Army Officer Is Cleared in Abu Ghraib Scandal

[Meeker Morgan]

Source: Washington Post

The only Army officer charged with a crime as a result of the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has been cleared of all criminal responsibility in the case after a general this week dismissed the one conviction against him and wiped away the sentence.

Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan was convicted last year on one charge of disobeying an order when a jury found that he spoke to others about the Abu Ghraib investigation after he was ordered not to do so. Though Jordan was exonerated at trial of any connection to the abuse of Iraqi detainees in 2003, he was issued a criminal reprimand for his failure to obey Maj. Gen. George Fay, who led the most significant investigation into the abuses after they were discovered.

Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, commanding general of the Military District of Washington, wrote a short letter to Jordan's attorney on Tuesday night explaining that the criminal charge would be dismissed. "The finding of guilty and the sentence are disapproved," Rowe wrote. "The charges are dismissed."

Col. James Yonts, a spokesman for the Military District of Washington, said last night that Rowe has issued Jordan an administrative reprimand that clears Jordan of criminal responsibility but still questions his decision to disobey Fay's order. Rowe's action means that Jordan will have no record of a criminal conviction and will continue to serve as an active-duty officer at Fort Belvoir until his retirement.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903267.html?hpid=topnews

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"We got lots of buffers"

The only officer charged? What about the commander of the prison?

[unhappycamper]

1. Surely you don't mean Geoffrey Miller?

:sarcasm:

[Tesha]

2. But of course! (NT)

[flashl]

3. K&R n/t

[gratuitous]

4. Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up

No convictions, nobody was in charge, no officers need to worry about their careers. A couple of lumpennoncoms got clobbered, but there's plenty more where they came from, whether it's in the foothills of Appalachia or the shopping malls of an urban center.

And to think there are some folks shocked by my cynicism anent that greatest of all oxymorons, military justice.

[lonestarnot]

5. Well how nice.

:sarcasm:

[MessiahRp]

6. Nice that the only officer charged was charged for talking about Abu Gharaib...

Breaking the law, torturing and murdering people is okay. Telling anybody about it is the crime.

Rp

[uppityperson]

7. Yup. Ignorance is Freedom. k&r