Interested folks, please join me in giving some praise to the usually lousy Oregonian for some exceptional reporting.
re: this story
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/iraq/index.ssf?/base/front_page/109196614530740.xmlOregon guardsmen ordered to walk away from Iraqi prisoner abuse
. . .
In a nearby building, the soldiers counted dozens more prisoners and what appeared to be torture devices -- metal rods, rubber hoses, electrical wires and bottles of chemicals. Many of the Iraqis, including one identified as a 14-year-old boy, had fresh welts and bruises across their back and legs.
The soldiers disarmed the Iraqi jailers, moved the prisoners into the shade, released their handcuffs and administered first aid. Lt. Col. Daniel Hendrickson of Albany, Ore., the highest ranking American at the scene, radioed for instructions.
But in a move that frustrated and infuriated the guardsmen, Hendrickson's superior officers told him to return the prisoners to their abusers and immediately withdraw. It was June 29 -- Iraq's first official day as a sovereign country since the U.S.-led invasion.
The incident, the first known case of human rights abuses in newly sovereign Iraq, is at the heart of the American dilemma here.
. . .
Email addresses
mikefrancis@news.oregonian.com (reporter)
sengelberg@news.oregonian.com (additional reporting)
Copy these guys if you like
srowe@news.oregonian.com (editor in chief)
publiceditor@news.oregonian.com (public editor)
My own note to Mike Francis:
Your story on Sunday, August 8 ("Ordered to just walk away ") was one of the finest pieces of reporting I have seen in quite a while. Great journalism (though an awful story to have to tell). Thank you, and keep up the good work.
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Kids, if you're still interested, ask your own reps and sens to join Oregon's Ron Wyden in demanding a real investigation.
Thank you! Must praise good media!