The Pentagon will replace Army Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez as the top US military officer in Iraq, senior defence officials said on Tuesday. But they argued that the change was not triggered by the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.Gen George Casey, Army Vice Chief of staff, has emerged as the top candidate to replace Sanchez in Baghdad in June or July, said the officials, who asked not to be identified. ‘‘There has been no final decision on a replacement, but Gen Casey is a top candidate,’’ one official said. ‘‘This has absolutely nothing to do with Abu Ghraib,’’ added another defence official. ‘‘The secretary (Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld) is very mindful that the perception (of punishment) might arise. But it simply is not the case.’’Brig Gen Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of US-run prisons in Iraq during the abuse, has been suspended as commander of the military police brigade at the heart of the scandal. Seven US soldiers have been charged with physically and sexually abusing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib in a scandal that has inflamed the Arab world and undermined US efforts in the country before the handover on June 30 to an interim Iraqi government.President George W. Bush praised Sanchez. ‘‘Rick Sanchez has done a fabulous job. He’s been there for a long time. His service has been exemplary,’’ Bush said in response to a question from reporters at the White House. But defence analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, who has close connections to the Pentagon, said, ‘‘You’d have to be pretty naive to think that the problems with abuse of detainees had no impact at all on this decision.’’The defence officials offered no explanation other than that Sanchez had served the normal year-long rotation in Iraq. Sanchez testified before a Senate committee last week on the scandal and took responsibility for the abuse because it happened during his time as commander. But he said he was not aware of the abuse while it was happening and moved quickly to investigate after learning about it.‘‘The secretary and the chairman (Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) both believe from what they understand now that Gen Sanchez handled the matter of Abu Ghraib in a very professional matter,’’ said Lawrence Di Rita, Rumsfeld’s Chief spokesman.Sanchez is being considered for an appointment to head the US southern Command in Miami, a post carrying the fourth star of a full general, officials said.Casey is a full general, and Rumsfeld has for months been considering making a four-star general the overall commander in Iraq, responsible for the broad direction of coalition military affairs while a three-star general handles day-to-day military operations. Lt Gen Thomas Metz serves in that capacity.Thompson doubted replacing Sanchez was intended to make him the scapegoat in the Abu Ghraib scandal, but said Pentagon leaders were ‘‘recognizing the fact that some atrocious behaviour occurred while he was in command, and that has probably shaken their confidence in his suitability for the higher job.’’Thompson said numerous problems have been associated with Sanchez’s tenure as top commander in Iraq since June 2003, as he has faced the difficult task of defeating an insurgency. ‘‘Look at all the problems Sanchez has faced: a flawed strategy, dreadfully inaccurate intelligence, inadequate forces on the ground, flagging domestic support, and a political leadership that seems to have multiple agendas above and beyond simply defeating the insurgents,’’ Thompson said. —(Reuters)
