JAG CENTRAL

From the NY Times, Issuing Contracts, Ex-Convict Took Bribes in Iraq, U.S. Says:

A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served prison time for felony fraud in the 1990's.

The job gave the man, Robert J. Stein, control over $82 million in cash earmarked for Iraqi rebuilding projects.

Along with a web of other conspirators who have not yet been named, Mr. Stein and his wife received "bribes, kickbacks and gratuities amounting to at least $200,000 per month" to steer lucrative construction contracts to companies run by another American, Philip H. Bloom, an affidavit outlining the criminal complaint says. Mr. Stein's wife, who was not named, has not been charged with wrongdoing in the case; Mr. Bloom was charged with a range of crimes on Wednesday.

Also from the Times, Torture Charges Deepen Rift Between U.S. and Iraqi Leader:

At a news conference, the Iraqi interior minister, Bayan Jabr, a conservative Shiite, accused the government's political opponents of bolstering the insurgency by exploiting the American military's discovery of torture at a secret police prison in the capital. Virtually all of the prisoners were Sunni Arabs, and Sunni groups have exploded in fury, saying that the discovery confirms their long-held suspicions that the Shiite-led government has been abducting and torturing or killing Sunnis.

But Mr. Jabr, speaking of the prison in an angry, sarcastic tone, said, "There has been much exaggeration about this issue." He added, "Nobody was beheaded or killed."

Later in the afternoon, the American Embassy issued its statement, saying that "detainee abuse is not and will not be tolerated." In addition, "We have made clear to the Iraqi government that there must not be militia or sectarian control or direction of Iraqi security forces, facilities or ministries."

Finally from the Times, 2 U.S. Soldiers Face Court-Martial For Alleged Abuse ("Two American soldiers will be court-martialed in Afghanistan on charges of beating two Afghan detainees at a base in Uruzgan Province in July, military officials said. The charges against the two, Sgt. Kevin D. Myricks and Specialist James R. Hayes, include conspiracy to maltreat, assault and dereliction of duty, the officials said. It would be the first court-martial of Americans to take place in Afghanistan. No date has been set.").

From the Washington Post, U.S. Accuses Pair of Rigging Iraq Contracts, and U.S. to Probe All Iraqi-Run Prisons:

The United States on Thursday expanded its probe of alleged prison abuses to include all Iraqi-run detention sites, saying the Shiite-led government had agreed to the move after U.S. forces uncovered a secret Interior Ministry chamber in Baghdad where Sunni Arabs allegedly were tortured and starved.

Early Friday, two large bombs exploded just outside that Interior Ministry facility, knocking down concrete barriers, collapsing nearby buildings and leaving a huge crater in the street. Rescue workers, surrounded by burning vehicles and bloodied people, were climbing over the wreckage in search of trapped victims and pulling women and children from the debris. There was no immediate word about casualties.

Law enforcement officials from the FBI, Justice Department, U.S. Embassy and U.S.-led military forces will aid an Iraqi-appointed citizens group in the prison investigation, slated to cover all of at least 1,100 sites across the country where Iraqi security forces and justice officials are holding detainees.

The breadth of the crackdown -- and involvement by top U.S. officials including Army Gen. George Casey, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and others -- indicated the gravity with which American leaders here viewed the torture allegations and the scandal's possible impact on the already marginalized Sunni community, whose support is vital to ending the insurgency.

Also from the Post, Detainee's Conditions Upheld:

Government lawyers contend that Jumah Dossari, a suicidal detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been receiving appropriate mental health care and has "adequate" amounts of human interaction, exercise and intellectual stimulation, according to papers filed in federal court this week.

The lawyers and officials at the U.S. military prison said that Dossari is not in isolation or solitary confinement, though he is held in a cell with solid walls and can communicate verbally with other detainees only through the narrow food tray slot in his door when it is left open. They also said that Dossari has established "a cordial relationship with members of his interrogation team" and has eaten pizza, watched movies and played checkers with them during 29 interrogation sessions over the past two years.

Dossari, 32, a Bahraini national, is under close medical supervision at the U.S. Naval Hospital at the Guantanamo Bay base after a suicide attempt. He tried to hang himself with a makeshift noose and slashed his right arm in a bathroom during a visit from his attorney on Oct. 15.

Dossari tried to kill himself again on Monday by ripping the stitches out of his arm wound, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday by Capt. John S. Edmondson, the hospital's commander.