Iraqis Say Troops Caged Them With Lions

[donsu]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001/20051115/0359194088.htm&photoid=SGE.DOO52.091105071627.photo01&ewp=ewp_news_1105military_abuse&floc=NW_1-T

Two Iraqi businessmen, who were imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, claimed Monday that American soldiers threw them into a cage of lions in a Baghdad palace, as part of a terrifying interrogation in 2003.

``They took me behind the cage, they were screaming at me, scaring me and beating me a lot,'' Thahe Mohammed Sabbar said in an interview. ``One of the soldiers would open the door, and two soldiers would push me in. The lions came running toward me and they pulled me out and shut the door. I completely lost consciousness.''

-snip-

Sabbar, 37, and Sherzad Kamal Khalid, 35, are in the United States this week to talk about the lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First filed on their behalf against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other military officials.

-snip-

``They threatened that if I did not confess they would put me in the cage,'' said Khalid, adding that the soldiers kept asking him where Saddam was. ``I laughed, I thought they were kidding me. They asked where are the weapons of mass destruction. I was very surprised and I thought it was weird.''
-snip-
-------------------------------


didn't we also read that our troops killed a lion at the zoo (was it Iraq or Afghanistan?)

were our troops allowed to do whatever they wanted? sure sounds like it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. ** is the reincarnation of Nero but this time he's a Xian killing Muslims

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Ironically,

we're supposed to be there to stop terrorism. Actions like this create more terrorists and more enemies of the US.

[Inland]

3. There is a rule saying, no turning dogs on troops.

Nothing about lions, however. Everything according to law, Rummy should pat himself on the back for the legal action that makes the US look like an evil tyrant throwing people to wild beasts for entertainment. Ave, Imperator!

[MN ChimpH8R]

4. I wonder where they got the lions

Seriously. How the hell would the military obtain lions? Is there a 41st Fighting Zookeepers or some such? Given Gitmo and Abu Gharaib, I'm not saying it didn't or couldn't happen but I am a little skeptical.

[Kipling]

5. It is undisputed that Saddam's cronies and sons kept several as pets.

But this still strikes me as a bit unlikely.

[SledDriver]

8. Yeah, I'm not buying this one either.

Dogs, yes.

Lions...?

[Ian David]

6. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5363591

[SteppingRazor]

7. I call bullshit.

Troops torturing Iraqis? Absolutely.

Troops throwing Iraqis to the lions? Sounds suspiciously like an Iraqi idea of what torture is, given that one of Saddam's sons was infamous for throwing people to a couple of lions.

Is a cornfed soldier from Kansas really going to toss Iraqis to lions? Or is he going to just beat the guy senseless with a rifle butt, then force him to stay awake for the next 2 days?

There's also the fact that this is the first time this is being mentioned, and hasn't appeared in the lawsuit by these two until now.

I dunno. Just smells funny.