Why the Pentagon Doesn’t Want Me to Testify About Abu Ghraib

By Sam Provance, AlterNet. Posted August 31, 2007.

As an Army intelligence analyst, my job at Abu Ghraib was systems administrator ("the computer guy"). But I had the bad luck to be on the night shift. And so I saw the detainees dragged in for interrogation, heard the screams, and saw many of them dragged out.

When I heard that the officer in charge of the interrogation/torture operation at Abu Ghraib in late 2003 was being court-martialed, my first thought was: "Finally an officer is being held accountable."

But since my own attempts to stop the torture and identify those responsible were repeatedly rebuffed, you will perhaps excuse my skepticism that justice will be done.

Watching Act I of the faux-trial of Lt. Col. Steven Jordan last week at Fort Meade, Md., confirmed my worst suspicions. I know Jordan; I was in place for his entire tenure at Abu Ghraib, including when prisoners were being tortured. He was an immediate boss.

Enter from the wings reserve Maj. Gen. George Fay. MG Fay was handpicked to run interference for then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by conducting the same kind of "full and thorough investigation" that former President Richard Nixon ordered for Watergate.

With Fay, too, I speak from personal experience. Shortly after photos of the torture at Abu Ghraib were published, I found myself being interviewed by Fay on May 1, 2004. It was a surreal performance, with Fay seeming to take his cue at times from Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau.

Except it wasn't funny then, and it is not funny now. To me, Fay showed himself singularly uninterested in what really was going on at Abu Ghraib. I had to ask him repeatedly to listen to my account. Whereupon he said he would recommend action against me for not reporting what I knew sooner for, if I had done that, I could have prevented the scandal. Right.

In my view, it was clear that Fay's job was to quiet any discordant notes from noncommissioned officers like me and help Rumsfeld push the responsibility down to "bad apples" at the bottom of the chain of command.

When Maj. Gen. Taguba's Abu Ghraib investigation report was leaked to the press on May 4, 2004, I was very surprised to find myself listed as the only military intelligence soldier to witness to the truth. And for my conscientiousness, the Army imposed an exclusive gag order on me 10 days later; a week after that my top-secret clearance was suspended and eventually I was reduced in rank.

Memory loss

So it came as no surprise to me that Fay would continue to play a disingenuous role at the court-martial of Lt. Col. Jordan. Jordan is the only officer and the last of the 12 persons charged in the scandal to go to trial. Eleven enlisted soldiers have been convicted of crimes, with the longest sentence, 10 years, given to former Cpl. Charles Graner, Jr., in January 2005.

Two of the charges against Jordan (together punishable by eight years in prison) were obstruction of justice and lying to Fay.

On the day before Jordan's trial began, Fay contacted Army prosecutors to claim that he "misspoke" in earlier testimony that he had advised Jordan of his rights before interviewing him in 2004. The Army judge was quick to approve a defense motion to dismiss the false statement and obstruction of justice charges.

Eight years off a possible sentence even before the trial begins! Not bad.

The next stiffest possible sentence was five years for disobeying Fay's ban on discussing the investigation with others. But not to worry. Testifying last Wednesday, Fay could not remember when he had told Jordan to avoid discussing the investigation.

Enter defense attorney Maj. Kris Poppe: (To Fay) "Today you testified you gave a specific order not to discuss -- to speak to no one. And that testimony is based on your memory, is it not, sir?"

"It is," Fay replied.

So, presumably, we can now strike five more years off a possible sentence. What's left of the charges? Cruelty and maltreatment of detainees, a charge punishable by one year in prison. The only other charges are failure to obey a regulation (a possible two-year sentence) and dereliction of duty (six months).

Those are maximums. It seems a safe bet that Jordan, like his immediate supervisor, Col. Thomas Pappas, will get off with a reprimand and a minor fine.

If they had asked me

According to press reports, other witnesses will be called to testify at the Jordan court-martial.

Strange. Although I was at Abu Ghraib for the entire time Lt. Col. Jordan was there, for some reason the prosecution does not seem interested in using my testimony at his trial.

I could, for example, provide testimony demolishing the myth that Jordan was not really all that much involved in interrogations. One of the soldiers who worked very closely with Jordan verified that he was fully familiar with the infamous "hard site," where much of the torture took place. Jordan had been seen there on more than one occasion, hanging out laid back with his feet propped up. My soldier informant also bragged that he had joined Jordan in beating up a prisoner.

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Sam Provance, a former sergeant specializing in intelligence analysis, refused to remain silent about the torture at Abu Ghraib, where he served for five months at the height of the abuses. He was punished for refusing to take part in the coverup, and pushed out of the Army. For his sworn testimony to Congress, click here.

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