Karpinski Media Blackout Continues

Former head of Abu Ghraib prison, General Janis Karpinski made a brief speaking tour last week to focus on the systemic conditions which led to torture at the prison. Her remarks were a curious mixture of denial (Karpsinki claims she was in the dark) and scathing critique of her superiors, who she asserts, must be held accountable for setting interrogation policy.

A handful of media outlets (a Google news search returns 11 results) dutifully reported on these points, but tellingly one key detail was mostly missing from these press accounts. Here it is, in case you missed it:

Karpinski has evidence that we are still torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

In a previous interview, Karpinski alluded to emails from soldiers alleging current abuse at the prison. Now, she says she's got voicemail messages from soldiers making similar reports. When will the media- whether it be mainstream, right wing, left wing, blog-o-whatzit pay attention to this damning bit of information?

Shouldn't we be demanding that Karpinski turn over whatever evidence she has now?

And why hasn't anyone drawn the connection between recent insurgent attacks on Abu Ghraib, and the likely possiblity that torture continues behind its walls?

Comments

[Dan]

What is the analysis linking recent insurgent attacks on Abu Ghraib and the shadow of current(continued) torture? I'm not aware of what you're implying, though definately interested.

[Dave]

It's an interesting development. She apparrently hears more about torture now than she did when she ran the place. She's a whistleblower's obvious choice to contact, so she may well be gagged over the details of any allegation.

If the torture IS continuing, then that helps her argument. Whoever replaced Karpinsky would have been told to have their eyes peeled for any suggestion of torture. It would be one of their primary responsibilities, unless they were told to simply get rid of all the cameras instead.

Karpinsky is gone, so are Grainer and England. How many bad apples can there be? Where do a bunch of reservists from Virginia learn how to deconstruct a male Arab psyche? I don't doubt that Abu Ghraib was run exactly the way the administration wanted it to be run.

[blooperreel]

I didn't mean to suggest a link beyond the most likely connection. If it's common knowledge among insurgents and the Iraqi populace that torture and sexual humiliation are still being used at Abu Ghraib, it makes the prison an obvious target for insurgent violence. There have been two major incidents in just the last week.

Put another way...it's very likely that many of the prisoners are guilty of no crime and have merely been caught up in sweeps. The recent documentary "Gunner Palace" has a scene like this. And we know that the Pentagon and the Red Cross estimated that 90% of prisoners were probably innocent when the scandal broke last year.

So, let's say you're not a violent Islamic fundamentalist. Let's say you're an average Iraqi, and were willing to give the Americans a chance. But one day, your son or your brother or your father is swept up in a raid, taken to Abu Ghraib and probably tortured. Chances are, you're gonna be more likely to pick up a gun and join the insurgency.

So again, I think the intensity of insurgent attacks against the prison, coupled with the recent anti-American protests point toward this festering problem.