US: Iraqi prisoners “murdered” by Americans
Even I didn’t think it was this bad. The Pentagon, no doubt under extreme pressure, has admitted at least two Iraqi prisoners were murdered by US military or contractors. That’s their word, not mine, “murdered.”
For them to disclose this, well, things must be tongue-chewing chaos inside those five walls, and one wonders what new ugly truths will soon be crawling out from under the rocks to greet a stunned world.
Two Iraqi prisoners were murdered by Americans and 23 other deaths are being investigated in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States revealed on Tuesday as the Bush administration tried to contain growing outrage over the abuse of Iraqi detainees.
Army officials said the military had investigated the deaths of 25 prisoners held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and determined that an Army soldier and a CIA contractor each murdered a prisoner. Most of the deaths occurred in Iraq.
“The prisoner abuse is so disgusting, so degrading, that I think humanity has been hurt broadly,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican.
I keep coming back to the prisoner photos, especially the ones with the little pixie woman soldier degrading the naked male prisoners.
A seventh suspect, Private Lynndie England, was reassigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after becoming pregnant.
The photographs tell it all. In one, Private England, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, is giving a jaunty thumbs-up sign and pointing at the genitals of a young Iraqi, who is naked except for a sandbag over his head, as he masturbates. Three other hooded and naked Iraqi prisoners are shown, hands reflexively crossed over their genitals. A fifth prisoner has his hands at his sides. In another, England stands arm in arm with Specialist Graner; both are grinning and giving the thumbs-up behind a cluster of perhaps seven naked Iraqis, knees bent, piled clumsily on top of each other in a pyramid.
Why was a woman allowed in a prison with naked men? While she may have been born a despicable person, I doubt it. Someone told her and her fellow soldiers these specific ways to degrade Arab men, who have a culture of modesty and being uncomfortable around other naked men or women not their wife. They were trying to break the prisoners by degrading them. And someone told them to do it. (And let’s not forget that 60% of the prisoners were non-combatants.)
Now we learn prisoners have been murdered. Also on orders from someone. Enlisted soldiers don’t kill without orders.The rot goes to the top. Let’s be out there on June 5th in huge numbers to protest this insane war, the tortures, and the murders.
And here’s the report that started it all: “Complete text of Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th Military Police Brigade by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba”