Home > Denmark dismisses two top Iraq commanders
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Denmark’s defense minister dismissed the country’s two top military commanders in Iraq yesterday as an inquiry widened into charges that a Danish officer had abused Iraqi detainees.
Defense Minister Soeren Gade said he relieved Col. Henrik Flach, head of the country’s 496-person unit in southern Iraq, of command "because of lack of judgment." The unit’s executive officer, Lt. Col. Poul Erik Andersen, also was dismissed.
However, Gade said the dismissals were independent of a decision by military investigators to widen an inquiry into the claims of abuse by one Danish officer.
On Monday, officials confirmed an officer was ordered home from Iraq two weeks early to face allegations first published in Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet newspaper. The officer’s name was not disclosed, in line with Danish privacy rules, nor were details of the allegations.
The newspaper reported that a military intelligence officer refused to give Iraqi prisoners enough water during questioning and forced them to sit in "a stressful position for long periods of time."