U.S. Army Gen. Antonio Taguba's probe into criminally abusive tactics used against Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib boomeranged and effectively ended his career.

Taguba told The New Yorker his retirement was requested and said he believes that was because of his investigation into Abu Ghraib three years ago.

"They always shoot the messenger," the 34-year Army veteran said. "To be accused of being overzealous and disloyal -- that cuts deep into me. I was being ostracized for doing what I was asked to do."

Taguba said he was summoned to a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, who was Secretary of Defense at the time, and instead of being asked about the violations, was quizzed about how the report had leaked to the media.

"I thought they wanted to know. I assumed they wanted to know. I was ignorant of the setting," he said.

Taguba said Rumsfeld and other high-ranking officials at the meeting professed not to know about Abu Ghraib. But Taguba said he had submitted more than a dozen copies of his report through channels and had spent weeks briefing senior military officials about it.

Taguba concluded that at best Rumsfeld "was in denial." Rumsfeld later testified before a congressional committee that he was blindsided by the leak.
Abu Ghraib Investigator Hit By Fallout - Breaking News: The Post Chronicle