Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Missing Headline Found. Also: The Limitations of 15-6 Investigations
Good News: The very excellent Tom Ricks, of the Washington Post, has found one of our missing headlines, and inserted it into the lead paragraph of his story in Wednesday's issue.
The Army general who investigated the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad said yesterday that he had found no evidence the misconduct was based on orders from high-ranking officers or involved a deliberate policy to stretch legal limits on extracting information from detainees.
More:
Instead, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba attributed the scandal to the willful actions of a small group of soldiers and to "a failure of leadership" and supervision by brigade and lower-level commanders.
Background: MG Taguba, the officer who directed the 15-6 investigation into the alleged abuses, is a two-star general. 15-6 investigation regulations require that the investigating officer be senior in rank to the respondent, except where the appointing officer makes a specific decision that such an arrangement is not militarily practicable.
So unless Taguba received a specific OK from his boss to follow the investigation up the chain, his investigative authority stops at Brigadier General Janice Karpinski's level--a one-star general.
So even if the the three-star CTJF-7 commander did share the blame for the abuses--I mean, beyond the garden-variety "it happened under his watch" command responsibility blame--it does not automatically follow that his investigation would extend to that level. It would have been beyond the scope of the investigation.
I do not want anyone to blow what I'm saying out of proportion though and suggest that Taguba is in any way covering for senior levels at all. By all accounts, Taguba, a member of my beloved "Hawaiian Mafia" in the Army, is a straight shooter, a real akamai guy, as we say, and I have every confidence that, having appeared and testified before congress, he would have called it like he sees it.
But for the sake of argument, if there is indeed some evidence that commanders higher than the Brigade level are culpable for the prison system abuses, then it would not be appropriate to expect Taguba's report to suffice. We should consider whether a 4-star officer is appropriate, or even exercize some civilian oversight and appoint a civilian congressional investigator.
Oh, and based on what I've seen so far, I hope General Taguba is considered for the next division command that becomes available.
Splash, out
Jason
The Army general who investigated the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad said yesterday that he had found no evidence the misconduct was based on orders from high-ranking officers or involved a deliberate policy to stretch legal limits on extracting information from detainees.
More:
Instead, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba attributed the scandal to the willful actions of a small group of soldiers and to "a failure of leadership" and supervision by brigade and lower-level commanders.
Background: MG Taguba, the officer who directed the 15-6 investigation into the alleged abuses, is a two-star general. 15-6 investigation regulations require that the investigating officer be senior in rank to the respondent, except where the appointing officer makes a specific decision that such an arrangement is not militarily practicable.
So unless Taguba received a specific OK from his boss to follow the investigation up the chain, his investigative authority stops at Brigadier General Janice Karpinski's level--a one-star general.
So even if the the three-star CTJF-7 commander did share the blame for the abuses--I mean, beyond the garden-variety "it happened under his watch" command responsibility blame--it does not automatically follow that his investigation would extend to that level. It would have been beyond the scope of the investigation.
I do not want anyone to blow what I'm saying out of proportion though and suggest that Taguba is in any way covering for senior levels at all. By all accounts, Taguba, a member of my beloved "Hawaiian Mafia" in the Army, is a straight shooter, a real akamai guy, as we say, and I have every confidence that, having appeared and testified before congress, he would have called it like he sees it.
But for the sake of argument, if there is indeed some evidence that commanders higher than the Brigade level are culpable for the prison system abuses, then it would not be appropriate to expect Taguba's report to suffice. We should consider whether a 4-star officer is appropriate, or even exercize some civilian oversight and appoint a civilian congressional investigator.
Oh, and based on what I've seen so far, I hope General Taguba is considered for the next division command that becomes available.
Splash, out
Jason
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