U.S. General linked to use of dogs at prison
The U.S. Army general sent by the Pentagon to bolster the collection of intelligence from prisoners at Abu Ghraib is said to have urged the use of guard dogs to frighten Iraqis detainees, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing sworn testimony by the top U.S. intelligence officer at the prison.
Col. Thomas Pappas testified that the idea came from Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, then commander of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was implemented under a policy approved by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq
When a colonel testifies against a general, well, things are really heating up, aren’t they? One can only imagine what’s going on inside the Pentagon now, as the evildoers dive for cover, try to get their fingerprints off anything incriminating, and backstab and blame anything within range. No doubt the Pentagon is a seething rats nest of intrigue and duplicity by now.
But let’s not forget there are real heros in the military too, like that first soldier who went to higher-ups to report about the atrocities or the Taguda Report, which blew the story into the open – people like Taguda are taking serious risks with their careers, futures and yes, maybe their lives, in doing the honorable thing and getting the truth out in the open.
I’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating. For many career soldiers, concepts of honor aren’t just concepts, it’s the bedrock they live on. I once asked a decidedly right-wing uncle, a retired Marine Colonel, what he thought of Ollie North. He said, “Ollie North lied under oath and he’s a goddamn disgrace to the uniform.” I’m sure there are many like my uncle in the armed forces now, expressing similar sentiments.
More: US prisoner abuse ‘widespread’
A leaked study by the US army says abuse of prisoners in US custody is more widespread than previously known, a US newspaper has reported.
Cases of maltreatment date from as early as the war in Afghanistan in 2002 to as recently as last month in Iraq, according to The New York Times.