Military Officer in Charge of Abu Ghraib Torture Prison up for Promotion

The Pentagon plans to promote Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former head of military operations in Iraq, risking a confrontation with members of Congress because of the prison abuses that occurred during his tenure. Senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, privately have told colleagues they are determined to pin a fourth star on Sanchez, two senior defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this week. Rumsfeld and others recognize that Sanchez remains politically "radioactive," in the words of a third senior defense official, and would wait until after the Nov. 2 presidential election and ongoing investigations of the Abu Ghraib affair have faded before putting his name forward. Top Pentagon strategists do not have a specific four-star job in mind for Sanchez, and the officials conceded that the appointment would probably not occur if Bush were defeated in his re-election bid by Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who has made his criticism of the conduct of the war a centerpiece of his campaign. Among his duties in Iraq, Sanchez oversaw all detention facilities, including the Abu Ghraib prison. [more ]