General Bantz John Craddock, who is taking over from General James Jones as Supreme Commander of all NATO forces, has a long and glittering military career. But there is one major stain on his otherwise impeccable military record - Guantanamo Bay.
Camp
General Craddock was previously responsible for the US prison camp which has led to campaign groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International questioning his suitability for the new post. Sam Zarifi, Research Director for Asia for HRW, says Craddock will be closely watched, particularly in his handling of detainees in Afghanistan:
"General Craddock definitely goes to Europe with a bit of a dark spot on his resume. That's especially alarming as we now have serious concerns over how NATO is treating detainees in Afghanistan. So we fully expected Craddock to use this opportunity to clear his name." Ultimate responsibility
Many European powers, including some of Washington's closest NATO allies, have strongly criticised Guantanamo, where many terror suspects have reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of US officials. General Craddock, who was ultimately responsible for the camp, is to blame for his failure to act swiftly to clamp down on abuses, says Sam Zarifi:
"There are questions over abuse of prisoners, torture and cover-ups. Those allegations especially target Major-General Geoffrey Miller who was directly in charge of operations at Guantanamo Bay. But General Craddock went to some effort to protect Miller. [...] Craddock didn't respond as quickly as he should have to what was happening at Guantanamo."
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The question of detainees could once again prove to be problematic for General Craddock because of ongoing allegations of prisoner abuse in Afghan jails. Dutch and other European forces posted in Afghanistan usually hand over insurgents to Afghan forces and insist there are stringent controls in place to ensure they not abused. However, Sam Zarifi says those controls are not evenly monitored:
"What General Craddock should do is work to create a uniform NATO detention policy with the Afghan government and NATO countries, including the US. They should make sure they are not mistreated."
"But the question is whether, based on General Craddock's past record on Guantanamo Bay, he is interested in reforming the detainees system in Afghanistan. And whether there is the political will in Washington and other NATO capitals to do so."Testing
But despite concerns by human rights organisations, General Craddock has received the seal of approval by both Washington and from his predecessor, General Jones.
"I'm sure General Craddock is going to bring renewed energy and will do some great things. I envy the opportunity that he'll have to come in at a very important time in the Alliance. I certainly wish him well,"General Jones said last month.
Tags: camp, Craddock, European, Guantanamo, military, NATO, powers
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