More has emerged in recent days about the treatment of detainees at Camp Xray in Guatanamo Bay where the American military has been holding suspected terrorists. It had already become public knowledge that many of those held had nothing to do with terrorism and were basically sold into captivity for a $5,000 reward, just as many held by the coalition in Iraqi prisons had done nothing wrong.
Digby has been doing the heavy lifting and has lengthy posts here and here. What's striking is the parallel between the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo and at Abu Ghraib. It certainly blows the "few bad apples" theory out of the water because the common denominator isn't a few MP's or interrogators. The common denominator is Major General Geoffrey D. Miller who oversaw prison operations at Gitmo until this past April when he took over responsibility for the POW Camps in Iraq. His involvement in Iraq, however, goes back to last September when he submitted a report on interrogation methods there. It was shortly after that report was submitted that the worst of the abuses began at Abu Ghraib.
The abuse of detainees is just one more story that will continue to be prominent in the media no matter how much Karl Rove might like it to sink out of sight. Yesterday's Washington Post featured a story about a former army reservist who served at Abu Ghraib. He reported the abuse he witnessed to his superiors while he was still serving. He has since made a videotaped statement to two Republican congressmen who serve on the House Armed Services Committee and they don't sound too inclined to let the story drop.
"Responsibility for this goes way, way up the line," beyond the seven soldiers charged, Bartlett said Friday.
That's from Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.).
One of the stories that digby points to reports on documents unsealed as a result of the first legal action involving Camp Xray to reach an American courtroom. I have to believe there will be more.
