Early signs were given secondary priority - USA Today

[TacticalPeek]

Posted 5/10/2004 12:33 AM Updated 5/10/2004 1:51 AM

Early signs were given secondary priority

By John Diamond, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON â?? Days after a military prison guard in Iraq placed a compact disk containing photographs of prisoner abuse on the bunk of an Army investigator, the military's top officer knew that the Pentagon, and the country, were facing a major crisis.

snip

This was the Pentagon's first explicit, high-level warning, but by no means its first hint that something had gone drastically wrong at the largest U.S.-run prison in Iraq. The now voluminous public record shows that the Pentagon received repeated reports of prisoner abuse but put a higher priority on extracting information about terrorist or insurgent attacks.

Although the specific abuses at Abu Ghraib occurred far down the chain of command from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it was a chain closely supervised from the top. Indeed, in cases of high-level detainees, rules imposed by Rumsfeld dictated that Pentagon officials up to and including the Defense secretary be involved in approving the use of coercive interrogation methods

snip

Two civilian Pentagon officials, a high-ranking military officer and a U.S. intelligence official â?? all with direct knowledge of the system and its rules â?? described the elaborate process for consulting with the Pentagon on interrogations. All spoke on condition they not be identified. It was unclear whether top Pentagon officials approved coercion or any of the abuses at Abu Ghraib. But the civilian, military and intelligence officials who described the process said that high-ranking Pentagon officials did approve coercive interrogation methods such as sleep deprivation for high-level detainees at other facilities in Iraq and elsewhere. Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita did not return several phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

more
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-05-10-abuse-cover_x.htm

[Erika]

1. Britain & American Troops

The early signs were out there for both beginning in September.
The fact that the Britains have now shown pics where their troops forced homosexual acts on Iraqi men is revolting. Britain and America liberating Iraqis, sure. Winning the hearts and showing moral superiority, sure. But, hey, Halliburton is smiling all the way to the bank. That's what it was all about.

[Eye and Monkey]

2. Early signs were covered-up. That's not "second priority".

Cover-up.

[BrendaStarr]

4. You're right and that's how corporate news covers up the Bushies' dirt

And they'll do it this time too or at the most make us accept a Rummy resignation as the solution while they keep proclaiming that the recovery is wonderful and not jobless.

What we need to do is continue (and increase) our outreach, by letter to the editors and even more important the producers of TV news and/or hitting the mixed message boards with the facts.

We are finding that most people out there don't even know the problem goes beyond 6 or 7 lower level service people. Nor do they understand the implications of making such low level troops take the blame for the higher ups

We have the facts and can make great inroads, if not in the die hard and paid right wing posters, then in educating the people in the mixed boards who might not even post because of the viciousness of the right wingers, but lurk wanting to understand.



http://news4u.alturl.com

[Democat]

3. This is a pattern with the Bush admin - 9/11 now the torture - no priority

Bush gets warnings, people warn the admin, and they ignore it because they are too busy taking vacations, raising money, and looting the U.S. government.

This is not just one or two incidents - it's the way the Bush admin operates!

If this was Clinton, he would have been impeached long ago.

9/11, now this, and still people aren't screaming for impeachment?

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. Yeah. This was policy. It wasn't just a few wayward guards.

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=166&dir=f

[radfringe]

6. cover-up or just ignored the early signs

either case just puts a light on the "bush" and shows the depth of deceit and the incompetentence of his "leadership

he ignored warnings about 9-11 because he was focused on Saddam, and ignored/cover-up prison torture because he is focused on the re-Selection

makes you ask what else he is ignoring because he's "focused" on something else

meanwhile - just what course does he want us to 'stay'? Does he even have a 'course', or a plan? Or are we to expect that the same running-around-headless-chickenhawk leadership that subscribes to "managment-by-crisis" mentality


I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- bush* is in the driver's seat but has no clue as to the function and purpose of a steering wheel

[Shadder]

7. Did you catch the lie in this story?

"Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, Myers' deputy, told President Bush in early February that a prisoner abuse investigation was underway in Iraq, apparently without giving Bush much detail."

Wrong. on January 14th General Peter Pace, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff was informed of events and states the the President was also informed.
http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2004/tr20040505-1427.html

And the call to Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Gen. John Abizaid? It was also Jan. 14th and not the 15th.

[Shadder]

8. USA Today Timeline

Just took a look at the timeline that USA Today has put together. Mine is so much better it's not funny. It's missing information, has incorrect dates for some things and lies on others.

[SquireJons]

9. This isn't going to go away

I'll bet my bottom dollar on it; oh wait I just used it to buy gas.