One charge dropped as US officer faces trial over Abu Ghraib

The only military officer accused in the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail was set to face a court martial here Monday, as one of the major charges against him was dropped.
Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan saw a charge of lying to investigators cancelled on a technicality, as the hearing was set to open later in the day at the Maryland army base of Fort Meade, just north of Washington. Jordan, 51, had been accused of lying by saying he had never witnessed any of the abuse at the jail, which came to light in 2004 when shocking photos of naked, leashed Iraqi prisoners being taunted by US troops circulated the world's media. The charge rested mainly on two depositions made by Jordan in early 2004 to General George Fay who headed up the investigation into the prisoner abuse.