"In the eyes of the military police commander on the ground it was a clear criminal matter for civil jurisdiction."

Military brass rubbed shoulders with government ministers; human rights activists sat next to military police commanders.

Vladimir Santic, a military police commander, maintained his innocence throughout the trial, but confessed afterward and expressed remorse.

"These people are taking ownership," said Col. Ted Spain, a military police commander in the United States Army who manages retraining courses here.

On Monday, Lieut. Gen. Frederick Franks told military police commanders that America's "national character" required humane treatment of prisoners.

Along the road, Mr. Petrovic, a military police commander, took the megaphone and began calling for the Muslims in the nearby woods to come out and surrender.

After condemnation from Brazil's press and international human-rights groups, Sao Paulo State's Governor, Luis Antonio Fleury, suspended five military police commanders, describing their actions as "criminal."

"Every one of the chaplains was accused of something while I was there," said Brig. Gen. Rick Baccus, a former military police commander at the base, dismissing the suspicions as unfounded.

"They were just regular guys having a good time with us," said Roth Sreang, a military police commander in charge of the border post here, who was host at a banquet for the negotiating group on Sunday.

In a memo obtained by defense lawyers, a military police commander advised Cpl. Charles A. Graner, the man investigators have called the ringleader of the abuse, that prisoners would try to provoke the guards.

In the months before his death, he uncovered several cases that were linked to Cambodia's elite, including a story published 6 September about the son of a military police commander, causing investigations into their involvement in illegal logging.

Two reservist officers appointed by Military Police Commander Brigadier General Roni Benny to examine the military police's conduct during the investigation determined that investigators acted unprofessionally and with negligence.

The officers have said in particular that Brig. Gen. Barbara Fast, the top Army intelligence officer in Iraq, often ruled last fall against the release of prisoners, even against the recommendation of a military police commander and military intelligence officers at the prison.

In one of the prosecutors' most important tests, the Army last month abandoned its case against Capt. Christopher M. Beiring, the former military police commander at Bagram and one of the few American officers since 9/11 to face criminal charges related to the abuse of detainees by the officers' subordinates.

Tillie Fowler, a panel member and former Republican congresswoman from Florida, said the general's command structure resembled "a labyrinth of confusion," and the report criticized General Sanchez for not exerting stronger control immediately over the military police commander there, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, whose leadership was also faulted.

"We believe Lt. Gen. Sanchez should have taken stronger action in November when he realized the extent of the leadership problems at Abu Ghraib," the report said, criticizing him for not exerting stronger control immediately over the military police commander there, Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski, whose leadership was faulted.