Head of Abu Ghraib Prison Speaks Out

Karpinski said she is "not convinced" that the release of the photographs and subsequent revelations of abuse have put an end to abuse at Abu Ghraib.

"Maybe people who are orchestrating have gotten smarter and have gotten better," she told "Nightline's" Ted Koppel. "And certainly [they] have threatened any soldier coming anywhere near an interrogation with a camera, probably with any kind of military discipline that they can give them."

Images That Sparked Scandal

The soldiers involved snapped the photos of themselves at the end of 2003. In one image, Pfc. Lynndie England gives a thumbs-up sign as she points to the genitals of a naked Iraqi man who has his head covered by a bag. In another, soldiers pose grinning behind naked Iraqis piled one on top of each other. Yet another photo shows a smiling Spc. Sabrina Harman giving a thumbs-up sign with a bloody, dead Iraqi in a body bag in the background.

So far, six soldiers have been charged and either pleaded guilty or been convicted in the scandal. England pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors, but the military judge rejected her plea, so her case is still pending. Harman's court-martial began this week.

It was announced this week that Army Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, has been relieved of his command as well. Pappas was not accused of ordering the prisoner abuse or participating in it, but the Army said some soldiers under his command were involved. No criminal charges were brought against him.

There also may be innocent Iraqis detained in Abu Ghraib prison, a practice that she fought against while she was in command, Karpinski said.

"We can do better than this as an Army and as a country. And I can tell you that from the military intelligence interrogators, they wanted to release -- after very brief initial interviews, or initial interrogations as they call them, to get basic information -- they wanted to release easily 80 percent of the prisoners that were being held at Abu Ghraib," she said. "Because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, they had no actionable intelligence, they didn't know anything about any of the questions that they were asking them. But they weren't allowed to.