Monday, January 17, 2005

Scrambled Eggs At Leavenworth?

An article in today's NYTimes describes investigations and possible prosecutions of senior people, military and civilian, in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse outrage. It concludes with:
Lawyers for the low-ranking soldiers who have been charged say they remain skeptical that higher-ups will ever be charged.

"The higher up they go, the more problems they have with people leading to the Pentagon," said Harvey Volzer, who represented Megan Ambuhl, who was discharged from the military as part of a plea bargain in the Abu Ghraib abuses. "Pappas gives them Sanchez, and they don't want that. Sanchez can give them Rumsfeld, and they don't want that.

"Rumsfeld can lead to Bush and Gonzales, and they definitely don't want that," Mr. Volzer said, referring to President Bush and to Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel and attorney general nominee, who argued in a memorandum that parts of the Geneva Conventions were "quaint" and "obsolete."

Mr. Bergrin noted that when he asked a military judge to allow testimony by Colonel Pappas, Colonel Jordan and others at Sergeant Davis's court-martial, he was told they could not testify because prosecutors planned to charge them.

"I think the military is using these young enlisteds as scapegoats," he said.

Like, Duh! A few incidents might have been instigated by enlisted men, but as an ongoing deal it came down the chain of command. Colonels don't think this shit up as they're well aware this kind of abuse violates U.S. and International law. Neither do generals, for the same reasons. What generals do is follow orders from their civilian controllers. I think Bush and Rumbo would be fine cellies. They should give them a cell with a nice view. Of the construction of their gallows.

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