Army clears top brass of Abu Ghraib wrongdoing
Former top commander in Iraq, 3 others overseeing Iraqi prisons are exonerated
- Eric Schmitt, New York Times
Saturday, April 23, 2005

Washington
-- A high-level Army investigation has cleared four of the most senior
Army officers overseeing prison policies and operations in Iraq of
responsibility for the abuses of prisoners there, congressional and
administration officials said on Friday.

Among those exonerated
was Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who was the top commander in Iraq from
June 2003 to June 2004. He was the highest-ranking officer to face
allegations of leadership failure in connection with the scandal, but
has not been accused of criminal misconduct.

Barring the
discovery of new evidence, the inquiry by the Army's inspector general
and judge advocate general effectively closes the Army's book on
whether the highest-ranking officers in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib
prison scandal should be held accountable for command failings that
past reviews have described.