BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – The Army general who once ran detention operations in Iraq said a “conspiracy” among top U.S. commanders has left her to blame for the abuses of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who commanded the Army’s 800th Military Police Brigade, said she fears more senior Army generals may escape punishment, even though they issued or approved guidelines on the interrogation of Iraqi prisoners.

Karpinski said in an e-mail interview with The Associated Press that she was unfairly cited by a report issued last month by an independent panel of nongovernment experts headed by former defense secretary James Schlesinger.

The Schlesinger report blamed Karpinski for leadership failures that “helped set the conditions at the prison which led to the abuses.” She failed to ensure that Iraqi prisoners were protected by the Geneva Conventions and failed to deal with ineffective commanders below her. It recommended that she be relieved of command and given a letter of reprimand, which would essentially end her career.

The panel also said disciplinary action “may be forthcoming” against Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the Army’s 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, which was assigned to Abu Ghraib last year.

That recommendation may allow top generals in Iraq to sidestep punishment, Karpinski said.

Those she said might avoid sharing responsibility are Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former land forces commander in Iraq; his deputy, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski; Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, the former head of military intelligence here; and Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, deputy commander for detention operations in Iraq.

“It was a conspiracy all along,” Karpinski said. “Sanchez and Miller and likely Fast had fallback plans and people to blame if anything came unglued.”

Fast, Wojdakowski, Sanchez, as well as Karpinski are criticized in the Schlesinger report and a subsequent Army investigation led by Maj. Gen. George Fay.

Karpinski has denied knowing about any mistreatment of prisoners until photographs were made public at the end of April showing hooded and naked prisoners being tormented by their U.S. captors.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to consider the Fay and Schlesinger reports and likely raising questions about which, if any, senior military officials should share blame for what happened at Abu Ghraib.

Fast and Miller declined to comment on the report or Karpinski’s allegations. Sanchez, Wojdakowski and Pappas could not be reached.

Karpinski said she was snared in a Catch-22 situation. Allowing the tougher methods of prisoner interrogation to go ahead as recommended by Miller and approved by Sanchez landed her in trouble. But, she said, if she had disregarded those guidelines, she would also be in trouble.

“Can’t win,” she said.

Karpinski complained that Schlesinger’s investigation gave her an only perfunctory opportunity – an interview of less than an hour – to rebut the allegations and defend her leadership.

Karpinski also scoffed at the Schlesinger report’s finding that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top Pentagon officials can be faulted for failed leadership and oversight, even though the report’s conclusion finds that Rumsfeld bears no direct responsibility for the abuses.

The general said the report’s focus on Rumsfeld was “clearly done as a show of unbiased investigation techniques” to bolster its credibility.

In fact, Karpinski may not be the only Army general whose career suffers – or ends – because of the Abu Ghraib abuses.

Observers have said they believe the probe could eventually reach the others. Investigators concluded that the other generals are partly responsible, but not legally culpable, for the abuse last fall.

Sanchez and Wojdakowski are cited in an Army investigation for failure to “ensure proper staff oversight of detention and interrogation operations” in Iraq.

Sanchez, who returned in June to his command of Army 5th Corps headquarters in Germany, has already been passed over for promotion to a four-star slot as chief of Southern Command because of Rumsfeld’s expectation that Sanchez would face trouble in a Senate confirmation hearing.

—

On the Net:

The Schlesinger report at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2004/d20040824finalreport.pdf

The Fay report at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2004/d20040825fay.pdf

AP-ES-09-04-04 1518EDT