http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/31/attorney_says_soldier_pawn_in_abuse/FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Defense attorneys for a military police soldier charged with detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison argued in court yesterday that their client was a pawn in a widespread policy of abusive military intelligence procedures, citing two extensive Army investigative reports released last week as evidence that the soldier was following orders.
The argument, on behalf of Private First Class Lynndie R. England, 21, was the first opportunity for defense attorneys representing seven low-ranking MPs to use the government's own investigations in defending soldiers charged in the notorious abuse case. The two investigations -- one led by a former defense secretary and the other by three Army generals -- identified nearly 50 soldiers who either were involved in abuses at Abu Ghraib or failed to report it. Both reports also criticized top commanders in Iraq for leadership failures, and the Army's report found that military intelligence interrogators asked Military Police soldiers for help using harsh and, in some cases, illegal tactics against detainees.