4um: Taguba: Bush administration tortured detainees, 'committed war crimes'

The U.S. general who led the Army's investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal says the Bush administration "has committed war crimes" as a result of what happened to detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay "when the Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture."

Those declarations, by retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, are contained in the preface he wrote for a new report by Physicians for Human Rights, "Broken Laws, Broken Lives: Medical Evidence of Torture by US Personnel and Its Impact." The group said its findings — "based on internationally accepted standards for clinical assessment of torture claims" — are the first to use medical evidence to document first-hand accounts of torture. Eleven former detainees were examined.

Taguba testified before Congress in 2004 about the abuses at Abu Ghraib after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003. His damning report ultimately led to his being pushed out of the Army.

ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper noted Taguba's statements and the report on his blog.

Some other excerpts:

Our national honor is stained by the indignity and inhumane treatment these men received from their captors.

The profiles of these eleven former detainees, none of whom were ever charged with a crime or told why they were detained, are tragic and brutal rebuttals to those who claim that torture is ever justified. Through the experiences of these men in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, we can see the full scope of the damage this illegal and unsound policy has inflicted—both on America’s institutions and our nation’s founding values, which the military, intelligence services, and our justice system are duty-bound to defend. ...

After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.

The former detainees in this report, each of whom is fighting a lonely and difficult battle to rebuild his life, require reparations for what they endured, comprehensive psycho-social and medical assistance, and even an official apology from our government. ...

Here's the entire preface.

More information:

I always felt Taguba had a hell of a job to do, and he did it. Thank goodness for men like that--calling a spade a spade knowing that it means the end to your long career; someone who feels 'right' means right and 'wrong' is wrong.

Taguba is one of a dwindling breed of Americans who is willing to identify and speak out against crime, civilian or otherwise. It isn't easy to stand up to the power he did, and his effort resulted in the end of his career. The amazing thing about these politicians is that they keep getting away with the same play over and over again. Heck, it works on the football field.

People here on 4um cheered when the PFC from WV was given 2 to 5 years in prison.. The General in charge was a female, she walked and retired on pension to FL. The PFC is still in prison.

" FORT HOOD, Texas -- The West Virginia soldier who posed next to naked Iraqi detainees in sexually humiliating positions at Abu Ghraib prison while serving with the Army in Iraq was sentenced Tuesday to three years in a military prison.

Pfc. Lynndie England, 22, also was reduced in rank to the lowest enlisted grade and given a dishonorable discharge.

England showed no immediate reaction as a panel of five commissioned officers announced the sentence after 90 minutes of deliberations. Minutes later, inside the courtroom, England fought back tears as her mother gave her a long embrace.

She coulda/shoulda said 'no' (and to a great many things apparently). And Karpinski was kept out of the loop as well.

If ENgland didn't know the meaning of 'no', she sure as hell doesn't need to be in our military.

In the military I served in, she would have fit right in. The military has its own mindset and anyone that goes against the grain has a tough time, I know from experience.