July 26, 2007 (LPAC)--Retired Major General Paul Eaton, who was in charge of the training of Iraqi Security Forces, singled out Dick Cheney as a major problem in the torture scandal affecting the U.S. armed forces, during testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today. 

"For our Soldiers to hear their Vice President say on radio that a 'dunk in the water' is a 'no-brainer' if it can save lives, is a threat to the good order and discipline of our Armed Forces." General Eaton was discussing the moral training that American soldiers get from their first days on duty, and he noted particularly the importance of "proper and prudent behaviors at the point of capture."

"The legal discussion where some would deliver different treatment because of technical POW status is simply not warranted," Gen. Eaton said, referring to the Cheney-Addington policies implemented after September 11, 2001. "I am convinced that the disaster of Abu Ghraib is directly attributable to, among other factors, Administration policies on detainee treatment."