Before we begin... I'm surprised no one has posted this already and if they have.. sorry but I must have missed it.
source
Iraqi abuse photos spark shock
Images of US soldiers allegedly abusing Iraqi prisoners at a notorious jail near Baghdad have sparked shock and anger.
Politicians in the US, Britain and the Middle East expressed disgust at the images, broadcast on US television, and called for those responsible to face justice.
CBS News said it delayed the broadcast for two weeks after a request from the Pentagon due to the tensions in Iraq.
Last month, the US army suspended 17 soldiers over alleged prisoner abuses.
'Appalled'
Six soldiers - including a brigadier general - are facing court martial in Iraq, and a possible prison term over the PoW pictures.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was "appalled" and described the incident as regrettable.
"Nobody underestimates how wrong this is, but these actions are not representative of the 150,000 coalition soldiers in Iraq. We shouldn't judge the actions of coalition soldiers as a whole by the actions of a few," he said.
Abu Ghraib prison was much feared in Saddam Hussein's era
US Republican congressman, Jim Leach - who had opposed the war - said: "The US has historically prided itself on treating prisoners of war with decency and respect.
"This has to be investigated and accountability obtained within the American military justice system."
Adnan Al-Pachachi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said it would create a great deal of anger and discontent among Iraqis already concerned about security in the country.
But he rejected a comparison with the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad during the days of Saddam Hussein.
"I don't think you can compare the two. Saddam Hussein's prisoners were not only tortured but executed. It was much worse than what is there now."
The graphic images include one of a hooded and naked prisoner standing on a box with wires attached to his genitals. CBS said the prisoner was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted.
Another shows naked prisoners being forced to simulate sex acts. In another, a female soldier, with a cigarette in her mouth, simulates holding a gun and pointing at a naked Iraqi's genitals.
Blair condemns abuse
CBS's flagship 60 Minutes programme said it had been pressured by the Pentagon not to show the images, until the photos started circulating elsewhere.
"The Pentagon was really very concerned about broadcasting the pictures, and I think they had good reason," said 60 Minute executive producer Jeff Fager.
"The idea that there are hostages being held in Iraq concerned us quite a bit in terms of broadcasting them. It wouldn't take long to get on Al-Jazeera at all."
Mr Fager told the BBC's Today programme the pictures were initially brought to the attention of US military in Iraq, and formed the centrepiece of proceedings against the soldiers.
'No training'
One of the suspended soldiers, Staff Sergeant Chip Frederick, said the way the army ran the prison had led to the abuse.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever. And I kept asking my chain of command for certain things... like rules and regulations," he told CBS. "It just wasn't happening."
He said he did not see a copy of the Geneva Convention rules for handling prisoners of war until after he was charged.
Deputy head of coalition forces in Iraq, Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt told CBS the army was "appalled" by the behaviour of its soldiers.
He said the suspected abusers "let their fellow soldiers down".
Meanwhile, a new opinion poll for the New York Times and CBS News suggested dwindling support among Americans for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Only 47% of 1,042 Americans questioned believed invading Iraq was the right thing to do, the lowest support recorded in the polls since the war began.
This is the guy who was made to stand on a box and had wires attached to his genitals.
I've seen other images on TV from the CBS program which are also described in this article but I've been unable to find them on the web, probably due to the highly unpleasant content.
edit: found them
Another thing that I found surprising was this quote from one of the accused soldiers
Is this guy lying or are US troops really that poorly supported by their superiors when it comes to missions that don't involve fighting? Or is this a symptom of a bigger disease? i.e that the post war plan was poorly thought out and the US is sorely unprepared for the scenario it's now facing?Staff Sergeant Chip Frederick, said the way the army ran the prison had led to the abuse.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever. And I kept asking my chain of command for certain things... like rules and regulations," he told CBS. "It just wasn't happening."
He said he did not see a copy of the Geneva Convention rules for handling prisoners of war until after he was charged.
More importantly what effect, if any, will this have on the situation in Iraq and the Middle East once Al-Jazeera starts showing these pictures? (Thats assuming they haven't already, I couldn't find any mention of the story on the English section of their website) I think we can all agree that this is not the way to win hearts and minds.
To sum up..
a) What do you think the impact of this incident will be?
B) Is it a one off incident by a few sickos in the US military or is it a symptom of a deeper military problem? Poor training? Poor planning at a higher level?
c) Are these individuals a bunch of psychos who happened to meet up with each other in Iraq or does this incident say something about US society in general?
one more..
d) Does this mean we should be concerned about how the prisoners in Cuba are being treated? I'm referring to the prisoners who havent been given a trial or been found guilty of any crime yet. The British guys released from Cuba made similar allegations of mistreatment when they came back to Britian, but afaik their accusations were taken with a mountain of salt. Should we be examining their allegations in more detail now?
My answers to the above are...
a) Pretty damn serious, it may blow over eventually or it could lead to more Najaf / Fallujah type situations. I would expect a serious worsening of relations between the US military and moderate Iraqi civilians though. This might just be enough to motivate moderate Iraqis to join people like Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf. The timing certainly couldnt be any worse.
B) Don't know. I was hoping someone with experience in the US military could fill in the blanks. Taking into account factors such as the high number of friendly fire incidents you could make a case for poor training. I suspect poor planning for this scenario may be the culprit though.
c) Not sure. It would be a stroke of extraordinary bad luck for 6 or 7 psychopaths to all meet up in the same place at the same time, and you have to admit America as a whole has become a lot more paranoid and vengeful these days. Then again.. perhaps being in a foreign country away from the judging eyes of your friends and family loosens your morals in relation to torturing people... I would be interested to see the input from Americans on this one.
d) Undecided. Really depends on the answer to question c.
I'm preparing myself for the inevitable accusations of anti-Americanism.. (perhaps this is why it hasn't been posted yet?) however it would be nice if we could stick to the topic/facts for at least 5-10 minutes before we start tearing chunks out of each other like wild animals.
PS
On the plus side this incident was reported by an American soldier who was completly sickened by what he saw. I suppose that means not all of you are raving lunatics then (j/k)
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