Last Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held an all-day hearing to determine what went wrong at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, where detainees in U.S. custody were beaten, sodomized and photographed in sexually degrading positions. But, as the New York Times editorialized, "all the senators, government officials and generals assembled in that hearing room could not figure out who was in charge at Abu Ghraib."
Nor, apparently, could reporters. Thus Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, chief military spokesman in Iraq, decided to clear up the confusion when he addressed journalists in Baghdad the next day:
"I want to clarify a comment made at a previous press conference regarding the chain of command relationships for the 372nd Military Police Company in Abu Ghraib from 19 November 2003 until recently. On 19 November 2003, a fragmentary order was issued by CJTF-7 that placed the 320th MP Battalion, the parent organization of the 372nd MP Company, under the tactical control, TACON, of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade.
Tactical control, or TACON, provides authority for the 205th MI Brigade to assign missions and tasks to the 320th MP Battalion. However, the 800th MP Brigade was still responsible for command oversight, leadership, discipline and training for subordinate units, of which the 372nd Military Police Company was one. While the 205th MI Brigade was given TACON for the purpose of assigning missions or tasks, its FRAGO did not change the command relationship or responsibilities within the 800th MP Brigade."
Thanks, Gen. Kimmitt, we understand it perfectly now.
