In February 2006, Human Rights First issued its landmark report, "Command’s Responsibility: Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan." For the first time, the extent of torture by the U.S in those war-torn areas has been publicly documented. The report describes in detail 20 cases to "illustrate the failures in investigation and accountability." Below are excerpts and the responses by retired U.S. military leaders. You can read the the full report on the Human Rights First website.

"Since August 2002, nearly 100 detainees have died while in the hands of U.S. officials in the global war on terror. According to the U.S. military’s own classifications, 34 of these cases are suspected or confirmed homicides; Human Rights First has identified another 11 in which the facts suggest death as a result of physical abuse or harsh conditions of detention. In close to half the deaths Human Rights First surveyed, the cause of death remains officially undetermined or unannounced. Overall, eight people in U.S. custody were tortured to death."

"Despite these numbers, four years since the first known death in U.S. custody, only 12 detainee deaths have resulted in punishment of any kind for any U.S. official. Of the 34 homicide cases so far identified by the military, investigators recommended criminal charges in fewer than two thirds, and charges were actually brought (based on decisions made by command) in less than half. While the CIA has been implicated in several deaths, not one CIA agent has faced a criminal charge. Crucially, among the worst cases in this list -- those of detainees tortured to death -- only half have resulted in punishment; the steepest sentence for anyone involved in a torture-related death: five months in jail."
- Introduction, p. 1

"Abed Hamed Mowhoush [was] a former Iraqi general beaten over days by U.S. Army, CIA and other non-military forces, stuffed into a sleeping bag, wrapped with electrical cord, and suffocated to death. In the recently concluded trial of a low-level military officer charged in Mowhoush's death, the officer received a written reprimand, a fine, and 60 days with his movements limited to his work, home, and church."

In the case of "Nagem Sadoon Hatab, investigative failures have made accountability impossible. Hatab, a 52-year-old Iraqi, was killed while in U.S. custody at a holding camp close to Nasiriyah. Although a U.S. Army medical examiner found that Hatab had died of strangulation, the evidence that would have been required to secure accountability for his death. Hatab's body was rendered unusable in court. Hatab's internal organs were left exposed on an airport tarmac for hours; in the blistering Baghdad heat, the organs were destroyed; the throat bone that would have supported the Army medical examiner's findings of strangulation was never found."
- Introduction, p. 2

"Command's Responsibility documents a dozen brutal deaths as the result of the most horrific treatment. One such incident would be an isolated transgression; two would be a serious problem; a dozen of them is policy. The law of military justice has long recognized that military leaders are held responsible for the conduct of their troops. Yet this report also documents that no civilian official or officer above the rank of major responsible for interrogation and detention practices has been charged in connection with the torture or abuse-related death of a detainee in U.S. custody."
- John D. Hutson, Rear Admiral (Ret.), JAGC, USN

The torture and death catalogued in excruciating detail by this important Human Rights First report did not happen spontaneously. They are the consequence of a shocking breakdown of command discipline on the part of the Army’s Officer Corps… What is unquestionably broken is the fundamental principle of command accountability, and that starts at the very top.
- David R. Irvine, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) USA