Leaders did not urge abuse of military-held prisoners, report says

WASHINGTON — A comprehensive U.S. military review of prisoner interrogation policies and techniques for the global war on terrorism concluded that no civilian or uniformed leaders directed or encouraged the prisoner abuse documented in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"We found no link between approved interrogation techniques and detainee abuse," the review concluded.

The review led by Navy Vice Adm. Albert T. Church did cite, however, a number of "missed opportunities" in the development of interrogation policies, according to a 21-page executive summary of his findings due to be publicly released today. The Associated Press obtained a copy Wednesday.

Among missed opportunities was a failure to provide commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan with specific and early guidance on interrogation techniques. "We cannot say that there would necessarily have been less detainee abuse had these opportunities been acted upon," Church wrote.

Had that guidance been provided earlier, "interrogation policy could have benefited from additional expertise and oversight," he wrote.

The Church report also disclosed that the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. George Casey, who arrived there last summer, approved on Jan. 27 a new, more restrictive interrogation policy for Iraq.

Casey's new policy, which had not previously been made public, "also provides additional safeguards and prohibitions, rectifies ambiguities" and requires that commanders report to Casey their compliance with the policy, the report said.

The probe also found, in the cases of detainee operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that the dissemination of approved interrogation policy to commanders in the field was generally poor. And in Iraq in particular it found that compliance with approved policy guidance was generally poor.

By contrast, compliance with the authorized interrogation methods was in nearly all cases exemplary at Guantanamo Bay, where terrorism suspects have been held since January 2002, the report said. It attributed this to strict command oversight and effective leadership, as well as adequate resources.

The review was done last summer, and Church is to present his findings at a congressional hearing on Thursday.