Soldiers face Abu Ghraib hearings (BBC)

[bobthedrummer]

Pre-trial hearings before a military tribunal will begin Monday in Germany for US soldiers accused of "abuse".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3589432.stm

[seemslikeadream]

1. The nation owed him a "debt of gratitude".

An investigation into abuse at the prison was completed in early March, but even two months later, Mr Rumsfeld said he had still not read the report fully.

He was forced to offer his deepest apologies for what had happened, saying he had not realised the seriousness of the allegations until pictures were leaked to the media.

President George W Bush has thrown his weight behind Mr Rumsfeld, declaring that the nation owed him a "debt of gratitude".

[bobthedrummer]

2. Necrophiliacs, child sodomizers, and sadists owe him some gratitude

not the US. Remember, the worst evidence is still unreleased because of the military justice process-but these horrific crimes were committed and recorded.

US military families and their social networks, human service and the ethical medical professions (as well as their social networks) have been aware of this for quite some time.

Some of the whistleblowers have received death threats.

That's how it goes with the BFEE.

[seemslikeadream]

3. Family of Abu Ghraib whistleblower gets death threats

Reuters
August 16th, 2004


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Relatives of the U.S. soldier who sounded the alarm about abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said on Monday the family was living in protective custody because of death threats against them.

Reservist military police officer Staff Sgt. Joseph Darby alerted U.S. Army investigators about the abuse by fellow soldiers of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, a move his wife says has angered people in their community in western Maryland.

"People were mean, saying he was a walking dead man, he was walking around with a bull's eye on his head. It was scary," said Bernadette Darby from Corriganville, Maryland.

Mrs. Darby said it was difficult living in protective custody, and she missed her privacy. She did not say who was providing the protection.

Despite the threats, Mrs. Darby she believed her husband made the right choice exposing the abuse
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=6369

[bobthedrummer]

4. It must be a couple more"bad apples" hey, seemslikeadream?

Stateside bad apples:cry:

[seemslikeadream]

5. Here a bad apple, there a bad apple,

bobthedrummer, bad apples and their stench everywhere.

Memo Appealed for Ways To Break Iraqi Detainees
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, August 23, 2004; Page A12

MANNHEIM, Germany, Aug. 22 -- A memo issued last summer by a U.S. Army military intelligence officer appealed for suggestions on how to extract information from prisoners in Iraq and called for tougher means of getting intelligence.

"The gloves are coming off gentleman regarding these detainees," said the memo, which carried the signature of Capt. William Ponce Jr. The source of the memo, who refused to be identified, said it was sent by the intelligence staff of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who was then commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, to all concerned military intelligence personnel in Iraq.


In an apparent reference to Sanchez's head of intelligence, Col. Steven Boltz, the memo asserted that "Col. Boltz has made it clear that we want these individuals broken. Casualties are mounting and we need to start gathering info to help protect our fellow soldiers from any further attacks."

The memo asked for a list by Aug. 17, 2003, of "what techniques would they feel would be effective" and could be reviewed by legal experts.

The authenticity of the document could not be independently confirmed. It was obtained by The Washington Post on Sunday, one day before pretrial hearings of four military police officers charged with abusing detainees late last year at Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad.

The source of the memo said it was issued about a month before the visit to Abu Ghraib by the commander of the U.S. military's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Defense attorneys for several of the defendants have said the visit by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who is now in charge of detention operations in Iraq, was designed to loosen restrictions on interrogation techniques and that the guards charged with abuse were acting under orders of military intelligence officers and other superiors.
more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24822-2004Aug22.html

Sworn Statements by Abu Ghraib Detainees

These documents, obtained by The Washington Post, are the offical English translations of previously secret sworn statements by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Some of the names have been withheld from these statements by washingtonpost.com because they are alleged victims of sexual assault. These files are in PDF format.

Some of the descriptions in these statements may be disturbing because of their sexually explicit or graphic nature.

Nori Samir Gunbar AL-YASSERI, Jan. 17
Hiadar Saber Abed Miktub AL-ABOODI, Jan. 20
Shalan Said ALSHARONI, Jan. 17
Abd Alwhab YOUSS, Jan. 17
Thaar Salman DAWOD, Jan. 17
Mustafa Jassim MUSTAFA, Jan. 17
Mustafa Jassim MUSTAFA, Jan. 18
Kasim Mehaddi HILAS, Jan. 18
Ameen Sa'eed AL-SHEIKH, Jan. 16
, Jan. 21
Mohanded Juma JUMA, Jan. 18
Asad Hamza HANFOSH, Jan. 17
Abdou Hussain Saad FALEH, Jan. 16
Hussein Mohssein Mata AL-ZAYIADI, Jan. 18

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/abughraib/swornstatements042104.html