A top general initially approved the lightest possible punishment for a Fort Carson soldier who used a sleeping bag in a fatal interrogation and for his superior officer.
In addition, records of the reprimands detail for the first time why the lead interrogator chose to use claustrophobia-inducing techniques for an Iraqi general, who died during interrogation, alleging he was involved with “massacres in Basrah (Basra) that killed thousands of Iraqis.”
The minor reprimands for Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer and his supervisor, Maj. Jessica Voss, were issued two months after the death of Iraqi Maj. Gen Abed Hamed Mowhoush near the Syrian border on Nov. 26, 2003.
The soldiers’ responses to the disciplinary action claim that the sleeping-bag tactic was approved by top commanders and was not the cause of Mowhoush’s death. An autopsy determined that asphyxiation led to his death, records show.
Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr. at first called Welshofer’s actions “reprehensible” and wanted to file reprimands in Welshofer’s and Voss’ official personnel records. But he ultimately decided to put them in the local files, according to records obtained by The Denver Post, a move that would not hurt their Army careers.
Despite Swannack’s action, Fort Carson commanders filed murder charges against Welshofer and three other soldiers in October 2004, months after the incident became public. Welshofer is awaiting trial. Voss was not charged with any wrongdoing.
In the armed forces, commanders decide whether to prosecute their soldiers and can separately issue criminal charges, even though administrative disciplines such as reprimands already have been given.
In the reprimands, Swannack said Voss knew or should have known her soldiers were using the sleeping bag to “induce fear and shortness of breath.”
Voss wrote back that she “felt the ‘sleeping bag’ technique abided by the parameters set forth in a September memo sent down from commanders.
Welshofer also said he did not believe that the sleeping bag led to Mowhoush’s death since it was as thin as a blanket and had a broken zipper that allowed air to enter the bag. He considered it a stress position approved by the Combined Joint Task Force 7 policy and was used to induce fear from claustrophobic prisoners – not to constrict breathing.
Swannack disputed Welshofer’s explanation, writing in longhand on the rebuttal “Death was from asphyxiation! I expect better adherence to standards in the future!”
Welshofer wrote, “The bottom line is that what interrogators do is a dirty job but saves lives.”
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-820-1626 or akane@denverpost.com.
