Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal questioned over Iraq abuse

Posted by Mc Parry on June 2nd, 2009 No Comments Printer-Friendly

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s choice to lead US and NATO forces in Afghanistan faced questions from lawmakers Tuesday about alleged abuse of detainees in Iraq by forces under his command but said he acted within legal Bush administration guidelines.

Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal speaks before testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee for his nomination to be general and commander of the International Security Assistance Force and commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan during a hearing in Washington DC June 2, 2009 (Reuters)

Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal told a congressional hearing he did not endorse the mistreatment of detainees when he led special operations forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2006, but acknowledged he had misgivings about harsh interrogation techniques that were approved by then-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Asked if he had been “uncomfortable” with the use of dogs, stress positions, sleep deprivation and other methods in Iraq that were permitted by George W. Bush’s administration, McChrystal said: “I was.”

He said his troops gradually reduced the use of the harsh methods over time, without giving details. The Obama administration has rejected torture or “enhanced” interrogation techniques that were employed during Bush’s presidency.

McChrystal, praised for his battlefield successes despite questions over interrogations in Iraq, vowed that as commander in Afghanistan he would “strictly enforce the highest standards of detainee treatment consistent with international and US law.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates named McChrystal to replace General David McKiernan as the top commander in Afghanistan, saying “new thinking” was needed as Obama carries out a new strategy and deploys more than 21,000 additional troops for the war.

McChrystal warned senators at his confirmation hearing that combat casualties would probably rise as more US forces deploy to the volatile south. “Success will not be quick or easy. Casualties will likely increase. We will make mistakes,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

And he said his top priority would be to do as much as possible to prevent civilian casualties from US operations, which have inflamed public anger in Afghanistan and caused friction with the Kabul government.

“If defeating an insurgent formation produces popular resentment, the victory is hollow and unsustainable,” McChrystal said. “Our willingness to operate in ways that minimize casualties or damage — even when doing so makes our task more difficult — is essential to our credibility.”

Senators at the hearing gave McChrystal a mostly friendly reception and did not push hard on the detainee issue, despite concerns raised by human rights groups over his role in abuse in Iraq.

He has been credited with targeted operations that hunted down and killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, in 2006 and of devising the still-classified tactics used to smash Al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed cells in 2007 and 2008.

Members of special operations units also have been accused of abusing detainees at Iraqi camps, and questions surrounding McChrystal’s role were reported to have held up his appointment to his current post at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

McChrystal also faced questions about his handling of the “friendly fire” death in Afghanistan in 2004 of Army Ranger and former National Football League star Pat Tillman.

McChrystal approved the awarding of a Silver Star to Tillman but the next day also sent a memo to senior officers to warn the White House that it was likely the former football player had been killed by friendly fire.

The general told senators he regretted the episode and had failed to carefully read the citation for the award but that he and his colleagues did not intentionally mislead Tillman’s family. “We failed the family. I was part of that and I apologize for that,” he said.

McChrystal was criticized in a subsequent investigation of the case for making misleading statements but was not formally punished for his role. (Dan De Luce/AFP)