TO: General Janis Karpinski speaks about AbuGhraib

[annabanana]

.....and boy-howdy does she say volumes!

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405Z.shtml

"Karpinski tried to get information, but "nobody knew anything, nobody - at least, that's what they were claiming. The Company Commander, Captain Reese, was tearful in my office and repeatedly told me he knew nothing about it, knew nothing about it," Karpinski said. But in a later plea bargain he entered into after the Taguba Report came out, "Captain Reese said that not only did he know about it, but he was told not to report it to his chain of command, and he was told that by Colonel Pappas. And he claimed that he saw General Sanchez out there on several occasions witnessing the torture of some of the security detainees"

I believe we ought to get a ruling about those pictures next tuesday. I want to see Sanchez (and Alberto Gonzales) hung out to dry on this.

[swag]

1. The entire interview is worthwhile. I'll be donating to truthout today.

Karpinski: "Here's Shinseki briefing Rumsfeld that he can't win this war, if they insist on invading Iraq, he can't win this war with less than 300,000 soldiers. I wasn't there to hear it, but allegedly Rumsfeld said to Shinseki: go back and find a way to do this with 125,000 to 150,000. Well, Shinseki came back again and said: Mr. Secretary we can't do it with that number. You need 300,000.

What did Rumsfeld do? If you can't agree with me, I'm going to find somebody who can. He made Shinseki a lame duck, for all practical purposes, and brought in Schoomaker. And Schoomaker got it. He said, "Oh yes sir, we can do this with 125,000."

. . .

When I got there, there was a completely different story than what we were being told in the United States. It was out of control. There weren't enough soldiers. Nobody had the right equipment. They were driving around in unarmored vehicles, some of them without doors. Some of the soldiers didn't even have protective vests. And I kept hearing the same excuse for reservists, for National Guard units: the active component was taking the equipment as a priority. We can't get it over here.

And then layer on top of that, there was no personnel replacement system for the Reserves and the National Guard. So if I lost a soldier to an illness, a nervous breakdown, a battle injury, whatever it might be, I operated one short, or ten short, or thirty short, or sixty short. I didn't mobilize these units. I didn't deploy these units. I joined them in theater. The responsibility for how those units were deployed and how they were ill-prepared rests with the senior level of leadership in the military."

. . .

[Booster]

2. General Karpinski was certainly was most assuredly used by her

superiors as the scapegoat, but I think they picked on the wrong woman. I don't believe she'll go down without speaking up quite often; as often as she is allowed that is, and she should certainly speak up. When I first saw her I though she was cold and mean looking, but after I listened to her, I decided I was wrong. Keep speaking up, Janis, cause the time is right.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

3. Hopefully she has been in touch w/ Colleen Rowley FBI whistleblower

running for congress in Minnesota. SMART SMART WOMAN.
Ms. Rowley would be a most helpful resource.

[annabanana]

7. I worry for the General's safety..

She says she's a private citizen and she WILL speak out. I hope she checks the brakes on her car, and stays out of small private jets...

[tridim]

4. Speaking of Adu Ghraib

What ever happened to the federal judge's order that the government release the blacked-out portions of its legal papers arguing against the release of new images?

[annabanana]

6. any minute now..

according to the ACLU's website, as of 8/16"

"The government has told the court it will not appeal the decision and will release the documents in their entirety sometime next week"

They have 2 1/2 more days (3 1/2 if Saturday is the "last day of the week")

[Al-CIAda]

5. .