Investigation finds no policy of detainee abuse

In a briefing to reporters Thursday, Vice Adm. Albert T. Church said that an extensive investigation into 71 substantiated cases of detainee abuse concluded that "there was no policy that condoned or authorized either abuse or torture."

Additionally, investigators found no link between authorized interrogation techniques and abuses that did occur, he said.

However, investigators found that Defense Department officials failed to issue clear guidance to military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq regarding the detention and interrogation of prisoners, and that there was confusion among personnel serving in Afghanistan and Iraq about the appropriate relationship between military officials and the CIA. Investigators found about 30 cases where the presence of "ghost detainees" were kept secret in violation of U.S. and international laws.

Church, a Navy inspector general, had been directed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to conduct a comprehensive review of Defense interrogation operations. It is the tenth major investigation into the abuse of prisoners held in Afghanistan, Iraq and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Although the report was completed in December, it remains classified. An unclassified executive summary was released by the Pentagon on Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First have called for an independent investigation. The organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging Rumsfeld with direct responsibility for the torture and abuse of detainees in military custody.

"I don't believe anyone can call this a whitewash," Church said. Investigators interviewed more than 800 people and examined thousands of pages of documents over the course of about nine months, he said. "The facts are what the facts are."

The Church investigation examined 71 cases of detainee abuse, including six deaths, that had been substantiated by Sept. 30, 2004. Another 130 cases were still under investigation at that time, including most of the Abu Ghraib cases of reported abuse.

Investigators found that about 20 of those substantiated cases were related to interrogations, and even in many of those cases the relationship was tenuous-one case involved a field commander slapping a detainee when asking him questions. That case was included as an interrogation-related abuse case even though the incident did not occur during any formal "interrogation," nor were military intelligence personnel involved.

The Army, which is the executive agent for military detention operations, has developed a plan to implement 199 separate recommendations aimed at improving operations and preventing abuse. It has launched an ambitious new training program and is revising some of its policies. The service also is rewriting field manuals for military police and interrogators to clarify the relationships between them. Additionally, over the next three years, the Army plans to establish 35 new units whose primary function will be to run prisons during military operations.

Church said other agencies using military interrogation facilities are required to comply with military interrogation rules, and all interrogations conducted by other agencies in Defense facilities will be subject to military oversight.