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Monday, December 1, 2008 12:00 AM

Sympathy for Charles Graner

No one from the Bush administration has been held accountable for torture. But the guard from Abu Ghraib prison is still behind bars, and his family wants to know why.

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  • Monday, December 1, 2008 05:10 PM

    To make it easy for you...

    here's some of what's in the Wiki link on Gen. Miller:

    ...On November 2002, Miller was given command of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), which runs the US detention facilities known as Camp X-Ray, Camp Delta and Camp Echo in Cuba. Miller claimed that two-thirds of the 600 prisoners had confessed to being involved in terrorism and were giving "actionable intelligence."...

    ...In August 2003, Miller was sent to Iraq by the Department of Defense to help get more information out of Iraqi prisoners. In September, Miller submitted a report that recommended "GTMO-ising" their approach - combining the detention and interrogation units at Abu Ghraib into the Theater Joint Interrogation and Detention Center. Specifically, Miller suggested that prison guards be used to "soften up" prisoners for interrogations.

    In his final report on the prison abuse, General Antonio Taguba blamed Miller's recommendations for the abuse at Abu Ghraib, and noted that using military police for interrogation was a breach of official policy. Miller denies that he was specifically ordering guards to humiliate and torture prisoners to get confessions out of them.

    After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse story broke in March 2004, Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was suspended and Miller was appointed the deputy commanding general for detainee operations for Multinational Forces in Iraq. In this role, Miller reports directly to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. Since his appointment, Miller has vowed to reduce the number of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, adhere to military laws as well as the Geneva Convention, investigate allegations of abuse, and reform the Iraqi prison system. He banned the use of hoods on prisoners during transport and set up a new system to allow prisoners to have visitors.

    Since the investigation of abuses at Abu Ghraib, some have suggested that Miller encouraged abusive tactics. In an interview with BBC Radio, former prison commander Janis Karpinski claimed that Miller told her to treat prisoners "like dogs" in the sense that "if you allow them to believe at any point that they are more than a dog then you've lost control of them".[2] Major General Miller denies that he ever made the comparison.

    Colonel Thomas Pappas, head of the military intelligence brigade at Abu Ghraib, has claimed that it was Miller's idea to use attack dogs to intimidate prisoners.[3] He said the same tactics were being used at Camp X-Ray. Several of the photos taken at Abu Ghraib show dogs surrounding (and in at least one case biting) screaming, naked detainees.

    In November 2004, Miller was replaced as deputy commanding general for detainee operations for Multinational Forces in Iraq by MG William H. Brandenburg.[4]

    [edit] Exercised his right to protect himself from self-incrimination

    For a period of time Miller exercised his right to protect himself from self-incrimination.[5] According to the New York Times: "He changed his position when the US Senate Armed Services Committee delayed his retirement until he was more forthcoming."

    In May 2006 Miller testified at the courts martial of the Abu Ghraib dog handlers that his instructions on the use of dogs had been misunderstood.[6] Miller testified that he instructed that dogs should be used "only for custody and control of detainees". Miller's testimony was directly contradicted, the next day, by Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Phillabaum, the commander of Abu Ghraib's Military Police detachment...

    ...Congressional testimony

    In July 2005 discrepancies emerged between Miller's May 2004 testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, and sworn statements he made three months later.[7][8]

    Gen. Geoffrey Miller told the Senate Armed Services Committee in May 2004 that he had only filed a report on a recent visit to Abu Ghraib, and did not talk to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld or his top aides about the fact-finding trip.

    But in a recorded statement to attorneys three months later, Miller said he gave two of Rumsfeld's most senior aides - then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary for Intelligence Steve Cambone - a briefing on his visit and his subsequent recommendations.

    Retirement

    Miller retired from the Army on July 31, 2006.[9] The Washington Post reports that Miller wanted to retire, in February, forgoing trying for promotion to Lieutenant General, because his reputation had been damaged by alleged links between his policies at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, and at Abu Ghraib, and the abuse of prisoners. The Washington Post reports that Congress delayed his retirement because Senators weren't confident he told the truth when he testified before them. The Washington Post reports that he was only allowed to retire when he promised, in writing, to appear before congress, and testify truthfully.

    At his retirement service Miller was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and praised as an "innovator".[10]..."

    Unfortunately, many of the links to the entry have been deceased.

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