Did General Miller Lie Under Oath about the Torture at Abu Ghraib?

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Tom Garner

Dear Buzz,

First, Major General Geoffrey Miller, who the Pentagon sent to Iraq to "improve” interrogation procedures, states that that he never told Brigadier General Janice Karpinski, commander of the military prison system in Iraq, that he wanted to Gitmoize Iraq:

"Senator, I did not tell General Karpinski I was going to Gitmo-ize Abu Ghraib. I don't believe I've ever used that term -- ever." (Transcript: Senate Hearing on Iraq Prison Abuse, Washington Post, May 19).

Brigadier General Karpinski says otherwise:

"He came up there and told me he was going to 'Gitmoize' the detention operation." ("As Insurgency Grew, So Did Prison Abuse," Washington Post, May 9).

Now Miller, through military spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmett, is saying that he never suggested to Colonel Pappas, head of Military Intelligence at Abu Ghraib, that it would be appropriate to use dogs when interrogating prisoners:

"Miller never had a conversation with Colonel Pappas regarding the use of military dogs for interrogation purposes in Iraq. Further, military dogs were never used in interrogations at Guantanamo" ("General Is Said To Have Urged Use of Dogs," Washington Post, May 26).

Pappas says otherwise:

"It was a technique I had personally discussed with General Miller, when he was here." "He said that they used military working dogs at Gitmo and that they were effective in setting the atmosphere for which, you know, you could get information." ("General Is Said To Have Urged Use of Dogs," Washington Post, May 26).

Clearly someone is not telling the truth, and since all three officers were interviewed under oath, Karpinski and Pappas by Army investigator Major General Antonio Taguba, and Miller by the Senate Armed Services Committee, someone has committed perjury. My bet is that the perjurer is Miller. The evidence so far, two versus one, suggests this. If Miller did lie under oath to the Senate, this is very serious.

Tom Garner
Pensacola, Florida

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION