Topic: U.S. Attorney General arrives in Baghdad on one-day visit

Media: The Associated Press
Byline: n/a
Date: 29 August 2006


BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a key architect of
U.S. policy on the treatment of prisoners and the rule of law in Iraq,
arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Gonzales, a former White House counsel, was scheduled to meet Deputy Prime
Minister Barham Saleh and visit the Iraqi High Tribunal to meet with
officials there, U.S. embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton said.

The tribunal is currently trying former leader Saddam Hussein and six other
defendants on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Gonzales was also to meet with U.S. Justice Department officials working in
Iraq.

The Attorney General has been criticized in the past for his position on the
treatment of non-American prisoners held outside the United States.

He wrote a 2002 memo saying U.S. President George W. Bush had the right to
waive anti-torture laws and treaties that protect prisoners of war. Critics
say that helped lead to abuses in Iraq, an allegation he has denied.