Military jurors deliberate interrogation death case

FORT CARSON, Colo. – An Army interrogator charged with murdering an Iraqi general by stuffing him face-first in a sleeping bag was following directives from top U.S. commanders to get information to save soldiers’ lives, his attorney said Saturday.

Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. was simply following the urgings of an August 2003 e-mail from the office of the U.S. commander in Iraq, Welshofer’s attorney said during closing arguments in Welshofer’s court-martial. A jury of six U.S. Army officers began deliberations in the case late Saturday.

The e-mail cited by the defense was from Capt. William Ponce and said “the gloves are coming off, gentlemen. … We want these individuals broken. Casualties are mounting.”

In a reply to the e-mail, Welshofer wrote that the military needed to loosen its standards, which were more useful during World War II than present day. “Today’s enemies, especially in southwest Asia, understand force, not … mind games.”

Welshofer’s e-mail drew a rebuke for suggesting violations of the Geneva Convention. But two weeks later, a Sept. 10 memo from the top commander in Iraq authorized several new interrogation techniques, including one that Welshofer says gave him permission to stuff Maj. Gen. Abed Mowhoush in the sleeping bag, bind him with an electric cord, straddle his chest and occasionally cover his mouth.

Mowhoush, who had been brutally beaten two days earlier – allegedly by CIA contractors – died while in the bag. The prosecution contends he suffocated; the defense argues he died of a heart attack.

If convicted of murder, Welshofer faces up to life in a military prison. He could also be convicted of lesser charges, such as negligent homicide, which carries a penalty of three years.