US forces abused iraqi journalists from Reuters, NBC

[mburbank]

Reuters, NBC Staff Abused by U.S. Troops in Iraq

By Andrew Marshall

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January in a military camp near Falluja, the three said Tuesday.

The three first told Reuters of the ordeal after their release but only decided to make it public when the U.S. military said there was no evidence they had been abused, and following the exposure of similar mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

An Iraqi journalist working for U.S. network NBC, who was arrested with the Reuters staff, also said he had been beaten and mistreated, NBC said Tuesday.

Two of the three Reuters staff said they had been forced to insert a finger into their anus and then lick it, and were forced to put shoes in their mouths, particularly humiliating in Arab culture.

All three said they were forced to make demeaning gestures as soldiers laughed, taunted them and took photographs. They said they did not want to give details publicly earlier because of the degrading nature of the abuse.

The soldiers told them they would be taken to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, deprived them of sleep, placed bags over their heads, kicked and hit them and forced them to remain in stress positions for long periods.

The U.S. military, in a report issued before the Abu Ghraib abuse became public, said there was no evidence the Reuters staff had been tortured or abused.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq said in a letter received by Reuters Monday but dated March 5 that he was confident the investigation had been "thorough and objective" and its findings were sound.

The Pentagon has yet to respond to a request by Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger to review the military's findings about the incident in light of the scandal over the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

Asked for comment Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said only: "There are a number of lines of inquiry under way with respect to prison operations in Iraq. If during the course of any inquiry, the commander believes it is appropriate to review a specific aspect of detention, he has the authority to do so."

The abuse happened at Forward Operating Base Volturno, near Falluja, the Reuters staff said. They were detained on January 2 while covering the aftermath of the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter near Falluja and held for three days, first at Volturno and then at Forward Operating Base St Mere.

The three -- Baghdad-based cameraman Salem Ureibi, Falluja-based freelance television journalist Ahmad Mohammad Hussein al-Badrani and driver Sattar Jabar al-Badrani -- were released without charge on Jan. 5.

"INADEQUATE" INVESTIGATION

"When I saw the Abu Ghraib photographs, I wept," Ureibi said Tuesday. "I saw they had suffered like we had."

Ureibi, who understands English better than the other two detainees, said soldiers told him they wanted to have sex with him, and he was afraid he would be raped.

NBC, whose stringer Ali Muhammed Hussein Ali al-Badrani was detained along with the Reuters staff, said he reported that a hood was placed over his head for hours, and that he was forced to perform physically debilitating exercises, prevented from sleeping and struck and kicked several times.

"Despite repeated requests, we have yet to receive the results of the army investigation," NBC News Vice President Bill Wheatley said.

Schlesinger sent a letter to Sanchez on January 9 demanding an investigation into the treatment of the three Iraqis.

The U.S. army said it was investigating and requested further information. Reuters provided transcripts of initial interviews with the three following their release, and offered to make them available for interview by investigators.

A summary of the investigation by the 82nd Airborne Division, dated January 28 and provided to Reuters, said "no specific incidents of abuse were found." It said soldiers responsible for the detainees were interviewed under oath and "none admit or report knowledge of physical abuse or torture."

"The detainees were purposefully and carefully put under stress, to include sleep deprivation, in order to facilitate interrogation; they were not tortured," it said. The version received Monday used the phrase "sleep management" instead.

The U.S. military never interviewed the three for its investigation.

On February 3 Schlesinger wrote to Lawrence Di Rita, special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying the investigation was "woefully inadequate" and should be reopened.

"The military's conclusion of its investigation without even interviewing the alleged victims, along with other inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the report, speaks volumes about the seriousness with which the U.S. government is taking this issue," he wrote.

[Ninjavenom]

Yeah. So, i heard that girls fart too. What's up with that?

[mburbank]

For the first time ever I wish I was a moderator so I could delete that post.

[Dole]

I wish I was God and could delete that human.

[Ninjavenom]

That doesn't make this news any less boring, ya know.

[mburbank]

How is more evidence that this sort of 'interogation' technique is widespread boring?

[sspadowsky]

Originally Posted by Ninjavenom

That doesn't make this news any less boring, ya know.

Then don't fucking read it.

[Ninjavenom]

It's a little late for Sarcasm, Spad.

I dunno about you, but i find this news to be pretty repetitive. I don't think it's really necessary to post so many articles like this all the time, but maybe that's because i don't really care for the news. But i do like to read it and bitch when people post it in the "news" forum. :O

And for the record, i'm astonished that you wouldn't just assume that this sort of "interrogation" is widespread. It's a war, it happens. Old hat.

[Dole]

If it bores you, don't fucking read it dickhead. Duh.

[sspadowsky]

Originally Posted by Ninjavenom

It's a little late for Sarcasm, Spad.

I dunno about you, but i find this news to be pretty repetitive. I don't think it's really necessary to post so many articles like this all the time, but maybe that's because i don't really care for the news. But i do like to read it and bitch when people post it in the "news" forum. :O

And for the record, i'm astonished that you wouldn't just assume that this sort of "interrogation" is widespread. It's a war, it happens. Old hat.

That wasn't sarcasm. Contribute something to the discussion or fuck off.

[Ronnie Raygun]

Yeah...like the supposed wedding bombing...this isn't true either.

******************

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate...printstory.jsp

Posted on Thu, May. 20, 2004

U.S.: Troops cleared of abusing reporters

By ESTES THOMPSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. - Army paratroopers accused of beating, taunting and humiliating journalists detained in Iraq have been given a refresher course on proper handling of detainees, even though an investigation cleared them of abuse, a spokesman said Thursday.

Reuters said three Iraqis working for the news agency were physically abused and forced to put shoes in their mouths during their Jan. 2-5 detention at a military camp near Fallujah. The agency decided to make the incident public when the U.S. military said there was no evidence of abuse, and after news broke about the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Division spokesman Maj. Jimmie Cummings said 82nd Airborne Division commanders "reinforced to the soldiers the proper handling of prisoners."

"Our investigation found no abuse of any kind," Cummings said Thursday. "This is a closed case."

The Fort Bragg-based paratroopers have returned to their North Carolina post.

In its investigative report, the Army said the 1st Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was returning to its base camp after a Jan. 2 raid on a Fallujah arms market when an Army helicopter was shot down west of the city, killing the pilot.

Soldiers were fired on from an area near where journalists had gathered, and paratroopers saw Iraqis carrying an AK-47 rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade get into a car, according to the report. The soldiers unsuccessfully chased several cars that sped from the scene.

About 30 minutes later, soldiers stopped a car that appeared to be one of those involved and detained four journalists - three from Reuters and one from NBC. No weapons were found in the car.

Two of the journalists got on the ground as ordered, but one in a "Press" vest tried to make a cell phone call. The report said a sergeant took the phone and turned it off, "not knowing if the phone would activate an IED (roadside bomb) or not." A fourth occupant was forced to the ground after he tried to open the car's trunk.

The report said the paratroopers knew that detaining journalists would draw media scrutiny, but "the soldiers clearly believed that these same Iraqis had attacked them previously."

Cummings said all detainees, including the journalists, were given a routine medical screening, which included being undressed and having all body cavities examined.

The Army report said two Reuters workers alleged "they were continuously hit, and that during their interrogation they had a shoe stuck in their mouth and were told to stick a finger in their anus and then lick it or smell it. Their allegations on these points are not credible."

In the Arab world, taking shoes to a person's face is a particular slam, and pointing the soles of one's feet at someone is a grave insult.

The Army said NBC did not respond to a request for information on the handling of its reporter. NBC did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Reuters quoted its three journalists as saying they were beaten and forced to make demeaning gestures as soldiers laughed, taunted them and took photographs. Reuters has said it wants the Pentagon to review the incident in light of allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib.

[mburbank]

" Cummings said all detainees, including the journalists, were given a routine medical screening, which included being undressed and having all body cavities examined. "

Seriously? All detainees get stripped and get a rectal? I'm not denying this, I'm just asking if this is actually our policy. Do we take photos of these cavity searches?

"Our investigation found no abuse of any kind," Cummings said Thursday. "This is a closed case."

Well, there you go. I'd say since we have no credability problems, that this is sufficient.

Beyond that, you do know the army has yet to say if all those folks they killed were attending a wedding at the time, right?


Let me ask you this. Purely for the sake of argument, if it comes out that these journalists were deliberatley abused, or that we accidentally blew up a wedding party, would it matter to you?

[Ronnie Raygun]

Of course it would matter. That's a stupid question.

""Our investigation found no abuse of any kind," Cummings said Thursday. "This is a closed case."

Well, there you go. I'd say since we have no credability problems, that this is sufficient."

What credibility problems?

[sspadowsky]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Raygun

Of course it would matter. That's a stupid question.

""Our investigation found no abuse of any kind," Cummings said Thursday. "This is a closed case."

Well, there you go. I'd say since we have no credability problems, that this is sufficient."

What credibility problems?

Doublethink, as demonstrated by the master himself.

[Ronnie Raygun]

doublethink?

[mburbank]

It's from 1984. You should read it. Oceana has always been our enemy.