U.S. Navy charges Iraq camp guards with abuse

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six sailors working as prison camp guards in Iraq face courts martial for abusing detainees, some of whom were sealed in a cell with pepper spray, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday.

Seven other sailors were given non-judicial punishments over the incident, which took place on May 14 at Camp Bucca, the vast desert camp in southern Iraq where the U.S. military houses 18,000 of its 21,000 prisoners.

"Two detainees suffered minor abrasions as a result of the alleged assaults, eight others were confined overnight in a detainee housing unit which was sprayed with riot control agent and then the ventilation secured," the Navy said in a statement.

The U.S. military's image was damaged by the scandal over prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003. Photos of naked detainees stacked in a pyramid and inmates cowering in front of snarling dogs unleashed a wave of global condemnation.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/gc05/idUSLE21314520080814

[redqueen]

1. I don't understand why these kinds of things get press...

but there is no investigation of or reporting on the awful things Hersh talked about.

Actually that's not true... I do understand.

[RamboLiberal]

2. U.S. Navy: 6 sailors accused of abusing detainees in Iraq

Source: USA Today/AP

BAGHDAD (AP) — Six sailors have been accused of abusing detainees at a U.S. detention center in Iraq, including sealing prisoners in a cell filled with pepper spray, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

Two detainees also were allegedly beaten and suffered minor abrasions but no broken bones or other injuries, Navy 5th Fleet spokeswoman Cmdr. Jane Campbell said.

The May 14 assaults occurred after a number of guards at Camp Bucca were attacked by the detainees, including spitting on the guards and throwing containers filled with human waste at them, Campbell said.

The case was the latest allegation of abuse against inmates in U.S. detention in Iraq, and it comes as the U.S. military has touted reforms of the prison system.

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Seven other sailors received nonjudicial punishment for failing to report the incidents, Campbell said. Two had their charges dismissed while others were reduced in rank or faced suspended punishment, she added, declining to be more specific.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-08-14-detainees-Iraq_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

[xchrom]

3. recommend -- the illegal invasion, the occupation the surge isn't , hasn't and won't work. nt

[classysassy]

4. "support the troops"

those damn swabbies were just having sum fun,give them a three day pass.