Timeline
January 2004
Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, 43, a now-retired Air Force officer who served in the Pentagon's Near East and South Asia (NESA) unit in the year before the invasion of Iraq, tells Mother Jones how the Pentagon's Iraq war-planning unit manufactured scare stories about Iraq's weapons and ties to terrorists. "It wasn't intelligence‚ it was propaganda," she says.
January 13, 2004
Spc. Darby gives prisoner-abuse photos to Army's Criminal Investigation Command. "I had the choice between what I knew was morally right and my loyalty to other soldiers. I couldn't have it both ways," he will later say.
January 19, 2004
January 21, 2004
Sources reveal new details from the Army's criminal investigation into reports of abuse of Iraqi detainees, including the location of the suspected crimes and evidence that is being sought. U.S. soldiers reportedly posed for photographs with partially unclothed Iraqi prisoners, a Pentagon official tells CNN.
February 8, 2004
February 17, 2004
Mohammed Munim al-Izmerly, a distinguished Iraqi chemistry professor dies in American custody from a sudden hit to the back of his head caused by blunt trauma. It was uncertain exactly how he died, but someone had hit him from behind, possibly with a bar or a pistol. His battered corpse turned up at Baghdad's morgue and the cause of death was initially recorded as "brainstem compression".
February 23, 2004
With a seemingly total lack of irony, John Podhoretz titles his new book, Bush Country: How Dubya Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane.
February 29, 2004
Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba briefs superiors on his findings on detainee abuse.
Highlights:
a. Punching, slapping, and kicking detainees; jumping on their naked feet;
b. Videotaping and photographing naked male and female detainees;
c. Forcibly arranging detainees in various sexually explicit positions for photographing;
d. Forcing detainees to remove their clothing and keeping them naked for several days at a time;
e. Forcing naked male detainees to wear women's underwear;
f. Forcing groups of male detainees to masturbate themselves while being photographed and videotaped;
g. Arranging naked male detainees in a pile and then jumping on them;
h. Positioning a naked detainee on a MRE Box, with a sandbag on his head, and attaching wires to his fingers, toes, and penis to simulate electric torture; …
j. Placing a dog chain or strap around a naked detainee's neck and having a female soldier pose for a picture;
k. A male MP guard having sex with a female detainee;
l. Using military working dogs (without muzzles) to intimidate and frighten detainees, and in at least one case biting and severely injuring a detainee …
These findings are amply supported by written confessions provided by several of the suspects, written statements provided by detainees, and witness statements. …
In addition, several detainees also described the following acts of abuse, which under the circumstances, I find credible based on the clarity of their statements and supporting evidence provided by other witnesses:
a. Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees;
b. Threatening detainees with a charged 9mm pistol;
c. Pouring cold water on naked detainees;
d. Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair;
e. Threatening male detainees with rape; …
March 4, 2004
Taguba's preliminary report implicates MPs and recommends disciplinary action against their commanders. It also suggests that Jordan, Pappas, and two civilian contractors "were either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses," faults Jordan for failing to supervise his subordinates, and accuses him of lying about his true oversight role at Abu Ghraib.
March 9, 2004
Florida holds its Presidential primary election. A survey by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel finds that the percentage of votes not recorded by touchcreen machines (made by both ES&S and Sequoia Voting Systems) is eight times higher than when paper ballots are used with optical scanners.
March 12, 2004
March 16, 2004
Donald Rumsfeld tells the BBC, "There's still remnants of that regime that would like to take it back. They could torture people and have rape rooms, and the world would turn their head from that and let it happen. But they can't do that anymore."
March 19, 2004
March 20, 2004
March 21, 2004
CNN reports that between Bush's inauguration and September 11, 2001, neither Bush, Condoleezza Rice nor Dick Cheney ever said the words "al Qaeda" or "Osama bin Laden" in public.
March 31, 2004
April 4, 2004
CNBC correspondent Brooke Hart reports: "But in a 53-page secret report, Army Major General Antonio Taguba says an investigation found a disturbing pattern of sadistic, blatant, wanton criminal abuses. The report was completed in February, but the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Rumsfeld hadn't read it. Democratic lawmakers are frustrated."
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) says: "This is an unacceptable response. That's not the level of concern the American people would expect of their military commanders for this type of conduct."
April 9, 2004
Military Police Specialist Matthew Wisdom testifies before a hearing on detainee abuse: "SFC Snider grabbed my prisoner and threw him into a pile. …. I saw SSG Frederic, SGT Davis and CPL Graner walking around the pile hitting the prisoners. I remember SSG Frederick hitting one prisoner in the side of its [sic] ribcage. The prisoner was no danger to SSG Frederick. … I saw two naked detainees, one masturbating to another kneeling with its mouth open."
April 13, 2004
"I don't plan on losing my job," Bush says during his first prime time news conference of the year. "I plan on telling the American people that I've got a plan to win the war on terror. And I believe they'll stay with me. They understand the stakes."
As he did earlier in the week, Bush seeks to play down the significance of the intelligence memo -- titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." and delivered to the president a month before the attacks.
"Frankly, I didn't think there was anything new," Bush said. "I mean, major newspapers had talked about bin Laden's desires on hurting America."
The president said he took comfort in the fact that the memo said the FBI was conducting field investigations of al Qaeda, bin Laden's terrorist network.
"Had there been a threat that required action by anybody in the government, I would have dealt with it," Bush said.
Acknowledging the failure to find WMDs in Iraq, Bush says, "Of course, I want to know why we haven't found a weapon yet. But I still know Saddam Hussein was a threat. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein."
Bush also comments that Iraq's oil revenues are "bigger than we thought."
April 14, 2004
"The administration insisted that Iraq's oil revenues could finance rebuilding the country, but the people of the United States have provided more than $120 billion thus far, much of it for reconstruction efforts," Pelosi says in a written statement. "From the outset, the president's Iraq policy has had little basis in reality."
April 15, 2004
President Bush tells a crowd in Iowa, "Our military is … performing brilliantly. See, the transition from torture chambers and rape rooms and mass graves and fear of authority is a tough transition. And they're doing the good work of keeping this country stabilized as a political process unfolds."
April 19, 2004
President Bush tells a crowd in Pennsylvania, "We're facing supporters of the outlaw cleric, remnants of Saddam's regime that are still bitter that they don't have the position to run the torture chambers and rape rooms. … They will fail because they do not speak for the vast majority of Iraqis who do not want to replace one tyrant with another. They will fail because the will of our coalition is strong. They will fail because America leads a coalition full of the finest military men and women in the world."
April 20, 2004
During a campaign appearance in Buffalo, Bush says: "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."
At the time he made this statement, warrantless wiretaps had been in place under Bush's direct order for the past three years.
April 23, 2004
Arizona Cardinals lineman Patrick Tillman is shot and killed while serving in Afghanistan.
At a Victory 2004 reception in Florida, President Bush remarks, "We acted, and there are no longer mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms in Iraq."
April 24, 2004
The Oakland Tribune prints documents showing that Diebold altered the software running on voting machines prior to an election, but never bothered to submit the software for testing or even notify the state that the software update had been made. The documents were leaked by Steve Heller, a temp at the law firm that represented Diebold.
April 28, 2004
CBS's 60 Minutes II airs a report on Abu Ghraib. Says correspondent Dan Rather: "The pictures show Americans, men and women, in military uniforms, posing with naked Iraqi prisoners. There are shots of the prisoners stacked in a pyramid, one with a slur written on his skin in English. In some, the male prisoners are positioned to simulate sex with each other. And in most of the pictures, the Americans are laughing, posing, pointing, or giving the camera a thumbs-up."
April 29, 2004
CBS News issues a statement on its broadcast of Abu Ghraib photographs: "Two weeks ago, 60 Minutes II received an appeal from the Defense Department, and eventually from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, to delay this broadcast, given the danger and tension on the ground in Iraq."
April 30, 2004
At a Rose Garden appearance, Bush says: "A year ago, I did give the speech from the carrier, saying that we had achieved an important objective, that we'd accomplished a mission, which was the removal of Saddam Hussein. And as a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq."
The New Yorker publishes Seymour M. Hersh's "Torture at Abu Ghraib" report on the Taguba investigation.
May 3, 2004
President Bush tells a crowd in Michigan, "Because we acted, torture rooms are closed, rape rooms no longer exist, mass graves are no longer a possibility in Iraq."
May 4, 2004
Donald Rumsfeld tells a press briefing, "I'm not a lawyer. My impression is that what has been charged thus far is abuse, which I believe technically is different from torture. … I don't know if it is correct to say what you just said, that torture has taken place, or that there's been a conviction for torture. And therefore I'm not going to address the torture word."
May 5, 2004
President Bush tells Al Arabiya television, "Iraq was a unique situation because Saddam Hussein had constantly defied the world and had threatened his neighbors, had used weapons of mass destruction, had terrorist ties, had torture chambers..." As for the Abu Ghraib abuses, President Bush pledges that "people will be held to account. People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent."
May 7, 2004
Before Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld claims "full responsibility" for Abu Ghraib and calls abuse "fundamentally un-American." Along the way he outs whistleblower Darby to worldwide audience. Gen. Sanchez later tells committee Abu Ghraib will be renamed Camp Redemption.
Gen. Taguba is reassigned, realizes career has been dead-ended.
May 11, 2004
Intelligence officers of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq estimated that 70 percent to 90 percent of Iraqi detainees were arrested by mistake, the Red Cross said in a report that was disclosed Monday, and Red Cross observers witnessed U.S. officers mistreating Abu Ghraib prisoners by keeping them naked in total darkness in empty cells. Abuse was, “in some cases, tantamount to torture,” it said.
May 12, 2004
Senators are given three hours to view some 1,800 Abu Ghraib images. Sen. Trent Lott chooses not to: "Why would I want to go see a bunch of perverted pictures?"
May 19, 2004
In first Abu Ghraib plea deal, MP Jeremy Sivits receives one year in prison. He testifies in court that he watched and took pictures as inmates were beaten and forced to masturbate. "I've let everybody down. I love the Army. I love that flag. That's all I have ever wanted to be, an American soldier. Sir, I'm truly sorry for what I've done."
May 24, 2004
A three-hour wedding video surfaces, showing celebrants who later were killed in what the U.S. military still insists was a strike targeting Iraqi militants. Among the guests shown on the video are a popular Iraqi wedding singer, Hussein Ali, whose family reports him killed in the attack, and an organist who is also seen among the corpses filmed after the attack by the Associated Press. The response of U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt? "Bad people have parties, too."
May 28, 2004
Former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman is posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Tillman was shot and killed in Afghanistan while fighting “without regard for his personal safety,” the Army said Friday in announcing the award, adding that Tillman was leading his Army Rangers unit to the rescue of comrades caught in an ambush. Later, an entirely different story will emerge.
May 29, 2004
June 12, 2004
The Washington Post reports that the ranking officer in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, approved letting senior officials at a Baghdad jail use dogs, temperature extremes, sleep and sensory deprivation, and diets of bread and water on detainees "whenever they wished."
June 17, 2004
In an interview with CNBC's Gloria Borger, Dick Cheney vehemently denies ever having said that the alleged meeting between 9/11 plotter Mohammad Atta and Al Qaeda agents in Prague had been "pretty well confirmed."
Cheney: No, I never said that.
Borger: OK.
Cheney: I never said that.
Borger: I think that is...
Cheney: Absolutely not. What I said was the Czech intelligence service reported after 9/11 that Atta had been in Prague on April 9 of 2001, where he allegedly met with an Iraqi intelligence official. We have never been able to confirm that nor have we been able to knock it down, we just don't know.
Of course, Cheney actually said exactly what Borger quoted, on the December 9, 2001 episode of Meet the Press. In addition, he falsely claimed on a September 8, 2002 appearance on the same show that the CIA found the story "credible."
June 22, 2004
The U.S. State Department concedes its report showing global terrorism declining in 2003 was "in error," and that in fact acts of terrorism reached an all-time high.
July 12, 2004
USDA Secretary Veneman officially announces that Administration will propose replacing the Roadless Rule with Governor petition process.
August 1, 2004
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there's no evidence of a cover-up of the circumstances of Army Ranger Cpl. Pat Tillman's death. Testifying before a House committee, Rumsfeld says that he doesn't recall precisely when he learned of Tillman's death, or the possibility that it was the result of fratricide.
August 3, 2004
A preliminary hearing is held in case against Pfc. Lynndie England, the lowest-ranking soldier implicated. She is seven months pregnant with the child of Cpl. Graner and faces a prison term of 38 years, the harshest penalty threatened against any low-ranking soldier. Many charges relate to sexually explicit photos of acts with Graner and have nothing to do with prisoners.
August 12, 2004
Arch-conservative Patrick Buchanan publishes Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency, a scathing indictment of the Bush administration's abandonment of conservative principles.
August 14, 2004
The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." The letter from Walden O'Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. - who has become active in the re-election effort of President Bush - prompts Democrats to question the propriety of allowing O'Dell's company to calculate votes in the 2004 presidential election.
August 24, 2004
Former Sec. Def. James Schlesinger releases an Abu Ghraib report that blames poor leadership throughout the chain of command. But to reporters, Schlesinger emphasizes, "There was sadism on the night shift at Abu Ghraib, sadism that was certainly not authorized. It was kind of Animal House."
August 25, 2004
Maj. Gen. Fay releases report, tells reporters of "some instances where torture was being used."
September 3, 2004
September 11, 2004
October 17, 2004
Ron Suskind, writing in the New York Times, quotes an un-named Bush aide who accused him of being part of the "reality-based community":
"The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'"
October 18, 2004
With memories of 2000 and the state's bitter fight over ballots still fresh, early voting begins in Florida and within an hour problems crop up. In Palm Beach County, the center of the madness during the recount four years ago, a Democratic state legislator says she wasn't given a complete absentee ballot when she asked to opt for paper instead of the electronic touch-screen machines. And in Orange County, the touch-screen system briefly crashes, paralyzing voting in Orlando and its immediate suburbs.
November 2, 2004
Exit polls show Kerry leading Bush. On hearing the news, Bush says, "The numbers are what they are. I'm surprised."
Voters in the battleground state of Ohio wait up to 10 hours in line to vote; problems include too few voting machines, some of which don't work. Delays are heaviest in predominantly African-American precincts and other Democratic strongholds.
New Mexico leads the nation in undervotes (ballots showing no vote for President). Although only 41% of the state's voters cast their ballots on push-button electronic voting machines, these machines accounted for 77% of the presidential undervotes, raising doubts about their accuracy. Undervotes are particularly high in heavily Hispanic or Native American precincts which traditionally vote Democratic.
80 percent of the votes cast in the Presidential election are counted on machines made by two companies, ES&S and Diebold, owned by brothers Bob & Todd Urosevich and both with strong Republican Party connections.
Once the votes from electronic voting machines are tallied, they neatly flip the exit poll data, showing 51% for Bush and 48% for Kerry. During the course of the night, CNN changes its exit poll data for Ohio to conform to the official vote tallies.
George Bush is "re-elected"; "values" credited as pivotal issue.
November 10, 2004
President Bush nominates Alberto Gonzales to be U.S. Attorney General, saying ""His sharp intellect and sound judgment have helped shape our policies in the war on terror." As a White House aide, Gonzales authored a memo declaring that the President's executive powers leave him free to order the use of torture.
December 3, 2004
On Rudy Giuliani's personal recommendation, Bush nominates Bernard Kerik to be the new head of Homeland Security. Before Giuliani appointed him to serve as corrections commissioner and then police commissioner for New York, Kerik's sole experience had been serving Giuliani as a driver and bodyguard. Almost immediately upon the announcement, allegations of misconduct begin to surface. Kerik will ultimately pay $200,000 in fines in 2006 for accepting more than $165,000 in gifts as a city official, and be indicted by a Federal grand jury in 2007.
December 6, 2004
Curtis Clark, a former programmer for Florida's Yang Enterprises, submits an affidavit and testifies before Congress. Clark says he was approcahed by Tom Feeney, Yang's lobbyist and general counsel--and Florida's Speaker of the House--to develop software that would manipulate voting machines to give a losing candidate 51 percent of the vote. Feeney is later elected to Congress three times.
December 10, 2004
Bernard Kerik withdraws his nomination to be head of Homeland Security, stating that he had unknowingly hired an undocumented worker as a nanny and housekeeper who had used someone else's social security number.
Borger: Well, let's get to Mohamed Atta for a minute because you mentioned him as well. You have said in the past that it was, quote, "pretty well confirmed."
When pressed on the quote, Cheney will angrily shout, "Never happened! Never happened!"