WASHINGTON, June 10: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may widen the investigation into abuses of Iraqi prisoners to include top military ranks , and has also ordered that he be told about the death of any prisoner in US military custody, officials said on Thursday.
Under past practice, some military prison deaths were not even reported to the army medical examiner's office. Mr Rumsfeld is also considering a request made this week by Central Command chief Gen John Abizaid to replace a two-star Army general investigating the abuse scandal, defence officials said.
The move would replace Maj Gen George Fay with a more senior general and open the way for questioning of top US officials to help determine who is responsible for the scandal.
Under Army regulations, Gen Fay, whose report had been expected this month, is prohibited from questioning officers above his rank. The officials said the report could be delayed for a month if Mr Rumsfeld gives his approval, as expected.
Separately, the Pentagon said Mr Rumsfeld had instituted new rules for investigations of any deaths of prisoners held by the US military. The Army said last month it was investigating the deaths of 32 prisoners in Iraq and another five in Afghanistan since Aug 2002, but autopsies were performed in only 23 of the cases.
The new rules require the commander of a military unit with custody of a prisoner to immediately report any death to the investigative agencies of the service involved, which will then inform the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. That office will decide whether an autopsy is needed.
In addition, the top officer in a region - Gen Abizaid in the case of Iraq and Afghanistan - must notify the defence secretary of any death of an enemy prisoner of war, civilian internee or any other person in US military custody, the Pentagon said.
'LACK OF CLARITY': "There was some lack of clarity into who was supposed to notify whom, and this is just putting it back into the perspective that everybody's working off the same sheet of music," said Perry Bishop, a Pentagon spokesman.
Mr Bishop said some recent deaths were never reported to the medical examiner's office. The Pentagon said the changes were part of an effort to "strengthen policies and eliminate procedural weaknesses that have come to light as a result of the deplorable events at Abu Ghraib prison".
Seven US soldiers have been charged with abusing and humiliating Iraqis at that prison, and several investigations are underway into the US military's detention and interrogation procedures.
Gen Fay has been investigating not only the abuse at Abu Ghraib by military police, but to what extent US military intelligence officers might have been involved in either ordering the abuse or taking part in it. Military police, one of whom has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a year in prison, have said they were obeying orders.
SANCHEZ: Pentagon officials also confirmed a New York Times report that Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the ground commander in Iraq, had taken the unusual step of asking to be removed as the reviewing authority for Gen Fay's report and requesting that higher-ranking officials be appointed to conduct and review the investigation.
Gen Sanchez, who last year ordered military intelligence to take control of Abu Ghraib, has denied any knowledge of the abuse before the scandal broke early this year. -Reuters