Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=5-19-04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CONGRESS - IRAQ (L)

NUMBER=2-316038

BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE

DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Top U-S military generals in Iraq took responsibility for the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, and vowed that the matter would be investigated thoroughly up the chain of command. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill the officers testified to a Senate panel in Washington.

TEXT: The top U-S commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, assured the Senate Armed Services Committee that steps have been taken to make sure that mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners will never happen again.

/// SANCHEZ ACT ///

I am fully committed to thorough and impartial investigations that examine the role, commissions and omissions of the entire chain of command, and that includes me. As the senior commander in Iraq, I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib, and I accept as a solemn obligation responsibility that it does not happen again.

/// END ACT ///

In the first court-martial in the scandal, Army Specialist Jeremy Sivits was sentenced in Iraq to a year in prison and discharged from the military for his role in the abuse.

General Sanchez told the Armed Services Committee there may be additional criminal charges as a result of the ongoing investigations.

/// SANCHEZ ACT ///

We have already initiated courts martial in seven cases, and there may very well be more prosecutions.

/// END ACT ///

General Sanchez was responsible for putting military intelligence in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He said the decision was made to protect the prison and not related to interrogations.

Investigators are looking into whether military police were operating under orders from military intelligence when they conducted abusive behavior toward prisoners.

General John Abizaid, head of the U-S Central Command, said "systemic problems" at the Abu Ghraib prison led to the mistreatment, but he said he did not believe there had been "a pattern" of abuse there.

General Abizaid said the scandal would not distract the U-S military from its effort to bring stability to Iraq.

Committee chairman, Senator John Warner, announced during the hearing that the Pentagon discovered another computer disk containing more photographs of abuse, and lawmakers would be allowed to see them.

Photos released to the media of U-S soldiers sexually humiliating and abusing prisoners in other ways prompted international outrage and caused some to question the Bush administration's commitment to bringing democracy to Iraq. (SIGNED)

NEB/DAT/MEM/RAE