Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the military police at Abu Ghraib when much of the abuse occurred, said she expected to be blamed in the internal Department of Defense report to be released Wednesday, but said numerous other officers would be implicated, as well.

She made her comments as Pentagon officials prepared to release to key lawmakers in the US Congress the internal report by General George Fay investigating abuses of Iraqi inmates during interrogations by military police.

"I've heard some suggestions that they find fault with about two dozen or 27 military intelligence personnel," Karpinski told CNN television Wednesday, adding that further investigation will show that the blame is shared by an even greater number of military officials and service members.

"I think that we're going to get to the bottom of this -- or to the top of this, or wherever it lies -- but there's still yet more to be uncovered."

"To a large extent, it's a good thing that this was stopped very early on. No telling how long it would have been concealed and how difficult or how awful it would have become," Karpinski said.

Karpinski said she could not be held responsible for abuse which occurred when her soldiers were not under her command.

"I have always taken the responsibility of those things and those soldiers that were under my control. When you remove soldiers from a commander's control, then you likewise transfer responsibility," she told CNN.

The release of the investigation's findings comes just one day after another independent probe concluded that leadership failures at the top levels of the Pentagon contributed to the chaotic environment in which detainees were abused.

The blue-ribbon panel headed by former defense secretary James Schlesinger cited leadership shortcomings among the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the military command in Iraq that contributed to the abuse at Abu Ghraib.

Karpinski added that she did not believe that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should lose his job over the scandal, despite a finding in the Schlesinger report that officials at the highest levels of the Pentagon bore some responsibility.

"I don't see what purpose it serves to take people with great experience out of positions and not take advantage of that experience," she said.

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