Abu Ghraib case is only the "tip of the iceberg"

A rights watchdog said on Wednesday the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison were just the "tip of the iceberg" of U.S. mistreatment of Muslim prisoners.

The abuses at &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/ 22/101/397/14119_AbuGhraib.html ' target=_blank>Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of U.S. rights violations of detainees in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, New York-based Human Rights Watch said.

Its summary of accusations of abuses came on the eve of the first anniversary of publication of photos showing humiliation and mistreatment of prisoners at the Iraqi jail, tells Reuters.

The group said it was concerned the United States had not stopped the use of what it called illegal coercive interrogation. It said nine detainees were known to have died in U.S. custody in Afghanistan. At least 11 al Qaeda suspects have also "disappeared" in U.S. custody, with no evidence of where they are being held.

According to USA Today, during war preparations, the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/27/35356.html ' target=_blank>Pentagon has focused far more on winning in combat and far less on the more mundane matters of watching prisoners. When the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, for example, the Army lacked enough military police soldiers, including those trained in managing prisons.

Andrew Bacevich, a former Army officer who is the director of Boston University's Center for International Relations, said that since Vietnam, the U.S. military has been organized to fight "neat and tidy" wars.

The Persian Gulf War in 1991, which ended quickly and decisively, reinforced that idea.