainees, condoned some of the activities and stressed that that was standard procedure, what the accused was doing," Shuck said in the hearing, which was held at Camp Victory in Baghdad.>

[rucky]

13. This goes all the way to the top...

Who's at the top is a different story.

Cheney says Bush. Rumsfeld says Cheney. Bush says it's Clinton's fault so Clinton must be in charge.

[riverwalker]

18. Capt. Carolyn Wood Millitary Intelligence

another article

http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=4940

<The officer in charge was Capt. Carolyn A. Wood of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, who other Army officers have said brought to Iraq the aggressive procedures the unit had developed during her previous service in Afghanistan, from July 2002 to January 2003. She served in Afghanistan as the operations officer in charge of the Bagram Collection Point.>

[Rowdyboy]

22. Now being reported on Faux

and they're actually reporting the real story....WTF?

[elf]

23. I'm as stunned as you!!!!!!!!

just saw it and my jaws dropped

[Tinoire]

24. CPT Reese, another BRAVE man!

Jesus! You have got to read the ENTIRE article!

===

<snip>

The documents obtained by The Times included transcripts of sworn statements from military intelligence, the military police, civilian contractors and others who were interviewed by Army investigators last January as they began to look into allegations of abuse.

The statements include several accounts from officers, including Capt. Donald J. Reese of the 372nd Military Police Company, who acknowledged having seen Iraqi prisoners stripped naked while in American detention. Captain Reese, among others, said they had been told that nudity was part of "an interrogation procedure used by M.I." or military intelligence.

One intelligence officer, Specialist Luciana Spencer, said interrogations had been staged "in the showers, stairwell or property room" of the cellblock, as well as in two interrogation centers that were formally in control of the Joint Information and Debriefing Center. The officer in charge was Capt. Carolyn A. Wood of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, who other Army officers have said brought to Iraq the aggressive procedures the unit had developed during her previous service in Afghanistan, from July 2002 to January 2003. She served in Afghanistan as the operations officer in charge of the Bagram Collection Point.

<snip>

At least two noncommissioned officers, Sgts. Michael J. Smith and Santos A. Cardona, said they had used unmuzzled military dogs to intimidate prisoners under interrogation. They said they were acting under instructions from Colonel Pappas, the commander of the intelligence brigade.

Both sergeants said Colonel Pappas had assured them that the use of dogs in interrogation was permitted and did not require written authorization or approval from senior officers. The memorandum for the record issued by the interrogation center on Oct. 9 also listed the "presence of working dogs" as "approved" on the basis of authorization from the interrogation officer in charge.

Colonel Pappas has declined requests for interviews, but other Army officials have said the use of dogs in interrogations could have been approved only by General Sanchez, as outlined in a policy he issued on Oct. 10. An unclassified Dec. 12 situation update sent by Colonel Pappas's unit describes interrogation techniques permitted for use in Iraq, including "sleep management, sensory deprivation, isolation longer than 30 days, dogs," as among the "harsh approaches" that could be introduced only with prior approval from General Sanchez.

<snip>

http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=4940
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/22/politics/22ABUS.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040522/ZNYT03/405220441

[hedda_foil]

34. "Prisoners were found to be incoherent, anxious and even suicidal"

More horrors from the article you cited:
<snip>

In a November report to military commanders in Iraq that was included in the documents, the Red Cross complained that its inspectors had faced restrictions "at the behest of Military Intelligence," including a one-day delay in interviewing prisoners, who were to be seen for only a short time, and asked only about their names and their health.

In the four-page report, which has not previously been made public, the Red Cross said it had nonetheless found naked prisoners covering themselves with packages from ready-to-eat military rations, and subjected to "deliberate physical violence and verbal abuse." Prisoners were found to be incoherent, anxious and even suicidal, with abnormal symptoms "provoked by the interrogation period and methods."

The document said the prison authorities "could not explain" the lack of clothing for prisoners and "could not provide clarification" about other mistreatment of prisoners.

[Tinoire]

38. Hedda. It's so sick. Makes me shiver

I am so disgusted.

============================

<snip>

May 22 - “Could you stand there while he's in the shower?” Army Reserve Spc. Diane Liang recalls the plain-clothed American official asking her. “He'll feel more humiliated if there's a female present.” As a member of the 372nd Military PoliceCompany, Liang was assisting with interrogations last January in Tier 1A of Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. When she walked over, she saw a nude man in a stall with cold water streaming over his head. For 30 minutes, Liang watched the shivering prisoner get "softened up" by the "OGA" and two Military Police .

Liang, 23, has not been investigated or tried for anything related to the abuse scandal. By her account, she is a witness whose participation in the most controversial interrogation techniques was limited to being used passively to humiliate Iraqi prisoners. She never learned the name of the OGA who asked her for assistance. But her personal account of four months at Abu Ghraib, where she worked the 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift, adds a new dimension to the disturbing photos and videos still emerging from the prison.

The chain of command was obvious to Liang, who came home in January after fulfilling her 22-month active-duty contract with the Reserves. MPs were directed by OGAs and military intelligence officers, she said. But orders were couched as repeated suggestions on how to "break down" prisoners: " loud music, yell at them, scare them, give them cold showers and don't let them have towels or clothes," Liang told NEWSWEEK. The OGAs would disappear only to return hours later for a new round of interrogation. "He's still not talking," Liang recalls an OGA saying to her. "Do something more." This was the drill, day and night.

The bad stuff happened after dusk, she said. While daylight brought a string of visitors—medics, Red Cross officials, high-ranking officers—the dogs came out at night. The second-shifters brought in DVD movies to watch on their computers. Liang said she saw an image on the laptop of Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr.—one of those awaiting trial after investigators described him as one of the ringleaders in the alleged prisoner abuses. The photograph was of a snarling military dog held inches from a prone Iraqi prisoner's face. At the 4 a.m. shift change, she asked, "Why dogs?"The prisoner had been handcuffed and scared with the dogs so he'd break, someone told her. It was common to arrive at work and see a prisoner standing on a box, naked, shivering and wearing a hood, she told NEWSWEEK. One morning she came in and saw blood on the walls, although nobody could explain exactly how it got there.

<snip>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5039248/site/newsweek/

[Jacobin]

26. Wow. A scandal that just keeps giving and giving

Amazing the hubris of these thugs.

Simply amazing.

[ibegurpard]

27. Holy shit!

:wow:

[opihimoimoi]

28. The only things not mentioned are the high heels and whips, hand

cuffs, etc. The Hood we know about. Damn.

[bobthedrummer]

46. There is evidence of necrophilia and SRA in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You can take it to the bank, many returnees and their social networks are aware of this legacy of Col. Aquino of US Army MI/PSYOPS and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

[suegeo]

29. Book em already, Dan-o

(recalling a Hawaii 5-0 memory.)

Sounds like some boys and girls in the U.S armed forces should get lumps of coal for christmas this year...IN THEIR JAIL CELLS.

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


WELL DOES IT???

[UTUSN]

30. From the Locked Thread, "Shrub Going Down"

What I see is a long list of the minority wingnuts taking the fall for Shrub-CHEENEE: Here SANCHEZ, before Alberto GONZALEZ fingered as the author of the memo copying John YOO in diminishing the Geneva Conventions. All along, Condo RICE and POWELL being trucked out to take the blame with quivering lips at every turn.

[onecitizen]

32. I think Sanchez is.......

in a whole heap of trouble.

[Rowdyboy]

33. Come on, lets gloat about this a little more

:kick:

[ibegurpard]

35. You're heading isn't "sexy" enough,

I'm afraid :(

[Tinoire]

36. Bungling lying fools & another name in the cover-up: Gen. George R. Fay

<snip>

Intelligence interrogators and the chain of commanders above them have been shielded by the administration from serious sanction or scrutiny. None have been criminally charged, despite evidence that some may be complicit in torture and murder. Investigation of the intelligence operation has been entrusted to the deputy commander of the same organization, Maj. Gen. George R. Fay. One of the witnesses he interviewed told The Post last week that Gen. Fay appeared interested mainly in covering up the role of military intelligence while concentrating blame on prison guards.

<snip>

President Bush compounds the damage by refusing to make public the practices that U.S. interrogators are allowed to use with foreign detainees. The administration's claims that these all conform to the Geneva Conventions have little credibility -- not only because the International Red Cross and other outside experts strongly disagree but because sworn statements by senior Pentagon and Army officials at Armed Services hearings have been riddled with contradictions. On Wednesday, for example, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, once the commander at Guantanamo and now in charge at Abu Ghraib, testified that "no program" at Guantanamo "has any of those techniques that are prohibited by the Geneva Convention." But the general sitting next to him, Iraq commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, said that the procedures Gen. Miller brought from Guantanamo to Iraq "have to be modified" because "the Geneva Convention was fully applicable" in Iraq, in contrast to Guantanamo.

A list of harsh interrogation techniques that was posted at Abu Ghraib was described by Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of Army intelligence, as approved policy for Iraq; but Gen. Sanchez said he had never seen or approved the list. His chief legal adviser, Col. Marc Warren, testified that the list "had items on it that could never be approved; that, frankly, could never reasonably be requested." Minutes later he echoed earlier assertions by Gen. Alexander that all the practices were considered legal under the Geneva Conventions.

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48571-2004May22.html

[LibertyorDeath]

37. General "Bad Apple" Sanchez has got some splanin to do.

This gets sicker & more twisted with each passing day.

[KoKo]

41. NBC's Campbell Brown just said Sanchez says WaPo story NOT TRUE!

Just saw this in a special report she did at around 9:30 a.m. est. She said he denies the charges in WaPo about witnessing abuse. Things should get interesting.

[Tinoire]

43. Lol. Hey Sanchez- you're going DOWN! Your little General Officer

trick of making sure soldiers sharply jump to the side as you walk past ("Make a hole, make a hole!") in that uniform ironed by one of your Captain aides, makes it rather unbelievable that they were confused and didn't recognize you.

War crimes. War crimes. You're going to hang for this one :hi: and thank God for humanity's sake.

Your entire cabal is going down.

[Jacobin]

42. NO mention of this on Sunday talking head shows, as of yet

Apparently, the media is helping to suppress this news as it does not fit the "just a handful of bad soldiers" meme.

[dusty64]

44. Lets see if this

VERY big story is buried like most that expose the crimes of our regime. :kick:

[Tinoire]

45. Official denial / Press release. Monkey standy by his testimony

23 May News Report

BAGHDAD, Iraq - There was a news report published May 23, 2004, which suggests that Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq was aware of, and in some instances, present at Abu Ghraib while detainee abuse was occurring. This report is false, and Lt Gen Sanchez stands by his testimony before Congressional committees.

Release #040523a

http://www.cjtf7.com/media-information/May%202004/040523a.htm

[frank frankly]

47. kick

kick

[Spazito]

48. The defense lawyer should have access to Sanchez's travel...

schedule, I would think, and, seeing as Karpinski has said that Sanchez was at the prison THREE times in October, one would just have to match up the dates to see if he was there during the same time that victims have testified they were tortured. Then it would be up to Sanchez to explain why he was there THREE times.