2000s

Was She An Abu Ghraib Scapegoat? Former Army Gen. Janis Karpinski

Bill Thompson

Some 20 years ago the nation and the world were shocked by photos that emerged from the U,S,-run prison in Abu Ghraib, Iraq.

Those photos showed Iraqi prisoners being subjected to what was called “enhanced interrogation“ – what others called torture.

There was an immediate outcry, as leaders around the world called for someone to be held accountable.

Get your copy of Janis Karpinski’s book

The Army Reserve brigadier general who was in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison, as well as others in the region, was a career officer named Janis Karpinski.

In a 2005 book called One Woman’s Army. Karpinski told the story from her point of view. Her account tells of being scapegoated by an administration looking for a fall guy.

I had the chance to speak with her just six months after President George W. Bush demoted her to colonel for her role in the scandal.

So here now, from 2005, Janis Karpinski.

Janis Karpinski is 72 now. She is married to a Lt. Colonel at the U,S, embassy in Oman.

Caught in The Cogs of The Washington Political Machine: Former Speechwriter Matt Latimer

Bill Thompson

Perhaps no job in Corporate America could ever fully prepare you for a job with the federal government.

Or more particularly, the United States Senate, or the Pentagon, or the white house.

Someone who worked in all three of those venues in the early 2000s will tell you, it’s not just a different world, it’s a different Universe.

Matt Latimer started his Washington career working in the US Senate – at one point working alongside Ann Coulter – before taking a job at the Pentagon as a speechwriter for then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

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Latimer joined the White House in 2007 as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, a position he held until resigning a year and a half later. disillusioned with how the president and his advisors handled the financial crisis.

Get your copy of Matt Latimer’s book

A year later, Latimer wrote a memoir he called Speech-less. He and I met one day that fall in the cafe at our local Borders bookstore to talk about it.

So here now, from 2009, Matt Latimer.

Matt Latimer now heads a literary and public relations firm he co-founded in Northern Virginia.