Former Iraq Prison Chief Rebels at 'Scapegoat' Role (Karpinski)

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Former Iraq Prison Chief Rebels at 'Scapegoat' Role
Thu Jun 3, 7:55 AM ET
By Faye Fiore Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski turned 51 last week, but when she and her family celebrated in her native town of Rahway, N.J., they decided to stay home rather than venture out to a restaurant, not even a dimly lighted one.

The woman who commanded the Army Reserve's 800th Military Police Brigade and supervised the guards at Iraq (news - web sites)'s infamous Abu Ghraib prison has become one of the most recognizable and relentlessly pursued players in an erupting international scandal over prisoner abuse.

In part, that's because Karpinski has not followed the route of the traditional commander who stoically accepts responsibility for failure on her watch and quietly retires. Instead, Karpinski has actively cooperated and sometimes sought out the media in a one-woman campaign to defend herself.

She is quoted regularly in major newspapers. She has made herself a ubiquitous figure on the talk show circuit — from ABC's "Good Morning America" to MSNBC's "Hardball" — refusing to be blamed for interrogation practices she insists she never would have allowed and human rights abuses that "sickened" her.

With just her own constantly ringing cellphone and no help from Army staff, she has waged a public-relations war a professional press agent might envy.

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