Former U.S. commander in Iraq calls for truth commission (CNN)

(CNN) -- The former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who retired over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is calling for a truth commission to investigate Bush-era policies behind the abuse and controversial interrogations of detainees.

"The mechanisms that are responsible for establishing accountability have lost their credibility within the country, and there's a lack of trust in them," retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said in an interview on CNN's "Newsroom" Tuesday. "A truth commission, I believe, is the only way for us to regain that."

The Iraq war, he said, was plagued by "institutional and individual failures" -- both in the execution of the conflict and the interrogation tactics, and in the policies from Washington that were implemented in the field.

Sanchez, in charge of combat operations from 2003 into 2004, has been a harsh critic of the war in Iraq, calling it in 2007 a "nightmare with no end in sight." His leadership has been criticized because the mistreatment of prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison happened during his command ... http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/06/02/us.torture.sanchez/?iref=mpstoryview