So, presumably, we can now strike five more years off a possible sentence.
What’s left of the charges? Cruelty and maltreatment of detainees punishable by one year in prison.
But the Army prosecutor amended that particular count by reducing its scope from three months to a single day. The only other charges are failure to obey a regulation (a possible two-year sentence) and dereliction of duty (six months).
It seems a safe bet that Jordan, like his immediate supervisor, Col. Thomas Pappas, will get off with a reprimand and a minor fine.
If They Had Asked Me
According to press reports, other witnesses will be called to testify at the Jordan court-martial.
Strange. Although I was at Abu Ghraib for the entire time Lt. Col. Jordan was there, for some reason the prosecution does not seem interested in using my testimony at this trial.
I could, for example, provide testimony demolishing the myth that Jordan was not really all that much involved in interrogations.
One of the soldiers who worked very closely with Jordan verified that he was fully familiar with the infamous “hard site,” where much of the torture took place. Jordan had been seen there on more than one occasion, hanging out laid back with his feet propped up. My soldier informant also bragged that he had joined Jordan in beating up a prisoner.
Jordan also took liberties with what were standard procedures, much like the CIA and other civilians who did not seem to bother much with such niceties. One of the sergeants with direct access to Jordan told me that Jordan felt empowered to ignore regulations and interview detainees alone, which was highly irregular even for swashbuckling CIA interrogators.
I cannot tell whether the Army is deliberately oblivious to my potential input or that it is simply not taking these things seriously.
Last month, a person from the Army’s Criminal Investigations Division and one from the team prosecuting Jordan came to interview me. Why? Because they had seen me in a documentary and learned from the film that I was at Abu Ghraib at the same time as Lt. Col. Jordan. Never mind the copious testimony I had given over the past several years.
Never have I been called to testify at any of the trials.
No One Accountable
In keeping with the Rumsfeld adage “Stuff Happens,” and the Senate Armed Services Committee timidity, no senior U.S. Army officer or defense official is likely to be held accountable for the torture, “ghost” prisoners, and other abuses at Abu Ghraib.
Only the bad apples at the bottom; none of the ones at the top.
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