Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski has told Spain's El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Rumsfeld which allowed civilian contractors to use torture techniques.

This isn't the first time Karpinski, former commandant of Abu Ghraib prison, has brought up abuse allegations against higher-ups. When I spoke with her last year, Karpinski named names and backed up abuse allegations.

t was beyond chilling.

Among other things...
* General Geoffrey Miller developed torture tactics in Guantanamo.
* Rumsfeld knew of it.
* Miller was told to bring those same tactics to Abu Ghraib.
* He was told by Rumsfeld.
* Miller brought in outside military contractors, ignored by the Justice Department, who answered to no one and were not held exempt for any crimes they might commit in Iraq ? including murder.
* Outside military contractors oversaw and suggested much of the tactics the low level servicemen were charged and found guilty of.
* Chief of Staff of the Army, General Cody, the man who actually stopped requests for armored vehicles and protective vests to be prioritized for our soldiers in Iraq.
* Rumsfeld knew it. He wanted it just that way.
* For that, General Cody picked up an additional star.
* Every investigation into the military and Rumsfeld's Defense Department's responsibility for malfeasance was run by people who could have lost their job with Rumsfeld's say so.

Making her story more difficult to ignore, this former General has received plenty of backup from others in the military who don't seem to have a reason for a grudge. A report by Human Rights Watch describes an Army captain's 17-month effort to gain a clear understanding for how U.S. soldiers were supposed to treat detainees. He saw a widespread abuse that the military failed to deal with. And just like Karpinski, this Army officer maintains that lower level soldiers have been held responsible for abuse to cover for officers who condoned it.

The White House and their noise machine will attempt to discount her as disgruntled, disgraced and demoted. It's their M.O., but remember, this lady spent more time serving her country in a war torn country than her boss did serving a country he's ended up tearing apart. She even had a star on her shoulder Until she displayed the courage that got her the star in the first place.

Hopefully, this time, with a Congress more interested in getting to the truth than rubberstamping a runaway presidency, maybe there'll be some serious followup.

Steve Young is author of "Great Failures of the Extemely Successful."

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