Two Marine privates plead guilty to shocking Iraqi ...at second prison

[MaineDem]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Two 19-year-old Marines pleaded guilty to giving electric shocks to an Iraqi prisoner they were guarding in early April, months after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse, military officials said.

Pfc. Andrew J. Sting and Pfc. Jeremiah J. Trefney entered their pleas at a May 14 court-martial in Iraq, according to a statement by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq. Lt. Nathan Braden, a Marine spokesman at Camp Pendleton, Calif., released the statement Thursday.

Sting and Trefney were infantrymen with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, which is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and attached to the 1st Marine Division based at Pendleton.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/155/nation/Two_Marine_privates_plead_guil:.shtml

[Ripley]

1. Aw c'mon it's just a little teenager prank!

You know, like one of those hand buzzers you use on folks! Or a whoopie cushion you make someone sit on!

---Rush Limpnoodle, May 2004

[Qutzupalotl]

2. Just letting off a little steam.

Did I say steam? Sorry, I meant blood.

[Alerter_]

3. will they blame this on two 19 year olds too?

Because I'm sure they thought up of electric torture all on their own, right?

[Ripley]

8. Maybe some of the war-gaming Marine recruits learn

nowadays includes the game "Operation."

[NNN0LHI]

4. Couple more bad apples, eh? n/t

[Mandate My Ass]

5. What cute "euphemism" will they come up with

to describe this form of torture? Oh they just gave them
a little zingy. It was just a little zappa doo. When
you apply electricity to someone it is torture. :puke:

The dishonorable creeps at the top need to do serious
jail time for these atrocities but they'll let the teenagers
take the fall for them.

[Judi Lynn]

6. This really shifts the time framework we were given, doesn't it?

We were left to imagine only a few people were involved in the "abuse," and that the "abuse" only happened in November, last year, approximately, and was triggered by an uprising by the prisoners?

From the article you posted:

According to the military statement, the pair and two other Marines wanted to discipline the detainee for throwing trash outside his cell and speaking loudly at the Al Mahmudiya prison, a temporary holding facility south of Baghdad.

The Marines attached wires to a power convertor, which delivered 110 volts of electricity to the detainee as he returned from the bathroom, the statement said.

Sting pleaded guilty to charges of assault, cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty, and conspiracy to assault. He was sentenced to a year in prison, a reduction of rank, forfeiture of pay and a bad-conduct discharge.

Trefney pleaded guilty to cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty, false official statement, violating a lawful order, and conspiracy to commit assault. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, reduction of rank and forfeiture of all pay, and he will also receive a bad-conduct discharge
(snip)

Thanks for posting the new info. Hope these guys are proud of themselves. A real coupla winners.

[saigon68]

7. JUST A PRANK </sarcasm>

WAR CRIMINALS a slap on the wrist.

I'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE guys in Fallujah get their hands on these little pricks.

I wonder if the WIRED UP DUDES PENIS?

[NNN0LHI]

9. They still have a couple of our soldiers as prisoners that we know of

You can bet they are paying for what these 2 fuckheads did.

Don

[Barrett808]

10. "delivered 110 volts of electricity to the detainee"

"The Marines attached wires to a power convertor, which delivered 110 volts of electricity to the detainee as he returned from the bathroom, the statement said."

I have to wonder just what parts of the detainee were wired.

[Alerter_]

17. pretty obvious isn't it? It's been discussed before

They kept saying it was to "simulate" electric torture.

[UpInArms]

11. maybe this technique was what was used on this poor man

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=275



More than a month later, on August 23, US soldiers dropped Zoman off, already comatose, at a hospital in Tikrit. Although he was unable to recount his story, his body bore telltale signs of torture: what appear to be point burns on his skin, bludgeon marks on the back of his head, a badly broken thumb, electrical burns on the soles of his feet. Additionally, family members say they found whip marks across his back and more electrical burns on his genitalia.

[UpInArms]

12. Lott Defends Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11158-2004Jun2.html

excerpt:

Lott condemned what he described as "physical perversion" of prisoners but defended tactics such as sleep deprivation and the use of dogs as sometimes necessary to "save some American troops' lives or a unity that could be in danger."

"Hey, nothing wrong with holding a dog up there, unless the dog ate him, scared him with a dog," Lott said. When WAPT news anchorman Brad McMullan noted that a prisoner died at Abu Ghraib, apparently after a beating, Lott responded, "This is not Sunday school; this is interrogation; this is rough stuff."

Some of the prisoners "should not have been prisoners in the first place, probably should have been killed," he added.

The 20-minute interview, which covered a number of subjects, was taped May 24 and aired May 26. Susan Irby, Lott's communications director, said Lott got an "incredibly positive" response to his remarks. McMullan said the station "got a lot of feedback," both positive and negative.

Irby defended Lott's remarks about the dogs, saying there has been no conclusive evidence that they attacked anyone. She said he mainly wanted to convey the message that the "safety of our soldiers is our overriding priority."

...more...

[diamond14]

14. OMG....Lott: "they should have been KILLED" on national TV

where's the OUTRAGE?


America has now moved into full-nazi mode...with an American Senator, representing the American people, encouraging soldiers to KILL innocent Iraqis, rather than take prisoners....

and the people love it....nobody says anything much about it...how low we have sunk...expect the WAR CRIMES to continue with full support of U.S. Senators, like trent lott...

[NNN0LHI]

15. Lott the Chickenhawk who chose cheerleading over combat talks big

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/17/politics/main533362.shtml

(CBS) Chester Trent Lott was born in Grenada, Mississippi, on October 9, 1941, the child of a farmer-turned-shipyard worker and a teacher.

He attended public schools in his hometown of Pascagoula before attending the University of Mississippi. He was elected president of his Sigma Nu fraternity and was a varsity cheerleader, and went to earn both his bachelor's degree in public affairs, in 1963, and his law degree in, 1967, from the univeristy.

[struggle4progress]

16. Wow, what an idea, Susan! You want to keep our soldiers safe ...

by making sure they have a widespread reputation as vicious perverts and sadists! After all, who could possibly want to attack them then? Maybe the resistance will end immediately!

On second thought, I think the troops might be safer if you and Lott thought before babbling.

[struggle4progress]

13. But he was "throwing trash" and "speaking loudly"!

Anybody who supports our President will understand immediately that we would simply encourage the terrorists if we allowed that sort of behavior to continue and that the soldiers really had no choice but to wire him up. :(