General blames abuse on faulty leadership

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

The Army general who first investigated abuse in an Iraqi prison told Congress today the mistreatment resulted from faulty leadership, a "lack of discipline, no training whatsoever and no supervision" of the troops.

Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba also left open the possibility that members of the Central Intelligence Agency as well as armed forces personnel and civilian contractors were culpable in the abusive treatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.

"A few soldiers and civilians conspired to abuse and conduct egregious acts of violence against detainees and other civilians outside the bounds of international laws and the Geneva Convention," Taguba told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The hearing unfolded as a video posted on an Islamic militant Web site showed the apparent beheading of an American civilian in Iraq. "So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls," said one of the executioners.

Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas mentioned the video at the committee's afternoon session, adding that he did so "only to show that this is a very difficult situation."

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