From Jim Warren, my neighborhood iconoclast....

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Warren" To: "Jim Warren" Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 10:45 AM Subject: US warden to run Iraq justice, picked while being investigated for abuses!

> This is from the AUSTIN CHRONICLE in Texas' capitol. Could it be > that this man, hand-picked by Ashcroft, will oversee replacement of > Abu Ghraib Prison (funded by US tax-dollars)? --jim > > [excerpts from] > http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-05-28/cols_ventura.html > > MAY 28, 2004 ... > > Who's Lane McCotter? > BY MICHAEL VENTURA > > Who is Lane McCotter, and what exactly was he doing in Iraq? > > ... U.S. military lawyers were excluded from determining > [interrogation] procedures in Iraq, as the Los Angeles Times reported > on May 14. ... > ... senior military lawyers "were extremely upset. They said they > were being shut out of the process, and that civilian political > lawyers, not the military lawyers, were writing these new rules of > engagement [for interrogation]." Remember that the chief White House > counsel called the Geneva accords "obsolete." The LA Times goes on: > "The military lawyers complained that the Pentagon was 'creating an > atmosphere of legal ambiguity,' Horton said. 'What's happened is not > an accident. It is exactly what they [the military lawyers] were > warning about a year ago.'" > > Which brings us to Lane McCotter. > > Do a Web search on McCotter and you'll come across an article in the > March 4 newsletter The Utah Sheriff featuring a photo taken last year > of Lane McCotter giving a tour of the Abu Ghraib prison to none other > than Donald Rumsfeld's right-hand man Paul Wolfowitz. So: Who's > McCotter, and what was he doing in Iraq? > > According to a NY Times report on May 8, Lane McCotter was an MP in > Vietnam who eventually rose to the rank of colonel. His last Army > assignment was as warden of the Army's central prison at Fort > Leavenworth. > > In civilian life he eventually became director of the Utah Department > of Corrections, a post he resigned under pressure in 1997 "after an > inmate died while shackled to a restraining chair for 16 hours. The > inmate, who suffered from schizophrenia, was kept naked the whole > time." > > McCotter later became a top executive in a private prison company > that ran a Sante Fe jail that was "under investigation by the Justice > Department" for "unsafe conditions and lack of medical care for > inmates." > > Here comes the good part: > > While he and his company were under investigation by the Justice > Department, the department's chief, Attorney General John Ashcroft, > hand-picked McCotter to "rebuild [Iraq's] criminal justice system." > (NY Times) ... > > ... It was McCotter who, in the parlance of The NY Times, "directed > Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq last year and trained the guards." ... > > What did Ashcroft say when he appointed McCotter? This: "Now all > Iraqis can taste liberty in their native land, and we will help make > that freedom permanent by assisting them to establish an equitable > justice system based on the rule of law and standards of basic human > rights." ... > > When The NY Times (May 8) queried why McCotter was hired even though > he was under investigation, the Justice Department didn't return the > calls. ... > > Twelve days later, Justice lamely told ABC News that "the department > was aware of the background of the men [McCotter and John J. > Armstrong, who has an even worse record]. ... The official said they > were among the few who were willing to go." > > ... Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights First > all report that they complained of Iraqi prisoner maltreatment to > Coalition Provisional Authority boss L. Paul Bremer III and > Condoleezza Rice, who shined them on ... > > The LA Times, May 9: "[T]he recently resigned, handpicked Iraqi human > rights minister was quoted as saying that he notified L. Paul Bremer > ... in November of possible prisoner abuse, 'but there was no > answer.' The minister was not even allowed to visit the prisons." ... > > And our poor troops? ... The NY Times, May 9: "Army doctrine calls > for a military brigade to handle about 4,000 prisoners. But a single > battalion - about a third of the size of a brigade - was handling > 6,000 to 7,000 prisoners at Abu Ghraib." ... > > The LA Times, May 11: "Most Arrested by 'Mistake' - Coalition > Intelligence Put Numbers at 70% to 90% of Iraqi prisoners." The Red > Cross, which "made 29 visits to Coalition-run prisons and camps > between late March and November of last year, said it repeatedly > presented its reports of mistreatment to prison commanders, U.S. > military officials in Iraq and members of the Bush administration in > Washington." ... In a separate story the same day: "US Army officials > have acknowledged detaining women in hopes of persuading male > relatives to provide information. ... Interrogators sometimes > threatened to kill [the innocent women] detainees." > > ... >
12:32:40 PM