Iraq symbols, scapegoats

Pfc. Lynndie England continues to serve as a symbol of American values gone horribly wrong in Iraq - first, as a pixie-faced soldier shown smiling at naked prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, captured in blockbuster photos that exposed the dirty secrets of U.S. interrogation tactics there.

Now, her attempt at a guilty plea rejected in a mistrial as the Army decides whether to file new charges, England is also a symbol of the military's double standard in prosecuting the case.

From the start, some soldiers charged in the case have said they abused prisoners on orders of higher-ranking officers. Last week, testimony by her former lover and superior, former Army Spc. Charles Graner, that England was ordered to perform the crimes with which she is charged caused a court-martial judge to reject her plea.

With just one high-ranking officer demoted and none prosecuted, the military so far has cast the Abu Ghraib scandal as the work of a small group of undisciplined soldiers. But substantial questions remain about whether superior officers helped create an atmosphere in which such techniques were acceptable.

Facing years of prison time, six low-ranking Army reservists already have pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from the scandal, in which prisoners were forced to stand in sexually suggestive poses, stripped naked, doused in water, piled in human pyramids and worse. Army investigators have cleared top officials of any direct knowledge of the abuse. Even the prison's commander, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, was demoted to colonel for general dereliction of duty but cleared of any direct responsibility for the abuse at Abu Ghraib. Karpinski maintains she has been a "convenient scapegoat."

Two reports unveiled last year - an independent investigation headed by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and an internal Army investigation led by Maj. Gen. George Fay - have suggested the policies of top military commanders also contributed to the abuse. The mistakes included inadequate planning on how to treat prisoners, constantly shifting rules for interrogation and approving inhumane tactics for detainees at Guantanamo that were later exported to Iraq.

The Bush administration's disregard for traditional rules of detention and interrogation - encouraged by then-White House counsel and now Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - compounded the problem. Coping with a flood of detainees, troops working at the prison with little or no training, documented leadership problems and complaints from organizations such as the International Red Cross, military officials should have known the situation was ripe for the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

With thousands of soldiers risking their lives daily in Iraq, it is a tragedy that the photo of England holding a leash attached to a naked prisoner is one of the war's most enduring images. And it is a scandal that there has been no credible investigation into the role higher-ranking officers may have played in this sorry episode.

[Last modified May 10, 2005, 01:02:19]