from the associated press:
report: rumsfeld approved operation that led to iraqi prisoner abuse
saturday, may 15, 2004
(05-15) 19:29 pdt new york (ap) —
defense secretary donald rumsfeld authorized the expansion of a secret program that encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of iraqi prisoners to obtain intelligence about the growing insurgency in iraq, the new yorker reported saturday.
the story, written by reporter seymour hersh, said rumsfeld decided to expand the program last year, broadening a pentagon operation from the hunt for al-qaida in afghanistan to interrogation of prisoners at abu ghraib prison in baghdad.
seven soldiers are facing military charges related to the abuse and humiliation of prisoners captured by the now-infamous photographs at the prison. some of the soldiers and their lawyers have said military intelligence officials told military police assigned as guards to abuse the prisoners to make interrogations easier.
according to the story, which hits newsstands monday, the initial operation rumsfeld authorized gave blanket approval to kill or capture and interrogate “”high value”” targets in the war on terrorism. the program stemmed from frustrating efforts to capture high-level terrorists in the weeks after the start of u.s. bombings in afghanistan.
the program got approval from president bush’s national security adviser, condoleezza rice, and bush was informed of its existence, the officials told hersh.
under the program, hersh wrote, commandos carried out instant interrogations — using force if necessary — at secret cia detention centers scattered around the world. the intelligence would be relayed to the commanders at the pentagon.
last year, rumsfeld and stephen cambone, his undersecretary for intelligence, expanded the scope of the pentagon’s program and brought its methods to abu ghraib, hersh wrote.
critics say the interrogation rules, first laid out in september after a visit to iraq by the then commander of the prison for terror suspects at guantanamo bay, cuba, amounted to a green light for abuse.