Guantanamo Commander Sent to Iraq

The Army general in charge of the prisoner operation at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been reassigned to oversee prisoner detention operations in Iraq, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.

For the last 18 months, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller has commanded the joint task force at Guantanamo that holds 600 foreign terrorism suspects, most of them captured during the war in Afghanistan. He will become deputy commander for detainee operations for the U.S.-led forces in Iraq, officials said.

Army Brig. Gen. Jay Hood will take over the Guantanamo prisoner task force, they said.

Most recently, Hood was assistant division commander for the Army’s 24th Infantry Division and a deputy commanding general at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina. Before that, he was assistant chief of staff for operations for the NATO-led force in Kosovo.

Miller served longest among the three generals who have commanded the Guantanamo prison since it opened in January 2002. During his tenure, three military officers and a civilian translator who worked with the detainees were charged with security violations, prompting a review of procedures at the camp.

Last week, Miller dismissed criminal charges against one of the four, Capt. James Joseph Yee, the Muslim Army chaplain accused of mishandling classified information while ministering to the prisoners.

Charges against the others are still pending.