The U.S. Army is unable to document a single payment for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
In this May 7, 2004 file photo, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld rubs his eyes while testifying about Abu Ghraib prison before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fending off demands that he resign over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress in 2004 that he had found a legal way to compensate Iraqi detainees who suffered "grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the United States armed forces."
"It's the right thing to do," Rumsfeld said. "And it is my intention to see that we do."
Six years later, the U.S. Army is unable to document a single payment for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
Nor can the more than 250 Iraqis or their lawyers now seeking redress in U.S. courts. Their hopes for compensation may rest on a Supreme Court decision this week.
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