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U.S. Army interrogator convicted in death

By wire services
Published January 23, 2006

An Army interrogator who stuffed an uncooperative Iraqi general into a sleeping bag during questioning in northern Iraq in 2003 was convicted late Saturday of negligent homicide and negligent dereliction of duty after a military jury in Colorado decided the general's death was not murder.

Chief Warrant Officer Lewis E. Welshofer Jr., 43, was on trial for allegedly killing Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, a high-ranking Saddam Hussein loyalist who was believed to have been fueling the Iraqi insurgency in the Qaim area near the Syrian border. Mowhoush died while bound in the Army sleeping bag, which was part of an aggressive interrogation tactic aimed at getting the general to talk.

During the weeklong court-martial in Colorado Springs, Welshofer's supervisor, Army Maj. Jessica Voss, testified that she approved the use of the sleeping bag but was unaware that Welshofer would bind the general with a cord or straddle his chest while questioning him.

The case not only exposed a secret group of Iraqi paramilitaries, code-named "Scorpions," who worked with the CIA, but also revealed how U.S. officials were giving unclear guidance regarding interrogation methods during a frustrating part of the war, including at least one message from Baghdad telling interrogators that the "gloves are coming off" and asking for interrogation-technique wish lists. The sleeping-bag technique was one Welshofer wanted to use and for which he sought approval.

The negligent-homicide conviction could result in a maximum three-year prison sentence and the negligent-dereliction-of-duty conviction an additional three months. Sentencing hearings are to begin today.

WASHINGTON - Pakistan's prime minister on Sunday condemned an American airstrike on a remote Pakistani village, saying such attacks should be cleared with Islamabad first.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said no understanding exists between U.S. and Pakistani officials that allows American military forces to attack alleged terrorists in Pakistan without first consulting the government.

Aziz said Pakistani officials were given no notice before the Jan. 13 attack that killed at least 13 civilians, including women and children. The attack was apparently aimed at al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, who wasn't there.

Pakistan, Aziz said, "has regretted and condemned the incident and said that such incidents should not reoccur. We need to work together."

Pakistan is a key U.S. ally, but it has strongly protested the airstrike, which has angered many in the Islamic nation of 150-million and sparked friction between Islamabad and Washington.

Aziz is scheduled to meet this week with President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

GENEVA - About 20,000 people have fled violence in Congo to seek refuge across the border in Uganda over the past four days, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement Sunday.

In eastern Congo, home to many of the refugees, renegade former army soldiers ambushed U.N. peacekeepers in eastern Congo on Sunday, sparking a firefight that left four attackers dead, U.N. officials said.

The peacekeepers were trying to flush the former soldiers out of territory they captured during raids this week, U.N. military spokesman Mayank Awasthi said.

The raids in eastern Congo's North Kivu province forced the refugees to cross the nearby border with Uganda.

Congo is struggling to recover from back-to-back wars.

LISBON, Portugal - A former prime minister who has pledged to help lead Portugal out of an economic slump and supports deeper European Union integration won the country's presidential elections on Sunday.

Anibal Cavaco Silva collected nearly 51 percent of the vote, defeating five leftist candidates to become the first right-of-center politician elected president in Portugal since a 1974 revolution introduced democracy. His nearest rival, Manuel Alegre, gathered just under 21 percent.

The head of state holds no executive power, which lies with the government, but wields considerable influence.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - A Red Cross helicopter that had been used for earthquake relief in Pakistan since October was missing Sunday with a crew of seven aboard, the aid agency said.

The Mi-8 helicopter, operated by Turkmenistan Airlines, lost contact with Pakistani air control just before entering Afghanistan on Saturday, the International Red Cross said.

The crew members are employees of Turkmenistan Airlines, and there were no Red Cross staff on board.

The region in which the helicopter is believed to have disappeared is covered with rugged, desolate mountains, but was not having bad weather at the time, said James Reynolds, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan.

The helicopter was returning to Turkmenistan after completing its aid work, the Red Cross said.

[Last modified January 23, 2006, 01:00:11]