Abu Ghraib officer not guilty of abuse

The Abu Ghraib prison case has effectively ended, and responsibility for the detainee pictures that drew world outrage ended up rising no higher on the chain of command than staff sergeant.

The only officer charged, Lieutenant Colonel Steven L. Jordan, was acquitted of failing to control lower-ranking soldiers who abused and sexually humiliated detainees at the prison near Baghdad in the fall of 2003. A military jury found that his only crime was disobeying an order not to discuss the investigation.

The jury yesterday reprimanded him for disobeying the order. The impact of the reprimand on Jordan's career was not immediately clear.