A rchive Date
[ 16-07-2004 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/07/15/544365-cp.html
U.S. still uncovering Iraq abuse cases
By BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - U.S. officials are still finding cases of American soldiers possibly abusing Iraqi prisoners in a scandal that threatens to hurt the re-election efforts of President George W. Bush.
John Warner, head of the Senate Armed Service Committee, revealed Thursday that while some 90 per cent of potential abuses in Iraq prisons are probably already being investigated, there's more to come. "We're still uncovering, as late as this morning, other incidents, other cases, that will be promptly investigated by the Department of Defence," said Warner.
"Each day it comes along - new incidents, revelations of new incidents that occurred in the past" which may contravene Geneva Convention rules prohibiting physical and mental torture of detainees.
The scandal, which exploded in April with horrible pictures of soldiers humiliating and abusing naked, hooded Iraqis, has been an election-year nightmare for the Bush administration that admits it has tarnished America's reputation abroad.
Since then, leaked statements from some detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison have provided horrific accounts of being sodomized, beaten, forced to crawl and bark like dogs, masturbate in front of female soldiers, fish their food out of toilets and sleep naked in pools of water on cell floors.
Allegations also began to emerge about prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where there were a rash of suicide attempts. And on Wednesday, the International Red Cross said the U.S. might actually be hiding prisoners around the world.
What's unclear about the Iraq prison abuse is how high up the blame should fall. Bush has called it the "disgraceful conduct of a few American troops" but others point to a systemic problem of condoning torture, with inordinate pressure to secure useful intelligence from prisoners.
Warner's committee is trying to schedule a public hearing next week with Paul Bremer, who headed the U.S. occupation in Iraq before an interim government took over last month.
But more public hearings will have to wait until fall, said Warner, when they won't jeopardize the rights of soldiers standing trial on abuse charges.
Meanwhile, court hearings, including one scheduled to start in August, will also highlight the scandal well before the Nov. 2 vote.
Seven soldiers have been charged, while several officers were reprimanded.
The Red Cross had been privately warning of abuses at Abu Ghraib near Baghdad since March 2003. U.S. officials finally launched a criminal investigation in January after an American soldier complained.
Now several investigations are probing how the scandal could have happened and who's responsible, including the role of military intelligence officers.
Asked if defence officials were aggressive enough in responding to Red Cross findings, Warner said they were in most instances.
"But in several, I think there are some tough questions that are going to have to be answered. I can say that without reservation."
Everything possible is being done "to analyse what happened in the past and to prevent any recurrence in the future," said Warner.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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