Colorado Springs – The son of the Iraqi general killed during an interrogation by U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. said Tuesday that the punishment for the Fort Carson soldier is “not fair.”
“This man, Lewis Welshofer, has killed someone, and he must be punished more harder than that,” Mohammed Mowhoush said in a telephone interview from Iraq.
The 18-year-old is the youngest son of Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, who died bound up in a sleeping bag after being placed in a “stress position” by Welshofer at an Iraqi facility on Nov. 26, 2003.
Welshofer faced a murder charge but was found guilty on the lesser charge of negligent homicide and was sentenced Monday to a reprimand, forfeiture of $6,000 in pay and restriction to Fort Carson or his place of worship for two months.
The decision drew criticism Tuesday from an expert on military law who said it is the latest in a string of sentences that call into question the severity of punishment for U.S. military personnel.
But a retired military legal adviser termed the sentence “about right” given the situation and said the case will serve as a cautionary tale for soldiers.
Pressing for justice
Mohammed Mowhoush, who also was detained by U.S. forces who suspected him of being a sniper in the Qaim area, said he and his family do not have a lot of money but are prepared to sell their home and their clothing to press for harsher punishment for Welshofer.
“We want justice to be done,” Mohammed Mowhoush said in a call arranged by Human Rights First, an advocacy group based in New York City.
Welshofer, 43, was trying to get Abed Mowhoush to provide information about a rising insurgency. Military intelligence indicated that the general was the equivalent of a 1920s “mob boss” who financed and facilitated the movement of insurgents.
“Actually, he was doing nothing,” Mohammed Mowhoush said. “He was sitting with us at home and actually, he had said: ‘No more war. I want to stay at home with my sons, and I want to live a normal life.”‘
U.S. troops captured the general’s four sons in the autumn of 2003. The general turned himself in to American forces about a month later, on Nov. 10, 2003.
Mohammed Mowhoush said the Americans treated him “very bad” before he was released Jan. 8, 2004.
“I’ve been treated very bad by pouring cold water, taking my clothing off … and make me run for long distances at night,” Mohammed Mowhoush said.
He said that when he saw his father on Nov. 25, 2003, he looked tired. A day earlier, Mowhoush had been badly beaten and bruised while the CIA was present in the room, according to testimony.
Questions of abuse
The Welshofer case put a spotlight on the abuse of the detainee by U.S. forces and the CIA, the types of techniques allowed for interrogators and the conflicting guidance issued by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top general in Iraq in autumn 2003.
Welshofer received an e-mail on Aug. 30, 2003, from Capt. William Ponce, who worked for Sanchez, that said it was time to “take the gloves off.” Welshofer said he interpreted it to mean that stress positions were allowed.
Welshofer, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, said the only memo from Sanchez that he saw, dated Sept. 10, 2003, also authorized stress positions. He said he never saw two later memos from Sanchez. One, sent Sept. 14, 2003, authorized stress positions. One sent Oct. 12, 2003, prescribed what techniques were allowed and did not mention “stress positions.”
Welshofer, a 19-year Army veteran, is the highest-ranking U.S. soldier to face a court-martial for abusing an Iraqi detainee. In the nearly three years since the war began, at least 30 U.S. military personnel have been charged with some form of detainee abuse. The sentences range from no prison time and dismissal from the service to 10 years in prison.
“The fact is, we’ve had a number of cases come through the system, and by and large, you can’t help but come away thinking that these are kind of light sentences,” said Eugene Fidell, a lawyer and national expert on military law. “It has been a recurring theme that other people either made the accused do it, or led them to do it in some way, which was an issue here.”
Retired Brig. Gen. David Brahms, who worked as senior legal adviser for the Marines, said Welshofer’s sentence is about right, given that the maximum punishment for negligent homicide is dismissal and three years’ confinement.
“The rules of engagement in a time of combat become muddled,” Brahms said. “The mission is to gather intelligence to save American lives – and they work it hard. This guy has a long history of being a good soldier.”
Brahms said the sentence does not send a message to soldiers and interrogators that it is OK not to treat prisoners humanely.
“The messages have already been sent by Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, by public criticism,” Brahms said.
“Disparate” sentences
He said that the people who decided Welshofer’s sentence – a lieutenant colonel, two majors and three captains – are inexperienced at meting out punishment.
“It’s a group of fellow military members with no experiences doing this, and you get widely disparate sentences from one case to another (with a military panel). You don’t know what goes on,” Brahms said. “They might go into a room and compromise. That compares to a military judge who has been in the seat for a bit and the sentences are not as disparate.”
Frank Spinner, Welshofer’s attorney, said the case demonstrates a need for clear guidance on interrogation and detainee issues.
“I think it’s one more of a string of messages that are going to the leaders in the Pentagon. … When you’re going to send our men and women over there to fight and put their lives on the line, you’ve got to back them up. You’ve got to give them clear rules, and you’ve got to give them enough room to make mistakes and not treat them like criminals.”
Lt. Kevin Evans, an intelligence officer who testified on Welshofer’s behalf, said he thinks the trial will make soldiers pay special attention to correspondence from leaders.
“I think people will pay more attention to things that are coming out, and I know commanders will. … I think they’ll be more cautious on the techniques that they do use,” Evans said. “At the same time, they’ll pay attention when there’s a comment ‘the gloves come off.’ I think there’ll be more questions – what precisely does that mean?”
Denver Post researcher Regina Avila contributed to this report.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-13605 or eemery@denverpost.com.
