by Reinout van Wagtendonk
25-08-2004
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US Defence Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld
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US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the
senior command of the US military were indirectly responsible for
the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. This is one
the conclusions of the US commission - headed by former defence
secretary James Schlesinger - which has investigated events at the
prison. However, the members of the commission say Mr Rumsfeld's
resignation is neither called for nor desirable.
It was Mr Rumsfeld himself who asked James
Schlesinger – himself a former defence secretary, who served
under Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford - to head
the independent inquiry into the sexual intimidation and other
abuses which took place at Abu Ghraib.
Sadistic
Mr Schlesinger described the conduct of the
nighttime guards at the prison as criminal and sadistic, and his
commission laid immediate blame for the abuses with those persons
who have already been punished for or accused of carrying them out.
But direct responsibility has also been laid at the door of more
senior military personnel on the ground, going as high up as a
brigadier general.
However, the commission has not cleared Secretary
Rumsfeld and the most senior army commanders of all involvement.
They have been blamed for allowing a confused policy to exist as
regards what was and was not allowed during interrogation, and for
a lack of adequate supervision of the treatment of prisoners in
Iraq, Afghanistan and the US navy base at Guantanamo Bay on the
island of Cuba. On Tuesday evening, Mr Schlesinger therefore
concluded that people higher up in the chain of command bore
indirect responsibility for the abuse.
Lessons for the future
The members of
the Schlesinger commission say the defence secretary and his senior
generals do not have to draw negative conclusions regarding their
current jobs. While the lack of proper supervision was
reprehensible, the focus of the senior military command on winning
the ‘war on terror' is simply so intense that the lessons to
be drawn from Abu Ghraib for those at the highest levels are
primarily seen as providing a basis for avoiding such
situations in future. According to Mr Schlesinger, the only ones
who stand to benefit from Donald Rumsfeld's departure are the
United States' enemies.
Lawyers acting for a number of suspects accused of taking part
in the abuse of Iraqi detainees have asked the military courts for
leave to call Mr Rumsfeld as a witness. Those of the accused who
have not already pleaded guilty say they were merely acting on
instructions handed down from above. However, a US military court
in Mannheim, Germany, ruled on Tuesday that Mr Rumsfeld will not
have to testify. Indeed, the Schlesinger commission found that the
authorities in Washington had not implemented any policy or issued
any orders requiring the use of torture.
Nonetheless, it's possible that lawyers acting for the Abu
Ghraib suspects may as yet latch on to the conclusion regarding
indirect responsibility in defending their clients, and try to take
that aspect to the very highest levels.
Tags:
Abu Ghraib,
abuse,
detainees,
Donald Rumsfeld,
Iraq,
James Schlesinger,
sexual humiliation,
US military,
USA
