Army General Says Abuse Caused by Faulty Leadership

As Taguba entered the hearing room, he was greeted by several Filipino American veterans of World War II who were wearing their old uniforms and medals.

Senators of both parties praised Taguba's candor and attention to detail in compiling his report, the executive summary of which cited "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" of Iraqi detainees at the hands of their U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib, a vast 280-acre prison compound 20 miles west of Baghdad. Named the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility by the U.S. military, the prison complex has been used to hold as many as 7,000 Iraqis detained by U.S. forces. Under the regime of former president Saddam Hussein, it became infamous as a site of torture and executions.

Noting the prison's history under Hussein, one Republican senator, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said he was "more outraged by the outrage" over the U.S. soldiers' abuse of the Iraqis than by the mistreatment itself. Many of the Iraqis now held there "probably have American blood on their hands," he said. "These prisoners wake up every morning thanking Allah that Saddam Hussein is not in charge of this prison," Inhofe said.

During the hearing, Cambone rejected Democratic senators' suggestions of a link between the abuses and a visit to Iraq in early September 2003 by a team from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, headed by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then commander of the detention facility there. The delegation recommended closer collaboration between the military police at Abu Ghraib and military intelligence, saying it was "essential that the guard force be actively engaged in setting the conditions for successful exploitation of internees."

Cambone denied that Miller's report was "tantamount to asking the military police to engage in abusive behavior."

But he and Taguba openly disagreed about the role of military intelligence at the prison. Cambone said military police have a duty to give interrogators information on the detainees. But Taguba cited Army regulations that delineate the responsibilities of guards and intelligence operatives so that the guards can run the prison smoothly and maintain the inmates' compliance.

The two also disagreed on a Nov. 19, 2003, order that turned over tactical control of Abu Ghraib to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade under Col. Thomas M. Pappas. Cambone said that order did not mean that Pappas was in charge of the military police at the prison, but Taguba said it was clear that Pappas "was directed to be the [forward operating base] commander" for Abu Ghraib. Taguba said the order "created confusion and friction" between Pappas and the commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) asked Taguba to explain a disparity between his statements that Karpinski should be held accountable and her recent assertions that her military police committed the abuses on someone else's instructions. Taguba said he blamed Karpinski for "a lack of leadership on her part," notably with regard to overall training standards and the "command climate of her brigade."