General Denies Delaying Probe into Horrifying Afghanistan Hospital Conditions

Conditions at the hospital were so awful that the Pentagon's inspector general has conducted seven different investigations into the place.

One of the Army's top generals went before Congress Wednesday to deny that he was a shill for the Obama White House and a careerist so concerned with his own advancement that he covered up "Auschwitz-like" conditions at an Afghan hospital.

Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV's words were reinforced by e-mails presented to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and by the testimony of his fellow witnesses, Defense Department Deputy Inspector General Kenneth Moorefield and Maj Gen. Gary Patton. All three batted away accusations from former subordinates and from House Republicans that Caldwell slow-rolled a 2010 investigation into corruption and maltreatment at the Dawood National Military Hospital in order to curry favor with the Obama administration during an election year.

"I supported all audits and assessments into any aspect of our command," Caldwell said. "In fact, at one time during my tenure we had in excess of 27 simultaneous audits or assessments by multiple government agencies external to the command. All of this was done so we could remain as transparent as possible."