ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army officer in charge of prison interrogators during the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq has been given nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of duty and fined $8,000, according to a Pentagon official with access to information about the case.
Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, was found guilty of violating Article 92 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, which is dereliction of duty, the official told Stripes on Wednesday.
Army leaders in Europe were still undecided on whether to formally relieve Pappas of command as of Wednesday afternoon, the Pentagon official said.
Pappas’ violation “is specifically related to two instances relating to interrogation operations at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, in 2003 and early 2004,” the official said.
At issue is Pappas’ failure to see that soldiers under his command were “properly trained and supervised in application of interrogation procedures.”
In addition to a formal letter of reprimand, which will become part of Pappas’ permanent service record, the colonel received a “$4,000 fine for two months, so $8,000,” the official said.
The finding resulted from an Article 15 hearing, a nonjudicial punishment normally employed in dealing with offenses not rising to the level of a court martial.
Pappas, who is now the second-highest officer linked to Abu Ghraib to be singled out for punishment, can appeal the decision, the Pentagon official said.
Last week, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski was reduced to the rank of colonel and forced to relinquish command of the 800th Military Police Brigade, part of the Army Reserve.
Karpinski was responsible for all prisons in Iraq when the Abu Ghraib incidents took place in the fall of 2003.
The prisoner abuse came to light early in 2004 after copies of photos surfaced that showed naked detainees positioned in sexually humiliating circumstances, handcuffed in painful positions and being frightened by police using guard dogs.
Pappas is due to rotate out of the position in early June, as part of the Army’s normal change of command process.
“The guy’s going to be gone in three weeks, anyway,” the official said.
Army culture is such that when a commanding officer close to the end of his tenure is found guilty of a serious offense — especially something as public as the Abu Ghraib scandal — the resulting loss of reputation and a lifetime’s career is usually considered punishment enough, the official said. The officer is usually allowed to finish command, and expected to quietly retire.
“For officers, an Article 15 means [a military career] is over, finished, gone,” the official said.
However, USAREUR officials must take into account the fact that Karpinski was relieved of her command even though she was not directly involved in the interrogations.
Karpinski “was guilty of [poor] leadership,” the official said.
“But Pappas was directly responsible for interrogations,” as well as the physical security at Abu Ghraib, which is located 20 miles west of Baghdad, the official said.
“So there’s a perception of fairness” at stake, the official said.
Not all high-ranking officers with ties to Abu Ghraib have been reprimanded.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq; his deputy, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski; and his senior intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, were cleared of wrongdoing in the Army inspector general report earlier this month that punished Karpinski.
On the enlisted side of the scandal, Charles Graner, the reported ringleader of the abuse, was sentenced to a 10-year prison term for his role. Graner was also demoted from specialist to private.
Still in the balance is the fate of Pfc. Lynndie England, whose grinning visage appears on many of the abuse photos, in particular the one in which she is holding a dog leash collared around the neck of a naked prisoner.
Last week, a military judge threw out England’s guilty plea stemming from Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse. However, new charges will be filed against England soon.
