Field reports from the Iraq war published by WikiLeaks show that, despite Obama's public commitment to eschew torture, US forces turned detainees over to Iraqi forces even after signs of abuse.
Documents also show that US interrogators continued to question Iraqi detainees, some of whom were still recovering from injuries or whose wounds were still visible after being held by Iraqis.
"We have not turned a blind eye," said US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley, noting that one of the reasons why US troops were still in Iraq was to carry out human rights training with Iraqi security forces. "Our troops were obligated to report abuses to appropriate authorities and to follow up, and they did so in Iraq."
Crowley added, "If there needs to be an accounting, first and foremost there needs to be an accounting by the Iraqi government itself, and how it has treated its own citizens."
Obama signed three executive orders shortly after taking office, vowing to return America to the "moral high ground" in the war on terrorism. The implication was that the United States would do more to make sure terror suspects weren't tortured or abused -- either at the hands of US forces or by governing authorities to whom the detainees were handed over for detention or interrogation.
WikiLeaks recently published almost 400,000 US military logs, mainly written by soldiers on the ground, detailing daily carnage in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion: detainees abused by Iraqi forces, insurgent bombings, sectarian executions and civilians shot at checkpoints by U.S. troops.
