Forced Nudity of Iraqi Prisoners Is Seen as a Pervasive Pattern.(NYT Tues)

[Khephra]

Forced Nudity of Iraqi Prisoners Is Seen as a Pervasive Pattern, Not Isolated Incidents

By KATE ZERNIKE and DAVID ROHDE

Published: June 8, 2004


In the weeks since photographs of naked detainees set off the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, military officials have portrayed the sexual humiliation captured in the images as the isolated acts of a rogue night shift.

But forced nudity of prisoners was pervasive in the military intelligence unit of Abu Ghraib, so much so that soldiers later said they had not seen "the whole nudity thing," as one captain called it, as abusive or out of the ordinary.

While there have been reports of forced nakedness at detention facilities in Afghanistan and at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the practice was apparently far more aggressive at Abu Ghraib, according to interviews, reports from human rights groups and sworn statements from detainees and soldiers. The detainees said leaving prisoners naked started as far back as last July, three months before the seven soldiers now charged and their military police company arrived at the prison. It bred a culture, some soldiers say, where the abuse captured on film could happen.

Detainees were paraded naked past other prisoners and guards; some were ordered to do jumping jacks and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the nude, according to a several witnesses. Also, a father and his grown son were stripped, then forced to stand and stare at each other. The International Committee of the Red Cross, visiting in October, found prisoners left naked in their cells for days, modestly trying to shield themselves behind cardboard from meals-ready-to-eat boxes.

more..........

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/international/middleeast/08NAKE.html

[Massacure]

1. If only we could get this out in the news

For every American to see just how damn crooked Bush is.

[PartyPooper]

2. It's no wonder the entire world despises Bu$h!

[UpInArms]

3. more from this article

Nudity is considered particularly shameful in Muslim culture, a violation of religious principles. While nudity as a disciplinary or coercive tool may be especially objectionable to Muslims, they are hardly the only victims of the practice. Soldiers in Nazi Germany paraded naked prisoners in daylight, and human rights groups have documented the use of nudity during conflicts in Egypt, Chile and Turkey, and in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. Central Intelligence Agency training manuals from the 1960's and 1980's taught the stripping of prisoners as an interrogation tool. Nudity and sexual humiliation have also been reported in American prisons where a number of guards at Abu Ghraib worked in their civilian lives. (emphasis mine)

When will the citizens of the USoA wake up and realize that they have become "good Americans"?

The world is seeing our transformation into monsters and I am absolutely horrified.

[soaky]

4. indeed

I recommend reading the transcript of a story that was broadcast here in Australia last night on Four Corners (ABC) called “Chain of Command” - "the story behind the images which have scandalised America, enraged the Islamic world and which may endure as defining images of war in Iraq." The talked about the 'Interrogation Rules of Engagement' - the nudity isn't mentioned specifically but the other techniques, including the use of military working dogs, were all part of these rules. Also completely refutes the claims that all of this was 'the isolated acts of a rogue night shift.'

[Ms. Clio]

5. So sickening

JOANN FREDERICK, IVAN 'CHIP' FREDERICK'S MOTHER: It was after that. It..it.. Little bits at a time. Then we start hearing on the news that there was prisoners abused and maybe even female detainees raped and that type thing we were hearing, and it just utterly scared us to death. We knew he wouldn't be involved in anything like that.

LIZ JACKSON: Every Friday and Saturday night the family get to see Chip Frederick for an hour or so via a satellite link to Iraq, and they can chat via email. He's not been given a date for his court martial yet but the charges have been laid. Frederick is charged with wilfully failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment, maltreatment of detainees, assaulting detainees, and committing indecent acts. But in the eyes of his family, Chip Frederick remains a decent man.

But you knew that he was involved in the sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners?

JOANN FREDERICK: Did I know he was involved? I don't believe he was involved in that. Uh...the, um... Well, I really don't know how to answer that question. As far as touching them, you mean, actually being involved?

LIZ JACKSON: I mean, putting them in positions that people would find humiliating.

JOANN FREDERICK: Oh, I see, I see. Well, um, the, uh, one girl - I forget what her name is, the one that poses in the pictures - had said the reason was that if they took pictures like that they could show them to the detainees that were coming in so that...and say, "This is what will happen to you if you don't talk."

LIZ JACKSON: What do you think about doing that to people?

JOANN FREDERICK: I think that probably was legal humiliation.

LIZ JACKSON: It was legal?

JOANN FREDERICK: I think, uh, I think that the Geneva Convention allows for some of that.



What a frighteningly stupid woman. Sometimes I just despair of my country, I truly do.

Thanks for this link. This program needs to air here, but of course, it will not. So the rest of the world will know the truth, and despise and fear the U.S. even more, while oblivious Americans stubbornly think of themselves as the victims and the good guys.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. kick

[Ripley]

7. What page is this story on?

Or is it only an online story? These horrible war crimes cannot be allowed to disappear! There is no way in hell the media can milk the death of Raygun for five months. Stories like this need to see the light of day, every day.

Where are the Dems? Why aren't they investigating this crap and making a stink and getting their faces on the TV? They are, once again, letting the repukes steamroll them. And this time it's a DEAD REPUKE!

You're finding some good ones this morning Keph! Haven't seen you in awhile. :hi: