Latest on Abu Ghraib: prisoners raped, beaten, made to eat pork and drink alcohol

BillieTheBot

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=523724

These people make Saddam Hussein look like a model ruler! :mad:

Some 'hearts and minds' campaign there...

What will it take for Rumsfeld (if not Bush) to resign???

Former Member

Could they possibly have handled this worse at either a soldiering or political level?

Former Member

These things are reprehensible nonetheless it's war. Atrocities nearly always happen in wars.

Even still the people who forced these Muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol should be punished by the US armed forces.

Former Member

The mistreatment of prisoners does not always occur in wars. There have been some very bad instances but there have also been many examples of dignified treatment of PoWs. There is no excuse for being any other way.

Besides, bear in mind that many of the prisoners are not even PoWs or "terrorists". Some of them are just petty thieves or demonstrators. Such hideous treatment denotes a sadistic and brutal culture amongst a number of US soldiers (just what percentage remains to be seen). Far from coming to liberate the Iraqis from oppression it is clear that for some US soldiers these are inferior beings worthy of the treatment they receive.

The scandal continues to grow and heavens know what other atrocities have been committed against the Iraqis, and in what proportions. If there was ever a case for a defence secretary and even head of government to resign over anything, this is surely it.

Former Member

Originally posted by lukesh
What the USA need to do is root out the scum bags that are doing this to the Iraqis because the minority are giving the Americans a very bad name, like Al Queda give Islam a bad name but acts are only done by a few.

That was a surprisingly sensible and well-considered post. I can now for the first time say:

Yes, I agree with Lukesh.

Former Member

Originally posted by lukesh
What the USA need to do is root out the scum bags that are doing this to the Iraqis because the minority are giving the Americans a very bad name, like Al Queda give Islam a bad name but acts are only done by a few.

Right on.

Former Member

Originally posted by the doc horatio
That was a surprisingly sensible and well-considered post. I can now for the first time say:

Yes, I agree with Lukesh.

Ha ha haa! Now that was funny!

Former Member

Call me a conspiracy theorist but I beleive that somewhere further up the chain of command they were told to do this - probably in an attempt to extract information by whatever means. Iraq is going badly for the Americans, Bush needs something now like someone to tell him where WMD or Osama Bin Laden are to have any chance of winning the election legitimately.

Former Member

ShyBoy, I think the problem seems (imo) to be that the neo-cons in the White House are calling the shots and ignoring the experience of military experts like General Zinni and Colin Powell.

I see what is happening in Falluja, Abu Ghraib etc as perfect recruiting tools for terrorism and fundamentalism in the Middle East.

Its hard to believe that a year ago, the Iraqis and American troops celebrated together as they pulled down Saddam's statue. To lose such goodwill in a year is appalling.

Former Member

Actually the "Iraqis" in that fabricated press op of the statue were subsequently identified as those INC cohorts of Chalabi which the administration flew back in from Dearborn Michigan.

So even a year ago, no significant number of indigenous Iraqis (if any) were "celebratng with US troops".

Just the sort of media contrived spin that has characterised the littany of falsifications surrounding this invasion.

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Toppling_the_statue_of_Saddam_Hussein

and much more revelation of fabrication on the ground since this charade of neo-colonialist conquest began...

http://www.funkspace.com/flipnews/propastatue.html

Former Member

Interesting articles. The man with the hammer is a local mechanic and was interviewed by the Guardian for a story looking back on the event. However in the article the journalist went back to see him after the initial interview and was told he was now in U.S custody for receiving looted goods.

Strange that the local who was there and subsequently talks to a left wing paper ends up in jail. Oh what tangled webs we weave...

Former Member

Has it not occurred to the American judiciary that lying about an affair (which got Clinton close to imprachment) is hardly as bad as lying about WMDs and allowing American soldiers to disregard the Geneva Convention?

Former Member

Considering the preponderence of the US Supreme Court justices are appointees of Bush Sr. and Reagan and that Justice Scalia regularly goes fishing with Cheney, I'd say you can't count on this judiciary for any check and balance.