Iraq Jail Contractor Contradicts Generals

[Spazito]

WASHINGTON - Army guards at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (news - web sites) kept some prisoners awake for as much as 20 hours a day at the direction of private contractors and military intelligence soldiers, a private interrogator told investigators.


The statement from Steven A. Stefanowicz conflicts with accounts by some top generals, who contend prison guards were barred from such active participation in interrogations.


Stefanowicz also said he may have heard, but did not see, some military police physically abusing a prisoner. Otherwise, he said, he did not see any abuses inside Abu Ghraib like those documented in photos that became public this spring.


Stefanowicz, whose own veracity has been questioned in the official prison investigation, told Army investigators in a sworn statement that Col. Thomas Pappas, the military intelligence chief at Abu Ghraib, personally approved of the sleep deprivation tactics.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&e=7&u=/ap/prison_abuse_contractor

[bemildred]

1. One of the many drawbacks of civilian "contractors".

The Pentagoon does not own their ass, so they can make
unauthorized statements.