NYT: Congress's Inquiry Into Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners Bogs Down

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, July 15 - The Congressional investigation into the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison has virtually ground to halt, as a senior Senate Republican said Thursday that no new hearings would be held on the matter until this fall at the earliest.

The Republican-controlled House Armed Services Committee made it clear weeks ago that it believed that the several current military investigations of the scandal were sufficient, and that summoning commanders to Washington would only hinder American operations in Iraq.

That left the issue to the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose chairman, Senator John W. Warner, a Virginia Republican, has held a series of hearings, but none since May 19. On Thursday, Mr. Warner said he would hold off calling any more witnesses until several criminal prosecutions and seven pending Pentagon inquiries were completed.

But some of those inquiries are running weeks behind. The pivotal investigation of the role that American military intelligence officials played in the abuses, which officials once expected to wrap up in June, now is not likely to be completed and reviewed by senior Pentagon officials until mid-August. Congress will soon recess until September.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/07/16/politics/16abus.html

[thebigidea]

1. What a surprise.

"Other factors also are behind the delay: the calendar, the preferences of some of Mr. Warner's Republican colleagues and the pace of the military investigations, many of which are behind schedule. All seem to be conspiring to thwart his desire to hold hearings on the matter."

Yeah, I'm sure he's just bursting with desire to hold hearings...

"But House Republicans and, privately, some Senate Republicans say Mr. Warner, by holding more hearings, would only hand Democrats an explosive campaign issue."

You mean - gasp - the Republicans are PLAYING POLITICS with this because of an election year?

[el dusto]

18. possible, if improbable

Hold the rage train up a second.

There are what, seven investigations already going on? Are they interviewing officers who are in Iraq right now? Do we really need the Pentagon AND the SASC interviewing people in a war zone at the same time, who will likely draw the same conclusion? Or does the result of the SASC investigation depend on some of the answers the DOD investigators get?

What's wrong with waiting for the Pentagon investigations? This is not to say that it's OK the Pentagon is stalling - 'cause it's not. It just seems to me like that's a different thing to be discouraged about than the Senate's investigation, which sounds like it has hit a couple of legitimate snags.

Give it a little time - hell, if they don't finish until September or October, it'll REALLY be an election issue, and i don't know if the press will let the GOP slide by on this one.

[newyawker99]

19. Hi el dusto!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[leesa]

2. Whew! Wouldn't want anything about the child rape coming out.

[Rose Siding]

3. This decision might just spring us a new leak

Even up until this afternoon Warner said on CNN that he wanted to take testimony from Bremer before the break.

[bobthedrummer]

4. Those responsible should be tried, and if found guilty, shot.

The person(s) that taped these crimes against humanity too.

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

[truth2power]

14. Yep. What Bob said.

If found guilty they should be shot.

I'm just out of patience with all this shit! None of these scumbags ever has to be accountable for anything.

:argh: :mad: :mad:

And if Hersch has those pictures, I hope this motivates him to get them into the public domain.

[mistertrickster]

15. Agreed, I was never a big fan of the death penalty until now.

Whoever was responsible for the child rapes deserves a fair trial and a speedy, humane execution . . .

And may God have mercy on their souls.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. kick

[shockingelk]

6. Can't ignore the horror

"Of the 135 inquiries into other abuses, 54 are still pending."

Maybe America is so numbed by reality TV that they need pictures to be appropriately outraged. Apparently, there are more pictures which aren't even on microfiche.

[LeftHander]

7. kick for foot dragging....

[dusty64]

8. Bogged down my ass.

Its being blocked and buried by the rightwing warpigs and their corporate media whores. :grr:

[Judi Lynn]

9. Someone has gotten through to intimidate Lindsay Graham

You remember that he surprised a lot of Democrats by getting out front and calling for a complete airing of this mess, and a real cleansing, at the beginning.

From the article:

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said he agreed with Mr. Warner on putting off more hearings, but said investigators must search for culpability among higher-ranking officers and officials. "The idea that only five or six privates and sergeants are legally exposed is unacceptable," Mr. Graham said in a telephone interview.
(snip)

What a colossal disappointment. Thought he had decided to be squeaky clean on this problem, and help get our system changed so this couldn't happen again. Yeah, right.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. You're right -- what the Cheney? Did they threaten to "out" him? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

20. You could be close to the truth here. They wouldn't hesitate,I'm sure.

They need him as a Republican to fill that Senate seat, but he's not the only one who can, if they plot their moves to replace him well enough.

[NJmaverick]

11. Hey only brown people were tortured

So why would Republicans give a crap???

[KoKo]

12. So....just a couple of days ago Warner pledged to continue hearings...

and we here were praising him.. How long did that last.

I think this is designed to just make us all give up, with disappointment after disappointment.

Hersh needs to release more photos. Also WaPo has the photos. However, waiting for WaPo is futile given how weak they've been on any investigative reporting, imho. So, it's Hersh who needs to do it.

[Triana]

13. we wouldn't want reports of all that US terrorist activity...

...coming out before the election, would we?

[gratuitous]

16. Playing politics with torture

How like the Republicans. How very like them. They absolutely think they're above the law, and that no one can touch them.

Is THIS what America stands for? Is this what we want our country to be known for? A lot of people and nations have traveled down this arrogant path before, and virtually all of them came to a bad end. At least the ones we know about. The mighty Roman Empire, when it fell, was reduced to a furtive, weaselly little man hiding out in the most wretched circumstances, still clinging to a meaningless title.

Thanks a lot, Republicans, neo-cons, PNACers and the rest of you greedy, bloodthirsty assclowns. The whirlwind you've sown will be the wind that we all inherit. I just hope it blows you bastards away first.

[bobthedrummer]

17. Kick. We must demand an accounting for these war crimes.

Or we will be the Fourth Reich.
:dem::kick:

[struggle4progress]

21. And again.

:kick: