Abu Ghraib deputy faces charges

The Pentagon has brought criminal charges against the second-ranking US intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib jail–the most senior figure yet to be accused in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The seven formal charges against Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, who was in charge of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at the prison near Baghdad during the second half of 2003, come two years after the scandal first became public. The 12 counts against him include cruelty, maltreatment of prisoners, dereliction of duty and three counts of lying to Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who conducted the first official probe into the events at the prison, and to a subsequent Pentagon investigation in 2004. Lt. Col. Jordan is accused of maltreating prisoners by subjecting them "to forced nudity and intimidation by military working dogs."