Pace: Torture, Killings Widespread in Iraq (as bad now as under Saddam)

[maddezmom]

SYDNEY, Australia - Human rights abuses in Iraq are as bad now as they were under Saddam Hussein, as lawlessness and sectarian violence sweep the country, the former U.N. human rights chief in Iraq said Thursday.

John Pace, who last month left his post as director of the human rights office at the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, said the level of extra-judicial executions and torture is soaring, and morgue workers are being threatened by both government-backed militia and insurgents not to properly investigate deaths, he said.

"Under Saddam, if you agreed to forgo your basic right to freedom of expression and thought, you were physically more or less OK," Pace said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But now, no. Here, you have a primitive, chaotic situation where anybody can do anything they want to anyone."

Pace, who was born in Malta but now resides in Australia, said that while the scale of atrocity under Saddam was "daunting," now nobody is safe from abuse.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_human_rights;_

[leftchick]

1. BUSH IS WORSE THAN SADDAM!!!!

Finally someone said it!

[goforit]

7. Agreed!!!

[saigon68]

2. Especially from American troops & blackwater mercenaries who shoot first

And then, "let god sort them out"

[EFerrari]

3. Amy Goodman interviewed him Monday or Tuesday

and listening to him speak about the situation in Iraq was just horrifying. He was calm and quietly fair spoken and brutally direct.

[sutz12]

4. Regrettable, but not surprising. n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. We told them this would happen

but who are we, except a bunch of liberal wackos with tinfoil hats?

BTW: Welcome to DU :hi:

[Tin Man]

6. Bush is LOSING the War on Terror

Bush's policy of prosecuting the WOT as a unilateral, 'preemptive', and largely military action - is actually creating MORE global instability and fostering an enviroment is which terrorism is MORE likely to flourish.

Say it loud, say it proud: Bush is LOSING the War on Terror.

[lumpy]

8. Bushco has created anarchy in Iraq.

Not democracy, liberty and peace. The US is no longer considered the role model for democracy.

[EFerrari]

9. Given that we've organized torture camps and death squads

there, that's a bit of an understatement, no? :)

[maddezmom]

10. kick

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. Gangs 'kill freely' in Iraq chaos

March 2, 2006

Hundreds of bodies showing signs of torture or execution arrive at the Baghdad mortuary each month, a senior UN official has told the BBC.

John Pace, until recently UN human rights chief in Iraq, told the BBC News website that up to 75% of the corpses showed signs of extrajudicial death.

Mr Pace blamed an "endemic" breakdown of security for increasing violence.

"Anyone with a gun who is reasonably well organised can do whatever they want with impunity," he said.

Armed groups often threatened mortuary staff, aiming to stop autopsies and suppress evidence, Mr Pace said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4765854.stm

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. Byt the time we're through with Iraq, they're going to think Saddam was

Mother Theresa.

[stillcool]

13. ...made me laugh...

not an easy thing to do these days....thanks:rofl:

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Who would have thunk it?

I bet if they let Saddam run in an election there, he would win by an overwhelming majority. Heck, he could probably do pretty well if he ran in this country.

[johncoby2]

15. FREEEEEEE-DUMB!!!!!