US abuse report tampered with

2004-05-23 21:23

Washington - Two US senators expressed concern on Sunday over allegations that at least 2 000 pages were missing from a key Senate panel's copy of a report on prisoner abuse in Iraq.

Time magazine reported on Sunday that senate armed services committee aides have discovered that at least 2 000 pages were missing from their copy of the 6 000 page report on abuse at Abu Ghraib prison written by Army General Antonio Taguba.

Republican Senator Pat Roberts, a member of the Armed Services panel and chairman of the senate select intelligence committee, said: "I will be very upset if, in fact, this is some kind of a deliberate act or if it's just some omission, but I can't imagine a 2 000 page dropout here."

A Pentagon spokesperson told Time that if pages were missing, it was an oversight.

Taguba's report last January revealing "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" against Iraqi prisoners by their US jailkeepers.

According to the document, military intelligence officers told US military police guards to give Iraqi detainees rough treatment to facilitate interrogation, leading to the abuses highlighted in shocking photos and video images broadcast around the world.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed, a member of the committee, who said he learned of the missing pages allegation last Friday, also accused the Pentagon of being uncooperative regarding security reports.

"I've been asking for months for reports about the security services in Iraq and been basically told no" by deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz and others, Reed told CBS's "Face the Nation."

"There's a lack of co-operation," he said.

"There's a lack of candour. And that has hurt not only their perception but also gives rise to feelings or inferences that something is amiss deliberately," Reed said, adding "I hope that's not the case."

- AFP