CBS shows photos of alleged abuse

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NEW YORK — U.S. military police stacked naked Iraqi prisoners in a human pyramid and attached wires to one detainee to convince him he might be electrocuted, according to photographs obtained by CBS News that led to criminal charges against six U.S. soldiers.

CBS said the photos, shown last night on "60 Minutes II," were taken late last year at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where U.S. soldiers were holding hundreds of prisoners captured during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

In March, the U.S. Army said six members of the 800th Military Police Brigade faced court-martial for allegedly abusing about 20 prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The charges included dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another person.

In addition to those criminal charges, the military has recommended disciplinary action against seven U.S. officers who helped run the prison, including Brig. Gen. Janice Karpinski, commander of the 800th Brigade, a senior military official said yesterday in Baghdad.

Pentagon proposes gun ban

for civilian contractors in Iraq

ORLANDO, Fla. — As the insurgency and violence in Iraq intensify, the Department of Defense has proposed a new rule for most of the estimated 70,000 civilian contractors working in the war-torn region: They can't carry guns.

On March 23, the Defense Department proposed a rule saying that civilian contractors who accompany the military in battle areas can't carry private firearms unless they receive permission by an order from the chief of U.S. forces in the area.

Supporters of the new rule said there are three big drawbacks in allowing contractors to carry weapons. Armed contractors would be more likely to be shot at or kidnapped. Also, as civilians, they don't follow the same strict rules of force as the military. And by picking up weapons, contractors could lose death and accident insurance coverage they may have.

Defense official investigated
 
in communications contract

WASHINGTON — A senior Defense Department official is under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general for allegations that he attempted to alter a contract proposal in Iraq to benefit a mobile-phone consortium that includes friends and colleagues, according to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times and sources.

John Shaw, 64, deputy undersecretary for international technology security, sought to transform a relatively minor police-and-fire communications proposal into a contract allowing the creation of an Iraqwide commercial cellular network that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue a year, the sources said.

Shaw brought pressure on officials at the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad to change the contract language and grant the consortium a noncompetitive bid, according to the sources.

Shaw said he had a long-standing personal relationship with at least one member of the consortium, but no financial ties, nor any agreement with the consortium for future employment.

Permit denied for protest

during GOP convention

NEW YORK — An anti-war group planning a massive demonstration at the start of the Republican National Convention has been denied a permit to use Central Park because the crowd would be too large.

United for Peace and Justice said it planned to appeal.

Also ...

The International Committee of the Red Cross delivered a message from Saddam Hussein to his daughters in Jordan after a U.S. censor cleared it, and a second message given this week was being reviewed, a Red Cross spokeswoman said yesterday ... Masked protesters seized the cathedral in San Salvador, El Salvador, yesterday, demanding President-elect Tony Saca, who takes office June 1, pull Salvadoran soldiers out of Iraq.