*EPF405 07/15/2004
Senator Says Detainee Abuse Will Not Recur
(Warner discusses hearing on ongoing investigations) (520)

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (Republican of Virginia) told reporters July 15 that steps have been taken so that no additional incidents of abuse of detainees in U.S. custody will occur.

Warner based his assessment on a closed July 15 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing attended by senior military and civilian defense officials who provided testimony on multiple ongoing investigations into the abuse of detainees by military police guards.

Warner, who spoke with reporters at the conclusion of the hearing, said the Department of Defense (DOD) has been forthcoming in providing witnesses and documents on the status of various investigations. Defense officials have provided 24 of 25 reports by the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding their concerns about detainees voiced in 2003 and 2004. The Senate is still awaiting one more report, the committee chairman said.

Warner said he is convinced that the Defense Department is leaving "no stone ... unturned" as it investigates allegations of abuse. At the direction of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, "everything than can be done is being done to analyze what happened in the past and to prevent any recurrence in the future," he said.

Although Warner said he believes the Pentagon proceeded aggressively to address the abuse issue in most instances, he also said that in several cases "there are some tough questions" that will have to be answered.

Warner attested to the fact that the department now promptly investigates any incident it uncovers where the rights of a detainee may have been neglected or DOD rules or regulations ignored. "I have not personally detected any foot-dragging," he said in response to a reporter's query.

The chairman also explained that Congress must tread very carefully as it carries out its oversight responsibility on this sensitive issue in order to avoid any "situation that could result in the inability of the Red Cross to function in other nations of the world, because ... their success is dependent, in many ways, on the confidentiality of their investigations." Red Cross officials, he said, need to be able to go into a country, like Iraq, and where they find a situation that in their judgment is contrary to the Geneva Conventions, report it "to the appropriate authorities, as was done in these cases."

Warner also said congressional committees investigating the abuse allegations must take care not to "jeopardize the rights of individuals being investigated under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

When the military legal proceedings of those who have been accused of crimes have concluded, Warner said it might be possible to bring them before his committee to answer questions.

The chairman also said that as the military completes each investigation into how abuse could have occurred, the committee might be able to schedule public hearings to evaluate, in sequence, each investigative report as it is issued.

"As soon as the reports are completed, I will address the reports, hopefully, in an open hearing," Warner said, while adding that he does not know when that might be.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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