New Iraq Abuse Allegations Get McCain Moving

"WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, decrying new allegations of prisoner abuse in Iraq by U.S. soldiers, on Sunday backed an amendment to force the American military to live up to its international obligations under the Geneva Convention and "not engage in torture" of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

McCain (R-Ariz.) was responding to complaints by Army Capt. Ian Fishback and two sergeants, who all served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Their description of routine harsh treatment of captives in Iraq parallels the abuse caught in photographs at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad and was contained in a Human Rights Watch report issued Friday by the advocacy group.

"We've got to have it stopped. It is hurting America's image abroad," McCain said on ABC's "This Week" program.

The senator said his staff on the Armed Services Committee was investigating the allegations. That is in addition to a felony probe at Ft. Bragg, N.C. — home to the 82nd Airborne — by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command and an administrative review by the Army inspector general's office.

"I don't know if these allegations are true," McCain said. "But they have to be investigated. We've got to make it clear to the world that America doesn't do it. It's not about prisoners. It's about us.""
LATimes