Two defendants in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal won the right on Monday to question top US generals to bolster their arguments.
The order, issued by a military judge at pretrial hearings, compels Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the top US commander in Iraq and General John Abizaid, chief of the US Central Command, to give depositions in the case.
Lawyers for the defendants, Specialist Charles Graner and Sergeant Javal Davis, dispute allegations that their clients were involved in illegal torture. The lawyers insist their clients were following orders, despite a host of precedents indicating that such a claim would not justify participation in the torture of prisoners.
"The lack of courage to disregard a criminal order, or a mistaken fear that you could be court-martialed for disobedience ... is not a defense to a charge of murder, pillage or any other war crime," the US Army's Law of Land Warfare training manual says.
The defense will also have access to Major General Geoffrey Miller, who was in charge of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Others who could be questioned include Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, and Major General Barbara Fast, chief of coalition intelligence operations.
The US Army also scheduled the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing for Specialist Sabrina Harman, the US command said yesterday. The session will determine if she will face court martial. Harman is one of seven defendants accused of abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
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