Former Brigadier General Janis Karpinski to Speak on Abu Ghraib in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, NM—The Northern New Mexico Chapter of the ACLU-NM is bringing Janis Karpinski, the former brigadier general in charge of the American military prison system in Iraq from July 2003 until May 2005, and author of the book One Woman’s Army – The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story, to Santa Fe.

She arrives in Santa Fe on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 for a four-day stay that begins with a Press Conference in the State Capitol Rotunda at 3:00 PM and concludes with a two-evening presentation and book signing from 6 - 9 PM at the James A. Little Theater on Friday and Saturday evenings, February 3rd and 4th.

At her press conference, Janis Karpinski, scapegoated by the Bush administration for the Abu Ghraib scandal, will present compelling evidence showing how the lines of responsibility for the torture and degradation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison go to the top echelons of the White House and Department of Defense.

She has since said, “If my superiors expected me to accept their version of events and go away meekly, they made a mistake of strategic proportions.”

In support of that statement, she is prepared to pull out the stops by discussing:

• What she knew and when she knew it.
• Her testimony at the final session of the International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration held January 20-22, 2006 in New York City.  (The verdict is to be delivered on February 2 in Washington, DC.)
• The ill treatment of women in the military deployed to Iraq – sexual harassment, assaults, rape and suicides – subjects not only inadequately investigated but, for the most part, hushed up by the military brass.
• Senior military leaders who abandoned military leadership responsibilities to focus on the political implications of each decision made and report rendered.
• The taking of the Fifth by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, formerly commandant of Guantanamo Bay, and his refusing to provide testimony at the Courts Martial of soldiers because immunity was not an option.
• Col. Thomas Pappas, the Military Intelligence Commander at Abu Ghraib, who has been given immunity and may finally reveal who gave the orders to treat prisoners more harshly and when the harsher treatment began.
• How some “leaders” apparently sought to model prisons in Iraq on the prison at Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) and “how idiotic and naive the plans and planners were to believe such an operation was feasible.”
• * The truth behind Bush administration assertions that troops will be withdrawn when conditions on the ground warrant. As one of the highest-ranking officers in Iraq, she was part of the Army’s struggle to meet with the demands placed upon it — a struggle that may not be sustainable for long enough to defeat the insurgency and that risks a "catastrophic decline" in recruitment and reenlistment.
• Why a culture of cowardice permeates the senior military ranks and is seen as a means of self-preservation and the only route to promotion.
• Corruption among civilian contractors.

Prepare for a no-holds-barred discussion of these and other topics concerning Abu Ghraib, the situation in Iraq and its implications for this country and our cherished American freedoms and civil liberties.