The loathesome Adam Ingram has given evidence to the inquiry into the death of Iraqi Baha Mousa. And he has been exposed as a liar.
From the start, the intention of the-then Government and the Ministry of Defence was to make the soldiers take the blame for this terrible death. It is clear that the chain of command was complicit in the 'tactical questioning' (TQ) of detainees, which was supposed to be prohibited following an outcry over its use in Northern Ireland. The impetus to use this technique probably came from the United States military, and responsibility for its authorisation rests with Hoon and Ingram, then the Armed Forces Minister. Ingram had no answer under questioning today, as to why he misled a Parliamentary committtee and why he avoided answering questions from Amnesty International and the Red Cross with regard to interrogation techniques.
The use of TQ blurred the lines between prisoner interrogation and abuse, as in Abu Ghraib, and probably contributed to the death of Mousa, at a time when British troops in the QLR had suffered a number of deaths and when morale and discipline would have been low. The line between TQ and torture is a very thin line, and there is possibly some justification for trying to frighten tactical intelligence of short-term and local value out of prisoners immediately after capture. However, this is also illegal, a breach of human rights and a breach of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, for which responsibility lies with ministers.
It's uncertain what direction this inquiry will take. If criminal charges are to be brought against the chain of command (inclding the-then commanding officer) then Ingram must also face criminal charges relating to this illegal treatment and anby wider conspiracy of concealment. Hoon is before the Inquiry later this month.....we know how much of a stranger he is to the truth....
From the start, the intention of the-then Government and the Ministry of Defence was to make the soldiers take the blame for this terrible death. It is clear that the chain of command was complicit in the 'tactical questioning' (TQ) of detainees, which was supposed to be prohibited following an outcry over its use in Northern Ireland. The impetus to use this technique probably came from the United States military, and responsibility for its authorisation rests with Hoon and Ingram, then the Armed Forces Minister. Ingram had no answer under questioning today, as to why he misled a Parliamentary committtee and why he avoided answering questions from Amnesty International and the Red Cross with regard to interrogation techniques.
The use of TQ blurred the lines between prisoner interrogation and abuse, as in Abu Ghraib, and probably contributed to the death of Mousa, at a time when British troops in the QLR had suffered a number of deaths and when morale and discipline would have been low. The line between TQ and torture is a very thin line, and there is possibly some justification for trying to frighten tactical intelligence of short-term and local value out of prisoners immediately after capture. However, this is also illegal, a breach of human rights and a breach of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, for which responsibility lies with ministers.
It's uncertain what direction this inquiry will take. If criminal charges are to be brought against the chain of command (inclding the-then commanding officer) then Ingram must also face criminal charges relating to this illegal treatment and anby wider conspiracy of concealment. Hoon is before the Inquiry later this month.....we know how much of a stranger he is to the truth....
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