JAG Hunter bullet: To Senator Hagel, YES! There is and has been a very serious problem with military commanders...and had Congressmen like you been paying closer attention (think oversight), well this whole travesty might just have been avoided.

Pentagon was looking at prison operations in Iraq long before abuse charge arose

Robert Burns, Associated Press
In the Star Tribune

"There is a bigger issue here,'' Hagel said today on NBC's Today. "Was there an environment, a culture that not only condoned this, but encouraged this kind of behavior? We need to look well beyond just the soldier. Who was in charge? Was there a breakdown in command here?"