In June 2003, during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, Karpinski was in command of the 800th Military Police Brigade placing her in charge of the fifteen detention facilities in southern and central Iraq run by Coalition forces. She had no experience running correctional facilities. Karpinski was also given command of the
National Guard and Army reserve units in the Iraqi city of
Mosul who handled prisoners. Most of the forces had no training in handling prisoners, but at least two of the guardsmen later convicted of
prisoner abuse had lengthy civilian experience as prison guards. In September 2003, Karpinski led Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld on a tour of the Abu Ghraib prison to demonstrate the way it had been used by
Saddam Hussein to torture his enemies.
Allegations, suspension and investigation In October 2003, allegations of torture in the United States-managed Iraqi prisons began to surface. Karpinski insisted that prisoners under her watch were treated "humanely and fairly". In an interview with the
St. Petersburg Times in December 2003, Karpinski said conditions in the prison were better than many Iraqi homes, and joked that the prisoners were treated so well that she was "concerned they wouldn't want to leave." In January 2004, Lieutenant General
Ricardo Sanchez formally suspended Karpinski and 16 other soldiers with undisclosed reprimands. An investigation was started into the abuse. Karpinski was reassigned in what was said at the time to be part of "routine troop rotations." In July 2003, Karpinski stated she had evidence Israelis were involved in interrogations. On April 8, 2005, Karpinski was formally relieved of command of the 800th Military Police Brigade. On May 5, 2005, President Bush approved Karpinski's demotion to Colonel from the rank of Brigadier General. Her demotion was not officially related to the abuse at
Abu Ghraib prison. The allegations against her were for dereliction of duty, making a material misrepresentation to investigators, failure to obey a lawful order and shoplifting.
Taguba Report In his final report, Major General
Antonio Taguba blamed Karpinski for the abuse, indicating she had not paid attention to the daily operations of the prison. According to Taguba, Karpinski rarely visited the prisons during her tenure, and she reviewed and signed reports about claims of abuse without following up to make sure her orders were carried out. As a consequence, the abuse was allowed to continue and her subordinates developed a lax attitude towards protocol. Karpinski was cited throughout the Taguba Report for repeated violations of procedure and good management, and not exercising her command as directed by regulations. During interviews cited in the Taguba report, Karpinski was described as disconnected from the operations of her area of command. Karpinski was issued a Memorandum of Admonishment by LTG Sanchez, Commander, CJTF-7, on 17 January 2004. In April 2004,
CBS'
60 Minutes II broadcast photographs of Iraqi prisoners being tortured and humiliated at Abu Ghraib, which had been taken by military personnel. Following the broadcast, Karpinski was suspended from her duties and replaced by Major General
Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of
Camp X-Ray, part of the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Karpinski's defense Karpinski insisted she had no knowledge of the abuse and claims the particular wing of the prison was under the control of military intelligence "twenty-four hours a day." She claims Army intelligence officers encouraged guards to torture prisoners as an aid to interrogation, and that she was a
scapegoat. A June 2004
BBC article said, "Gen Karpinski believes the soldiers had not taken the pictures of their own accord." It quotes her as saying: Since her suspension, Karpinski has made controversial accusations against her superiors in a series of interviews. In an interview with BBC Radio, Karpinski claimed that Major General
Geoffrey Miller, who was sent from
Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay to improve interrogations at the Iraqi prison, told her to treat prisoners "like dogs" in the sense that "if you allow them to believe at any point that they are more than a dog then you've lost control of them". But, since that time, there have been revelations about the
Torture Memos, including one issued by John Yoo on March 14, 2003, to the General Counsel of DOD, in which he advised that federal laws related to torture and other abuses did not apply to interrogators overseas – five days before the US invasion of Iraq. on the Australian
SBS network. When asked who was ultimately responsible for the actions of torture and humiliation depicted in the photographs, Karpinski said: When questioned on the findings of the Taguba Report, which stated she had shown a lack of leadership throughout the period of events, and therefore was partly responsible for what happened, Karpinski stated In a 2004 interview for the
Santa Clarita, California newspaper,
The Signal, Karpinski claimed to have seen unreleased documents from Rumsfeld that authorized the use of dogs, food and sleep deprivation, and isolation for Iraqi prisoners that were also signed by General Sanchez. Both have denied authorizing such tactics. In a May 2004 military investigation of the Abu Ghraib abuses, made public in 2005 by an
ACLU Freedom of Information Act request, Karpinski had said she witnessed children as young as twelve years of age incarcerated at Abu Ghraib. ==Awards==