[Marxism] Gen. Geoffrey Miller, Rumsfeld deputy at Guantanamo and Middle East, leaves field of battle

[Brian Shannon <brian_shannon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Army Lets General in Prison Scandal Retire
By Peter Spiegel
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 1, 2006

WASHINGTON — Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, whose oversight of  
detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq put him under  
intense scrutiny, was allowed to retire from the Army on Monday, a  
signal that he will face no disciplinary action in connection with  
Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.
. . .

After invoking his right against self-incrimination earlier this year  
in two of the abuse trials, Miller agreed to testify at a junior  
officer's court-martial in May. In his appearance, he denied  
accusations that he had been the one to suggest that Abu Ghraib  
guards use military dogs to intimidate detainees.

The senior Pentagon official said the decision to allow Miller to  
retire was largely based on the fact that the two abuse trials at  
which he was to testify were finished.

"Had we retired him earlier, people would have always asked  
questions," said the senior Pentagon official. "I think everything  
has been out there, everything's been looked at."

[In other words, we wrote a script. He made a guest appearance. There  
will be no curtain call.]

Upon his retirement, Miller was awarded the Distinguished Service  
Medal, one of the Army's highest honors.

"He has had a very, very distinguished career," said Gen. Richard A.  
Cody, vice chief of staff of the Army. "You talk to soldiers that  
have served with him — and when I get ready to retire anybody, I  
always like to go and get feedback from people — Geoff is very, very  
well respected by peers, subordinates and superiors alike."

Miller long ago emerged as a key figure in the Abu Ghraib abuse  
scandal, even though he was never formally accused of wrongdoing. He  
was commander of the U.S. detention complex at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,  
when Pentagon officials selected him to lead a team to improve U.S.- 
run prisons in Iraq as the insurgency began to mushroom during the  
summer of 2003.

The now-infamous abuses of detainees in Iraq, captured in  
photographs, began occurring just weeks after Miller's mission  
recommended changes to Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who at the  
time was commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

A separate Pentagon investigation into interrogation techniques at  
Guantanamo recommended that Miller be reprimanded for the degrading  
and abusive interrogation techniques used on Mohammed al-Qahtani, a  
"high-value" prisoner who U.S. officials believe was the intended  
20th hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks. Qahtani was refused entry to  
the United States by immigration officials a month before the attacks  
and was later captured in Afghanistan.

Despite the reprimand recommendation, the general responsible for  
administering punishment decided not to issue a rebuke, finding that  
no laws or policies had been violated.

. . .
FULL AT
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O27252F7D

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na- 
miller1aug01,1,1205256.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo>





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