NYT: Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in an Afghan Jail

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html?ei=5094&en=b0127745ff807788&hp=&ex=1110690000&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1110604069-S/L+nz0oRJ5nEDh1Ud8ijQ&pagewanted=print&position=

Two Afghan prisoners who died in American custody in Afghanistan in December 2002 were chained to the ceiling, kicked and beaten by American soldiers in sustained assaults that caused their deaths, according to Army criminal investigative reports that have not yet been made public.

One soldier, Pfc. Willie V. Brand, was charged with manslaughter in a closed hearing last month in Texas in connection with one of the deaths, another Army document shows. Private Brand, who acknowledged striking a detainee named Dilawar 37 times, was accused of having maimed and killed him over a five-day period by "destroying his leg muscle tissue with repeated unlawful knee strikes."

The attacks on Mr. Dilawar were so severe that "even if he had survived, both legs would have had to be amputated," the Army report said, citing a medical examiner.

The reports, obtained by Human Rights Watch, provide the first official account of events that led to the deaths of the detainees, Mullah Habibullah and Mr. Dilawar, at the Bagram Control Point, about 40 miles north of Kabul. The deaths took place nearly a year before the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Among those implicated in the killings at Bagram were members of Company A of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, from Fort Bragg, N.C. The battalion went on to Iraq, where some members established the interrogation unit at Abu Ghraib and have been implicated in some abuses there.

[plant-fan]

1. Support the troops ?

Remind me why.

[shraby]

2. I just sent the article to Senator Feingold

requesting an independent or congressional investigation into the torture of the prisoners.
I'm so angry I could chew nails.

[NNN0LHI]

3. U.S. Army details Afghan prisoner abuse-NYT

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12480466.htm

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Two Afghan prisoners in U.S. custody in Afghanistan in 2002 died after being chained up, kicked and beaten by American soldiers, The New York Times reported on Saturday

The newspaper cited Army criminal investigative reports obtained by Human Rights Watch that have not yet been made public.

They follow revelations of abuse of prisoners by U.S. forces in Iraq and allegations of torture at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that have drawn widespread international criticism.

One soldier, Pfc. Willie V. Brand, was charged with manslaughter in a closed hearing last month in Texas in connection with one of the deaths in Afghanistan, another Army document showed.

more

Kicked this guy to death. Sonuvabitch.

[gratuitous]

6. Not just kicked him to death

But he did it over a period of FIVE DAYS. Where was the private's superior officer? Who allowed this to happen? Who knew about it? Who should have known about it? Who didn't get off his or her duff and check on the prisoners regularly such that Private Brand could enjoy his little torture-fest for FIVE DAYS?

[UpInArms]

4. how finely will the wheels of justice grind?

http://www.worldrevolution.org/article/716

March 7, 2003
Afghan prisoners beaten to death at US military interrogation base

Two prisoners who died while being held for interrogation at the US military base in Afghanistan had apparently been beaten, according to a military pathologist's report. A criminal investigation is now under way into the deaths which have both been classified as homicides.

The deaths have led to calls for an inquiry into what interrogation techniques are being used at the base where it is believed the al-Qaida leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is now also being held. Former prisoners at the base claim that detainees are chained to the ceiling, shackled so tightly that the blood flow stops, kept naked and hooded and kicked to keep them awake for days on end.

The two men, both Afghans, died last December at the US forces base in Bagram, north of Kabul, where prisoners have been held for questioning. The autopsies found they had suffered "blunt force injuries" and classified both deaths as homicides.

A spokesman for the Pentagon said yesterday it was not possible to discuss the details of the case because of the proceeding investigation. If the investigation finds that the prisoners had been unlawfully killed during interrogation, it could lead to both civil and military prosecutions. He added that it was not clear whether only US personnel had had access to the men.

One of the dead prisoners, known only as Dilawar, died as a result of "blunt force injuries to lower extremities complicating coronary artery disease", according to the death certificate signed by Major Elizabeth Rouse, a pathologist with the Washington-based Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, which operates under the auspices of the defence department. The dead man was aged 22 and was a farmer and part-time taxi-driver. He was said to have had an advanced heart condition and blocked arteries.

...more...

[DeepModem Mom]

5. kick

[gratuitous]

7. I went back and read the whole article

And Private Brand is just a straw in a haystack of nauseating misconduct. 28 folks were mentioned in the Army's report, but so far only two of them have gone on trial. In closed hearings.

Think any Republican in Congress will buck President Man Date and begin their own civilian investigation into these atrocities? Or do the Republicans only get their panties in a bunch when someone gets a blow job?