Sorry, is not a scandal or abuse.
It is criminal, torture and a War Crime. !
1. Excerpt from MG Taguba’s report. In one of the two previous reports used by M G Taguba as references for his, the third sequential, investigation (Italics are my emphasis):
"With respect to interrogation, MG Miller’s Team recommended that
CJTF-7 dedicate and train a detention guard force subordinate to
the Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center (JIDC) Commander that
“sets the conditions for the successful interrogation and
exploitation of internees/detainees.”
Regarding Detention Operations, MG Miller’s team stated that the
function of Detention Operations is to provide a safe, secure, and
humane environment that supports the expeditious collection of
intelligence. However, it also stated “it is essential that the
guard force be actively engaged in setting the conditions for
successful exploitation of the internees.”
Comment: Maj General Miller was previously responsible for the management of detention and interrogation/intelligence collection at Guanatanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). He has subsequently been appointed to manage all detention operations in Iraq after the removal of M G Karpinski. Please note, M G Miller and a team of 30-odd ’specialists’ visited Abu Ghrieb in July/August 2003 with the specific aim of improving "interrogation/intelligence collection and set the conditions for the successful interrogation and
exploitation of internees/detainees", based on ’lessons learned’ through management and techniques he and staff developed at Gitmo, since 9/11. Remarkably, M G Miller is now conducting restricted tours for the media and promising improved conditions at Abu Gharieb. I suggest the subsequent events re the photographs and torture that took place from Nov ’03 thru to Jan ’04 are likely a ’direct’ causual consequence of his and his teams ’sanctioned by Command’ efforts. M G Miller can in no way be regarded as someone without ’blood’ on his hands. Cover-up ?
2. Excerpt from MG Taguba’s report, (Italics are my emphasis):
"In general, U.S. civilian contract personnel (Titan Corporation, CACI, etc….), third-country nationals and local contractors do not appear to be properly supervised within the detention facility at Abu Ghraib..."
My Comment: ’Third-country nationals’ is an intelligence community euphemism for nationals from a ’politically sensitive’ country. The phrase is used to mask ’National Security’/Classified operations in conjunction with other nations Military, security, Intelligence communities, i.e. CIA, Shin Bet, MI6, etc. Note contracted US interrogators/translators, local (Iraqi, ex Iraqi Mukhabarrat (de-ba’athified ?) interrogators/translators are commented on collectively with ’third country nationals’. Therefore the clear implication is the probability of interrogators/translators from Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc directly participating in or offering training expertise re interrogators/translation/analysis throughout Abu Gharieb, possibly Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo with the full sanctioned knowledge of US Intelligence community & military command.
Follow this link for a reference to one of the identified interrogators (Joe Ryan, and a portion of his online diary whilst an intterogator at Abi Gharieb) employed in wing 1A as having indentified in his resume having attended Israeli Interrogation Course. http://billmon.org/archives/001450.html#comments. Further comments/analysis re the specifics of Joe Ryans diary to follow.
3. Excerpts from MG Taguba’s report, (Capitalisation my emphasis):
"The various detention facilities operated by the 800th MP Brigade have routinely held persons brought to them by other government agencies (OGAs) WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR THEM, KNOWING their identities, or even THE REASON for their detention. The Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib called these detainees "GHOST DETAINEES". ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION, the 320th MP Battalion at Abu Ghraib held a handful of "ghost detainees" (6-8) for OGAs that they moved around within the facility to HIDE THEM from a visiting International Committee of the Red Cross survey team. This maneuver was DECEPTIVE, contrary to Army Doctrine and in VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW…."(Findings and Recommendations, Part II, No. 33)
My Comment: Other government agencies (OGAs) is a routine Intelligence euphemism for non-military intelligence agencies such as ASIS, MI6, FBI, NSA, CIA, etc. In the US Military/Intelligence context it almost always means CIA/NSA. Ghost Detainees are those that are not documented, processed or recorded in any way in order to systematically deny them Legal, Human and International Law and Genevea Convention rights protections. It is a practice that came to prominence throughout Latin America, Sudan, 1960’s Algiers, etc. Such activities clearly indicate a known, sanctioned, systemic Military/Intelligence/Government Agency command sanctioned policy of creating ’Disappeared’, ultimately resulting in extreme forms of unnaccountable torture and ultimaley ’disposal’ (i.e. murder, via Argentinian Deathsquads, circa Vietnam ’Phoenix’ operations in Vietnam/Laos, etc). Therefore it is highly probable this activity also occurs throughout any other area of operations of the US/UK etc in the so called ’war on terror’, ie. the Globe. This is outrageous !
There’s no way in the world the practice of keeping "ghost detainees" in secret confinement - in flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention - can be written off as a ’non-systemic’ ’isolated abuse.’ This is like something out of Kiss of the Spider Woman, or journalist Jacobo Timerman’s account of his time in a secret Argentine political prison, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0299182444/103-3183057-6828619?v=glance. Is this what CIA counterterrorism chief Cofer Black meant when he said http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602black.html that after 9/11, "the gloves came off?" And did the humanity come off with them ?
Follow this link for relevant references: http://billmon.org/archives/001455.html#comments. Please note the Amnesty International reference to suspicion of similar activities occurring at the High Value Detainee (HVD) section of detention facilities at the US Bagram Airforce Base in Afghanistan.
4. An example of the extreme torture and subsequent death (murder ?) during interrogation, and ’disposal’ of a ’ghost detainee’ by the CIA at Abu Ghrieb. Yet another ’disappeared’ (you may have seen the Photo of the obviously ’beaten to death’ detainee packed in ice on a guerney ):
Frederick’s version http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040510fa_fact of a relevant incident is a good deal more, ah, colorful:
In November, Frederick wrote, an Iraqi prisoner under the control of what the Abu Ghraib guards called “O.G.A.,” or other government agencies—that is, the C.I.A. and its paramilitary employees—was brought to his unit for questioning. “They stressed him out so bad that the man passed away. They put his body in a body bag and packed him in ice for approximately twenty-four hours in the shower. . . . The next day the medics came and put his body on a stretcher, placed a fake IV in his arm and took him away.” The dead Iraqi was never entered into the prison’s inmate-control system, Frederick recounted, “and therefore never had a number.”
Comment: as above for para 4. This is the end result re ’ghost detainees’, undocumented, unaccountable torture, death and dissapearance.
5. Why is the Taguba report classified Secret/NOFORN (no Foriegn governement dissemination) when it is a formal US Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) investigation ?:
TORTURE REPORT MAY HAVE BROKEN CLASSIFICATION RULES http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/2004/05/050504.html
Posted May 5, 2004 09:33 PM PST
By classifying an explosive report on the torture of Iraqi prisoners as "Secret," the Pentagon may have violated official secrecy policies, which prohibit the use of classification to conceal illegal activities.
My Comment: I suggest it had been classified SECRET/NOFORN because of the oblique, passing references that clearly indicate sanctioned, systemic, patently criminal, multi-theatre practices since at least 9/11 discussed above in para 2 & 3.
Sorry, is not a scandal or abuse.
It is criminal, torture and a War Crime. !
1. Excerpt from MG Taguba’s report. In one of the two previous reports used by M G Taguba as references for his, the third sequential, investigation (Italics are my emphasis):
"With respect to interrogation, MG Miller’s Team recommended that
CJTF-7 dedicate and train a detention guard force subordinate to
the Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center (JIDC) Commander that
“sets the conditions for the successful interrogation and
exploitation of internees/detainees.”
Regarding Detention Operations, MG Miller’s team stated that the
function of Detention Operations is to provide a safe, secure, and
humane environment that supports the expeditious collection of
intelligence. However, it also stated “it is essential that the
guard force be actively engaged in setting the conditions for
successful exploitation of the internees.”
Comment: Maj General Miller was previously responsible for the management of detention and interrogation/intelligence collection at Guanatanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). He has subsequently been appointed to manage all detention operations in Iraq after the removal of M G Karpinski. Please note, M G Miller and a team of 30-odd ’specialists’ visited Abu Ghrieb in July/August 2003 with the specific aim of improving "interrogation/intelligence collection and set the conditions for the successful interrogation and
exploitation of internees/detainees", based on ’lessons learned’ through management and techniques he and staff developed at Gitmo, since 9/11. Remarkably, M G Miller is now conducting restricted tours for the media and promising improved conditions at Abu Gharieb. I suggest the subsequent events re the photographs and torture that took place from Nov ’03 thru to Jan ’04 are likely a ’direct’ causual consequence of his and his teams ’sanctioned by Command’ efforts. M G Miller can in no way be regarded as someone without ’blood’ on his hands. Cover-up ?
2. Excerpt from MG Taguba’s report, (Italics are my emphasis):
"In general, U.S. civilian contract personnel (Titan Corporation, CACI, etc….), third-country nationals and local contractors do not appear to be properly supervised within the detention facility at Abu Ghraib..."
My Comment: ’Third-country nationals’ is an intelligence community euphemism for nationals from a ’politically sensitive’ country. The phrase is used to mask ’National Security’/Classified operations in conjunction with other nations Military, security, Intelligence communities, i.e. CIA, Shin Bet, MI6, etc. Note contracted US interrogators/translators, local (Iraqi, ex Iraqi Mukhabarrat (de-ba’athified ?) interrogators/translators are commented on collectively with ’third country nationals’. Therefore the clear implication is the probability of interrogators/translators from Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc directly participating in or offering training expertise re interrogators/translation/analysis throughout Abu Gharieb, possibly Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo with the full sanctioned knowledge of US Intelligence community & military command.
Follow this link for a reference to one of the identified interrogators (Joe Ryan, and a portion of his online diary whilst an intterogator at Abi Gharieb) employed in wing 1A as having indentified in his resume having attended Israeli Interrogation Course. http://billmon.org/archives/001450.html#comments. Further comments/analysis re the specifics of Joe Ryans diary to follow.
3. Excerpts from MG Taguba’s report, (Capitalisation my emphasis):
"The various detention facilities operated by the 800th MP Brigade have routinely held persons brought to them by other government agencies (OGAs) WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR THEM, KNOWING their identities, or even THE REASON for their detention. The Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib called these detainees "GHOST DETAINEES". ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION, the 320th MP Battalion at Abu Ghraib held a handful of "ghost detainees" (6-8) for OGAs that they moved around within the facility to HIDE THEM from a visiting International Committee of the Red Cross survey team. This maneuver was DECEPTIVE, contrary to Army Doctrine and in VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW…."(Findings and Recommendations, Part II, No. 33)
My Comment: Other government agencies (OGAs) is a routine Intelligence euphemism for non-military intelligence agencies such as ASIS, MI6, FBI, NSA, CIA, etc. In the US Military/Intelligence context it almost always means CIA/NSA. Ghost Detainees are those that are not documented, processed or recorded in any way in order to systematically deny them Legal, Human and International Law and Genevea Convention rights protections. It is a practice that came to prominence throughout Latin America, Sudan, 1960’s Algiers, etc. Such activities clearly indicate a known, sanctioned, systemic Military/Intelligence/Government Agency command sanctioned policy of creating ’Disappeared’, ultimately resulting in extreme forms of unnaccountable torture and ultimaley ’disposal’ (i.e. murder, via Argentinian Deathsquads, circa Vietnam ’Phoenix’ operations in Vietnam/Laos, etc). Therefore it is highly probable this activity also occurs throughout any other area of operations of the US/UK etc in the so called ’war on terror’, ie. the Globe. This is outrageous !
There’s no way in the world the practice of keeping "ghost detainees" in secret confinement - in flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention - can be written off as a ’non-systemic’ ’isolated abuse.’ This is like something out of Kiss of the Spider Woman, or journalist Jacobo Timerman’s account of his time in a secret Argentine political prison, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0299182444/103-3183057-6828619?v=glance. Is this what CIA counterterrorism chief Cofer Black meant when he said http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602black.html that after 9/11, "the gloves came off?" And did the humanity come off with them ?
Follow this link for relevant references: http://billmon.org/archives/001455.html#comments. Please note the Amnesty International reference to suspicion of similar activities occurring at the High Value Detainee (HVD) section of detention facilities at the US Bagram Airforce Base in Afghanistan.
4. An example of the extreme torture and subsequent death (murder ?) during interrogation, and ’disposal’ of a ’ghost detainee’ by the CIA at Abu Ghrieb. Yet another ’disappeared’ (you may have seen the Photo of the obviously ’beaten to death’ detainee packed in ice on a guerney ):
Frederick’s version http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040510fa_fact of a relevant incident is a good deal more, ah, colorful:
In November, Frederick wrote, an Iraqi prisoner under the control of what the Abu Ghraib guards called “O.G.A.,” or other government agencies—that is, the C.I.A. and its paramilitary employees—was brought to his unit for questioning. “They stressed him out so bad that the man passed away. They put his body in a body bag and packed him in ice for approximately twenty-four hours in the shower. . . . The next day the medics came and put his body on a stretcher, placed a fake IV in his arm and took him away.” The dead Iraqi was never entered into the prison’s inmate-control system, Frederick recounted, “and therefore never had a number.”
Comment: as above for para 4. This is the end result re ’ghost detainees’, undocumented, unaccountable torture, death and dissapearance.
5. Why is the Taguba report classified Secret/NOFORN (no Foriegn governement dissemination) when it is a formal US Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) investigation ?:
TORTURE REPORT MAY HAVE BROKEN CLASSIFICATION RULES http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/2004/05/050504.html
Posted May 5, 2004 09:33 PM PST
By classifying an explosive report on the torture of Iraqi prisoners as "Secret," the Pentagon may have violated official secrecy policies, which prohibit the use of classification to conceal illegal activities.
My Comment: I suggest it had been classified SECRET/NOFORN because of the oblique, passing references that clearly indicate sanctioned, systemic, patently criminal, multi-theatre practices since at least 9/11 discussed above in para 2 & 3.