Lieutenant colonel faces hearing in Abu Ghraib case

By Ingrid Arnesen
CNN

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FORT MEADE, Maryland (CNN) -- Army Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, the highest-ranking officer charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, embarrassed the U.S. military by willfully turning a blind eye to abuses, prosecutors alleged Monday.

But Jordan's defense attorneys said he was a civil affairs officer who did the best he could to protect his troops in a chaotic environment where no one was really in charge.

"There was a new command on the ground that was developing needs to meet the insurgency," said lead defense counsel Capt. Samuel Spitzberg. In order to deal with the huge increase of detainees "a plan was devised ad hoc that lacked command and control structure."

The investigation covers the period of September through November 2003, during which the worst abuses occurred at Abu Ghraib, some of which were photographed.

Jordan faces 12 charges, the most serious alleging cruelty and maltreatment by allowing detainees to be sexually humiliated, stripped nude and threatened with dogs.

If convicted on all counts, Jordan would face a maximum sentence of 42 years in prison.

Addressing the military's equivalent of a grand jury hearing, the chief prosecutor, Lt. Col. John P. Tracy, said that even though Jordan did not personally abuse anyone, his negligence allowed the Abu Ghraib abuses to take place.

But the key question in Monday's hearing was what role Jordan played. His lawyers say he was never in charge, but just a liaison officer for top military intelligence commanders in Iraq. That claim was repeatedly rejected by Maj. Gen. George Fay, who appeared as the first witness on the stand. Fay, who conducted his own investigation, said, "That role didn't make any sense at the time. I established at the time that he was in charge of the Joint Detention and Interrogation Center."

Tracy said Jordan's command resulted in a "breakdown and negligence and a turning away of abuses that embarrassed the U.S. military, and he was commander of it."

But Maj. Kris Poppe, Jordan's defense attorney, said the evidence will show that Jordan "did not commit a crime and he should not be subjected to a general court-martial."

Poppe said the evidence will show there were many groups operating at Abu Ghraib, including other agencies, civilian contractors, Guantanamo interrogators and a military intelligence brigade recently transferred from Afghanistan, all of whom "created operations and details as they went along."

A chief warrant officer who investigated the scandal, Art Simiril, testified that those he questioned said Jordan was the officer in charge of interrogations.

However, on cross-examination he said that he could not recall seeing Jordan's name on any of the interrogation orders.

Jordan was formally charged by prosecutors on April 25. The charges allege he twice approved harsh interrogation techniques, including the use of dogs, without getting permission from Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

He is also accused of lying to the two generals given the duty of investigating Abu Ghraib.

The Article 32 hearing, as it is known in the military, is expected to continue through the week.

A total of 50 witnesses will be presented, mostly by telephone. Among them is to be one of the top military intelligence commanders in Iraq and Jordan's former boss, Army Col. Thomas Pappas.

A separate Army investigation in 2004 found Pappas guilty of dereliction of duty but did not file criminal charges.

Seven low-ranking guards and two military intelligence soldiers were disciplined after the Abu Ghraib scandal. The photos -- which were leaked to the news media -- showed cases of torture and sexual humiliation, causing global condemnation.

In May 2005, President Bush demoted Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of Abu Ghraib during the scandal, to colonel. A month earlier, Karpinski had been formally relieved of command of the 800th military police brigade.

The longest prison sentence -- 10 years -- was given to Army Cpl. Charles Graner, who is seen in many of the Abu Ghraib photos with his then-girlfriend, Pfc. Lynndie England, who was sentenced to three years in prison.

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