Senate report says Rumsfeld to blame for detainee abuse

One month after Rumsfeld issued his order approving such methods at Guantanamo, they were part of a presentation witnessed by Army Capt. Carolyn Wood at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, the report says. Wood has been criticized by human rights groups for her role in U.S. interrogation techniques, and was singled out in one investigation as failing to properly oversee interrogators.

The committee said the Afghanistan techniques eventually became standard procedure for all U.S. forces in Iraq. And by summer 2003, Wood, then serving in Iraq, proposed that the practices become the interrogation policy at Abu Ghraib.

After Wood proposed extending the use of the techniques and pressure mounted to acquire intelligence about the insurgency, the top commander in Iraq, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, authorized interrogators on Sept. 14, 2003, to use stress positions, "sleep management" and dogs when questioning detainees.

A month later, he rescinded permission to use the techniques.

"The new policy, however, contained ambiguities with respect to certain techniques, such as the use of dogs in interrogations, and led to confusion about which techniques were permitted," the Senate report says.

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greg.miller@latimes.com

julian.barnes@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

A trail of inquiries

Since the earliest allegations of detainee abuse at Iraq's

Abu Ghraib prison in 2004, there have been more than a dozen government investigations into prisoner mistreatment in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay. Here are summaries of the major reports:

Taguba report, March 2004. An investigation of the 800th Military Police Brigade by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba. The findings broke open the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Mikolashek report, July 2004. Lt. Gen. Paul T. Mikolashek, the Army inspector general, failed to find systemic causes for abuses at Abu Ghraib.

Schlesinger report, August 2004. An independent panel led by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger described the migration of harsh techniques from Afghanistan to Iraq.

Fay-Jones report, August 2004. Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Jones and Army Maj. Gen. George Fay, investigating intelligence activities at Abu Ghraib, said dozens of military personnel and contractors were responsible for abuses.

Church report, February 2005. Vice Adm. Albert T. Church, the Navy's inspector general, found 71 cases of abuse resulting in six deaths, but did not identify systemic problems.

Green report, April 2005.

Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Green,

the Army inspector general, cleared Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez and his staff in the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.

Schmidt report, July 2005. Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt looked into FBI allegations of abuse at Guantanamo. He said policies were violated but the treatment was not inhumane.

Justice Department inspector general's report, May 2008. Found that complaints by FBI agents about interrogation techniques at Guantanamo were brought to the attention of White House officials but ignored.

Senate Armed Services Committee report, December 2008. Investigated the origins of detainee abuse. Found that actions of former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld were a direct cause of the abuses.

Source: Research by Julian E. Barnes of the Washington bureau