Abu Ghraib Torturerer: 'Rumsfeld Knew'

American contractor says defense sec approved his detention, torture in Iraq

(AP) - An Army vet who says he was imprisoned unjustly and tortured by the US military in Iraq can sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld personally for damages, a judge ruled yesterday. The veteran, a private contractor who worked as a Marine translator in the volatile Anbar province, says he was repeatedly abused while detained for nine months at Camp Cropper. Lawyers for the man, who is in his 50s, say he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the US military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive. More»

Rumsfeld had pledged in 2004 to compensate the abused

(AP) - In 2004, a defensive Donald Rumsfeld told Congress that he had found a legal way to compensate Iraqi detainees who suffered "grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the United States armed forces." He continued, "It's the right thing to do. And it is my intention to see that we do." But six years later, the US Army is unable to document a single payment for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. More»

(AP) - A lecture by Lynndie England—the woman who became the public face of the Abu Ghraib scandal—had to be canceled at the Library of Congress yesterday after multiple threats led to concerns about staff safety. The former Army reservist had been scheduled to discuss her biography as part of a veterans forum. More»

(NEWSER) - Lynndie England is trying to rebuild some semblance of a normal life, but her past continues to haunt her, she tells the AP. “It’s my face that's always recognized,” the former Army Reservist and poster child for Abu Ghraib abuse said of trying to get a job—or even just going to the store. “I can't really change that.” England has been unemployed since she got out of prison. “I sit at home all day.” More»

(NEWSER) - Lawyers for US soldiers convicted of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison say the recently released CIA memos prove their clients were just following orders, the Times of London reports. Some of the dozen soldiers who were convicted plan to appeal, arguing that the Bush administration kept quiet during their trials and let them take the heat. More»