Abu Ghraib, Stonewalled (NYT)

[struggle4progress]

<snip>
Mr. Rumsfeld's handling of another issue, the Red Cross reports on Iraq, is the most outrageous example of the administration's bad faith on the prison scandal. The Bush administration has cited Red Cross confidentiality policies to explain its failure to give up the reports. The trouble is, the Red Cross has repeatedly told the administration to go ahead and share the agency's findings with Congress, as long as steps are taken to prevent leaks.

On May 7, the Senate armed services panel asked Mr. Rumsfeld for these reports on widespread abuse in the military prisons in Iraq; one of the reports had already appeared on the Internet. Mr. Rumsfeld assured the committee that he would turn them over, if the Red Cross agreed. Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides have not handed over the reports — 40 in all, including 24 from Iraq. Over the weeks, the Pentagon has assured increasingly angry senators that it was negotiating with the Red Cross, and then offered the rather absurd claim that it was still "collecting" the documents.
<snip>

In late May, Kevin Moley, the American ambassador to the international organizations based in Geneva, invited the head of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, to "express any concerns" his organization had about giving the documents to Congress. Dr. Kellenberger replied that it was never a problem as long as the documents were kept confidential. Given the administration's habit of selective disclosure, however, Dr. Kellenberger insisted that all of the reports, not just some, be sent to Congress, in their entirety. He has also asked for an inventory of what is shared.

Still, the Pentagon told Senator Warner's committee that it had not worked out an arrangement. On June 15, Christophe Girod, head of the Red Cross delegation in Washington, wrote to Senator Edward Kennedy, a leader in the fight to get the prison reports, that the decision "lies with the U.S. authorities." He confirmed that the Red Cross had given the Pentagon permission to hand over the documents in early May.
<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/30/opinion/30WED1.html?th

[LittleApple81]

1. They forgot one word: SUCCESSFUL stonewalling. n/t

[sui generis]

2. so . . . why doesn't the Red Cross just publish

the documents themselves? They should at the very least publish these so-called "negotiations" to further pressure Rumfilled.

[struggle4progress]

3. I think that to ensure its own access to such prisons the ICRC ...

gives these reports to governments under a cloak of confidentiality.

[jbfam4]

5. I agree,

but why should the RED CROSS follow rules, when the administration doesn't.

I would think that the red cross would be sooooo upset that it would give the information to the Senators or the newspapers.

[struggle4progress]

6. If the ICRC did that, the ICRC would lose international credibility. eom

[aden_nak]

4. Spelling Error.

Actually, it's Abu Garrrerreffffr. The President said so.