Wither Lyndie England?
Lost in all the yelling back and forth over the recent disclosures is
what went on at Abu Ghraib. Lyndie England and others were convicted of - or plead guilty to -
and served time for conduct that, while unpleasant, doesn't come close
to waterboarding, which - let's be honest - is a mock execution. It's
beyond obvious now that the Bush administration actively created a
culture where interrogators and military jailers were encouraged to
push the "line" as to what's acceptable. How is it that England crossed
the line but the CIA agents, psychologists and MDs who participated in
waterboarding sessions didn't - let alone Rumsfeld, Cheney and their flunky lawyers Addington, Bybee, Yoo and Bradbury? Were the Abu Ghraib defendants not
covered under the Bybee and Bradbury memos?
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What this shows to me is the importance of fixing responsibility farther up the political chain. Ms. England and other low level military got punished. Janice Karpinski got suspended, though she claimed that she not only didn't have responsibility for the behavior of interrogators, but she also complained about that lack of authority. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Janis_Karpinski
The Pentagonians who certainly were responsible for this kind of thing--don't hold your breath for Rumsfeld or Feith to be held accountable except by historians.
We need to be watchful that whatever pound of flesh is extracted from the CIA doesn't just come from lower level operatives like Lyndie England.
April 22, 2009 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't be too sure, Mike. Nato nations are readying war crimes prosecutions:
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/04/hbc-90004829
April 22, 2009 11:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama must pardon England, if he wants to be consistent about believing that when you humiliate or torture others under orders you are innocent.
April 22, 2009 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I posted something a little while ago about Lynndie. It was an interview in a German news paper if I remember correctly. In the article she complained of not being able to find a job, and that she had had people sympathize with her plight.
April 22, 2009 5:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
On Countdown tonight Keith had as a guest Retired General Janet Karpinski went ballistic in a positive rightous manner. She was questioning the failed leadership of Cheney, Rumsfeld and the other higher ups for hanging out the lower guys to dry.
She made me proud to be an American and proud of our armed forces.
April 22, 2009 11:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I too was glad to see this. I still get angry though when I think of how the media handled Lyndie England's conviction. It was a perfect vindication of an administration that was "outraged" at "this deplorable" and "isolated" behavior. It turns out though, that it was a part of a culture cultivated by the Bush administration and my worst suspicions were in line with what really occurred.
April 23, 2009 12:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's not lost. I, too connected Abu Ghraib to the torture memo release in a post. As does the Senate's report.
One of the critical things said by PFC England, Sgt. Graner, the so-called "ring-leader" of the "rogue element" in this "undisciplined, untrained and unmanaged" unit commanded by former Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, is that their orders to do what they did came from persons outside the military who attended the "degradation sessions" in civilian dress, managed the "interrogation" of the detainess, and kept the military personnel, including Gen. Karpinski away from the scene.
Unfortunately, lower level personnel are all too often pegged as the scape-goats for the misdeeds of higher ups.
April 23, 2009 10:52 AM | Reply | Permalink