GIs Told to Cooperate in Abuse Probe

The Army’s second-in-command in Iraq is admonishing soldiers to “cooperate fully” and testify “truthfully” about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, deputy commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said in a memo being distributed to the troops there that the investigation of the prison scandal was far from over and that “everyone has a duty” to cooperate.

The memo came after two officers and a civilian contractor claimed their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in one court hearing and after more soldiers began speaking out about how the scandal had lowered their morale.

Court testimony and other documents have shown how the scandal has exacted a price from some soldiers and their families, and have helped explain the reluctance of some troops to cooperate, especially in a military that prides itself as being a “band of brothers.”

One soldier who agreed to cooperate -- but only after he was charged along with six other military police officers -- was Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits. He pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to a year in prison, in a deal contingent on his testimony against the others.

The financial costs to Sivits were made known in an April 28 statement attached to his offer to plead guilty. He asked that the Army remember his family.

“All of my pay goes to support my wife and her medical bills,” Sivits wrote. “She needs all of my pay to make ends meet and to pay for her surgery. Please do not punish her any more than my actions already have by taking money from her. She is truly innocent in all of this.”

Metz’s memo reminded the troops that cooperation with investigators must transcend any attempt by soldiers to close ranks.

“Our military is founded upon the principles of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage,” Metz said in the memo, titled “Detainee Abuse at the Abu Ghraib Detention Facility.”

He emphasized “the duty of all soldiers to cooperate fully in any investigation, and, if called to testify, to do so truthfully, both on the merits and on behalf of the accused soldier.”

In a closed-door military court preliminary hearing for Cpl. Charles A. Graner Jr. on April 26 in Baghdad, three key witnesses refused to testify, citing the 5th Amendment. They were Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the senior officer in charge of interrogations at Abu Ghraib; Capt. Donald J. Reese, the commander of the 372nd Military Police Company, who supervised Graner and others charged in the abuse; and Adel L. Nakhla, a civilian contractor with Titan Corp. who worked as an interpreter.

A man seen sitting in front of a group of naked prisoners in new photos obtained by The Times was identified as Nakhla by Guy Womack, the lawyer for Graner. Womack said two other people in similar photos were “senior military intelligence officers” whose identities he was seeking.

Lawyers for both sides say such information, crucial to the investigation, can be obtained only if other soldiers cooperate.

At Sivits’ court-martial in Baghdad, several soldiers testified about how the investigation had damaged their morale and the unit’s missions.

Army Spc. Matthew Wisdom, a guard with Sivits’ 372nd Military Police Company, said that photographs of the abuse “made me sick to my stomach” and that since January, when another specialist tipped off Army investigators about the abuse, company morale had taken a nosedive.

“I had found out pretty easily what had happened and what was going on,” Wisdom said, “and we were getting looked down upon as undisciplined, worthless soldiers, and that affected -- it impacted the mission. It made it harder for us.”

Adding to the stress, he said, were events in the United States. “We have media attacking our families at home,” he said. “Our families are worried. We were worried.”

Army Lt. Col. Lennie Upshaw, deputy commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade, arrived at the prison in January, when reports of abuse were spreading around the sprawling complex.

“A lot of the soldiers had low morale. They were focused on just trying to get out of there,” Upshaw said. “Minor tasks, such as performing counts, keeping the cells and areas clean and orderly, were not being accomplished in an efficient manner. Tasks that I felt junior NCOs [non-commissioned officers] should have been able to supervise and accomplish required micromanagement from senior NCOs and officers.”

Sivits has described how he felt ostracized after charges were filed against him. He was initially kept in a secluded area with the other accused soldiers but was granted a transfer after it became known that he was going to plead guilty and testify against his colleagues.

In testimony during his court-martial and in sworn statements, Sivits, a vehicle mechanic, said he witnessed only a fraction of the abuse and failed to report it until he was charged. He said he was warned by Staff Sgt. Ivan “Chip” Frederick II, another defendant, that “you didn’t see” a thing.

But now he is expected to testify that he saw Frederick “strike a detainee in the chest”; that Sgt. Javal S. Davis “stomped on hands and toes”; that Graner was “punching a detainee”; that Spc. Sabrina Harman wrote “the word ‘rapist’ on an inmate’s leg”; and that Pfc. Lynndie England “was taking photos and laughing” and “stomping on hands and toes.”

But Sivits said a sixth soldier awaiting court-martial, Spc. Megan Ambuhl, had not been involved in the abuse. “She was upstairs,” he said.

“From what I understood, she was actually in charge of the female and juvenile side of that area. She was upstairs.”

Sivits said he hoped that his statements would encourage others to “stand up for what’s right” and report criminal conduct.

“I learned huge lessons,” he said, adding: “I love the Army. I love that flag.”

Staff writer Scott Gold in Houston contributed to this report.