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Tag(s): Abu Ghraib; Torture
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June 22, 2007 at 21:10:10

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Abu Ghraib Cover-up About to Explode

by Brent Budowsky Page 1 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Gen. Antonio Taguba is one of America’s most respected senior officers, was put in charge of the Abu Ghraib investigation, and has now leveled a series of powerful public charges that will soon blow this case sky-high.

Gen. Taguba went public early this week in long on-the-record interviews with Sy Hersh reported in his New Yorker piece now on newsstands.

Among other things, Taguba says:

1. He was ordered not to investigate higher-ups in the chain of command, which means there was (is) a cover-up protecting the highest-ranking Bush administration officials who might have criminal liability.

2. Early in his investigation he was threatened with career retribution if he dared to seek the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

3. After his investigation he was punished by being forced into early retirement.

4. He suggests that Don Rumsfeld might have lied when he testified before Congress, which would be a criminal offense.

5. He details meetings in which Rumsfeld spoke to him in terms that were sarcastic,rude and unprofessional shortly before Rumsfeld would publicly say how much he supported the investigation and wanted the truth to come out.

6. He reveals specific acts of torture that are beyond what was publicly known, and videos of Abu Ghraib torture have not been released that provide strong evidence that the crimes of Abu Ghraib were known earlier and far higher up than previously reported.

7. He expresses serious concern that the same forms of torture used at Abu
Ghraib were (are?) also used at Guantanamo Bay, which remains open and the subject of world-wide condemnation.

At some point Gen. Taguba will be called to testify publicly and will prove one of the most explosive witnesses in six years, while investigative reporters and almost certainly congressional committees are currently looking into Abu Ghraib.

The implications of this are enormous because they go to potential perjury and giving false testimony to Congress and investigators, and lead outward throughout the dark side of the Bush years.

There is a high probability that investigation of the Abu Ghraib crimes and cover-up will lead upward to Donald Rumsfeld and his coterie of neoconservative aides and theirshadow CIA run through the Department of Defense.

There is a substantial possibility this leads to the role of Alberto Gonzales on the range of torture issues at the Department of Justice and during his years as White House Counsel.

There is significant possibility this leads to Vice President Cheney, the most aggressiveadvocate of what the world considers torture of any senior official anywhere in the free world.

Gen. Taguba should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his honor, integrity and courage throughout this shameful episode and for having the honor to speak out publicly, visibly and unequivocally now.

1 | 2

Brent Budowsky is a regular columnist on thehill.com. He served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left goverment in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management.

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3 comments

just a concerned citizen.
k kellyjust a concerned citizen.

the dump...

looks like the big dump b4 the op.

abu ghraib, cia naughtiness, carrier strike group to the gulf, trillions missing, no coal, no food, cheney is now a 4th branch.......... hmmmm.

reminds me of 9/10/01, when rummy told us trillions were missing frm the pentagon budget... then the next day..... 9/11. looks like something in the works, to wipe the big slime off the "natl radar".

by k kelly (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 182 comments) on Saturday, June 23, 2007 at 11:21:50 AM

Been around the block a few times.
Blue PilgrimBeen around the block a few times.

rubber stamping

Myway News or Truthout

Army Officer Says Gitmo Panels Flawed
By Ben Fox
The Associated Press

Friday 22 June 2007

San Juan, Puerto Rico - An Army officer with a key role in the U.S. military hearings at Guantanamo Bay says they relied on vague and incomplete intelligence and were pressured to declare detainees "enemy combatants," often without any specific evidence.

His affidavit, released Friday, is the first criticism by a member of the military panels that determine whether detainees will continue to be held.

Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a 26-year veteran of military intelligence who is an Army reserve officer and a California lawyer, said military prosecutors were provided with only "generic" material that didn't hold up to the most basic legal challenges.

Despite repeated requests, intelligence agencies arbitrarily refused to provide specific information that could have helped either side in the tribunals, according to Abraham, who said he served as a main liaison between the Combat Status Review Tribunals and those intelligence agencies.

[...]

by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments) on Saturday, June 23, 2007 at 2:55:27 PM

Robert Chapman is greatly interested in developing political awareness among as many people as possible.
Robert ChapmanRobert Chapman is greatly interested in developing political awareness among as many people as possible.

Don Rumsfeld might have lied when he testified before Congre

Don Rumsfeld might have lied when he testified before Congress

If the proof is there, press charges, otherwise refrain.

One might well be able to demonstrate instances in which former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's testimony to Congress may have been contradicted by facts.

He may have made an error, he may have been misinformed, he may not have done his homework.

Rumsfeld clearly had a strategic construct for the deployment of American forces that is ineffective and unworkable.

That is a political matter and not a criminal matter.

Rumsfeld clearly had an interpretation of the various codes governing the conduct of war that are divergent from the historically accepted interpretations of those canons.

Again, at this point those appear to be political and not legal liabilities.

One can confidently say that Don Rumsfeld engineered an uneccesary and immoral war.

One can definitively say that Don Rumsfeld engineered another major defeat for American arms through his policies, the first being the disaster in Vietnam when he Defense Secretary under Ford.

But to use journalism to state that Rumsfeld has committed perjury or knowingly lied to Congress.... that's pushing it.

Let's stick with what we know for sure, it is damning enough.

by Robert Chapman (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 556 comments) on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 10:03:02 AM