Reuters is
running a story about how a US Army Captain and two sergeants have come forward to Human Rights Watch to tell of frequent, widespread abuse condoned, and possibly on the orders of, superior officers.
From
Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army captain and two sergeants recounted in a Human Rights Watch report on Friday how Iraqi inmates near Falluja were beaten with a baseball bat, stacked clothed in pyramids, deprived of food and water and put in painful positions until they fainted.
The abuse often occurred under orders or with the consent of superior officers, said the captain, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
...
This account of incidents that took place at the base from summer 2003 to spring 2004 was similar to abuse occurring at about the same time at Abu Ghraib jail on the outskirts of Baghdad.
"We would give them blows to the head, chest, legs, and stomach, pull them down, kick dirt on them. This happened every day," said one sergeant in a statement in the report.
"Leadership failed to provide clear guidance so we just developed it. ... We heard rumors of (prisoners) dying so we were careful. We kept it to broken arms and legs..."
"In retrospect what we did was wrong, but at the time we did what we had to do. Everything we did was accepted, everyone turned their heads," the sergeant said.
If this has been previously diaried (I can't find it), then I'll delete it. Otherwise, comments?
Mephisto