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Abu Ghraib abuse photos 'show rape'
[These photos should be immediately turned over to a special prosecutor.]
Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, it has emerged.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent and Paul Cruickshank, Daily Telegraph
At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.
Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.
Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts.
Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq.
Allegations of rape and abuse were included in his 2004 report but the fact there were photographs was never revealed. He has now confirmed their existence in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
The graphic nature of some of the images may explain the US President’s attempts to block the release of an estimated 2,000 photographs from prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan despite an earlier promise to allow them to be published.
Maj Gen Taguba, who retired in January 2007, said he supported the President’s decision, adding: “These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.
“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one [oh, is that all? well never mind then! -DS] and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them, and British troops who are trying to build security in Afghanistan.
“The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”
In April, Mr Obama’s administration said the photographs would be released and it would be “pointless to appeal” against a court judgment in favour of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
But after lobbying from senior military figures, Mr Obama changed his mind saying they could put the safety of troops at risk.
Earlier this month, he said: “The most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to inflame anti-American public opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.”
It was thought the images were similar to those leaked five years ago, which showed naked and bloody prisoners being intimidated by dogs, dragged around on a leash, piled into a human pyramid and hooded and attached to wires.
Mr Obama seemed to reinforce that view by adding: “I want to emphasise that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib.”
The latest photographs relate to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 in Abu Ghraib and six other prisons. Mr Obama said the individuals involved had been “identified, and appropriate actions” taken.
Maj Gen Taguba’s internal inquiry into the abuse at Abu Ghraib, included sworn statements by 13 detainees, which, he said in the report, he found “credible based on the clarity of their statements and supporting evidence provided by other witnesses.”
Among the graphic statements, which were later released under US freedom of information laws, is that of Kasim Mehaddi Hilas in which he says: “I saw [name of a translator] ******* a kid, his age would be about 15 to 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn’t covered and I saw [name] who was wearing the military uniform, putting his **** in the little kid’s ***…. and the female soldier was taking pictures.”
The translator was an American Egyptian who is now the subject of a civil court case in the US.
Three detainees, including the alleged victim, refer to the use of a phosphorescent tube in the sexual abuse and another to the use of wire, while the victim also refers to part of a policeman’s “stick” all of which were apparently photographed.
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Stay warm this winter in a black hooded sweatshirt. Order one. Order them by the dozen and donate them to occupations!
Remember back in 2002 when you got on tv and ranted about Saddam's sons raping Iraqi brides. Of course you never offered any sources.
EW
"EVERY gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."--President Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953
Which is it, are the photos so horrible that they would "imperil our troops" or are they "not particularly sensational"? How is rape and sexual assault "not particularly sensational"? The photos should be released to prosecutors, immediately.
Taguba, whose career was adversely affected by his honesty when he did the first REAL investigation, goes on to say, he agrees with the decision not to publish. Further, the bad mem have been identified and they have been DEALT WITH. Back to the few bad apples theory.
Obama continues along the same path of George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. He has made it clear his AG doesn't have permission to pursue the truth, the fact one man holds so much power is death to any idea our republic would ever be restored. So much for his campaign promises; he has kept rendition. He is advocating laws to allow indefinite detention for people who MIGHT pose a risk to government. Make bush policies legal; that way nobody will dare protest.
The first thing he did when taking office while the country was admiring his pretty family, was to expand NSA spying privileges; it was ignored by the media. People like me who did notice were told to give him a chance. He has seized the powers bush stole and is building upon them. We don't have habeas corpus, a right of man since 1115. That means any citizen can be picked up and held for years without charges or a chance to defend himself; like the people at Gitmo. He came out last week and advocated legalizing that power. Already, the government has admitted many people have disappeared without a trace. This is Nazi Germany stuff, a nightmare without end.
He has assisted GM in moving its entire mfg off shore throwing millions more Americans out of work while keeping cheaper European and Asian workers employed at US taxpayer expense. Obama is continuing the war against the middle class. Without a middle class, no revolution can be successful, that is one of the rules of revolution. This man will turn out to be worst than George Bush, he is much smarter, and his language is prettier. As usual, he appeared the lesser of two evils. If Americans had any say over their leadership, Dennis Kucinich would be president, not Obama.
Yes, we need a special prosecutor, but we won't get one.
Marilyn Gjerdrum
It could have been an historic opportunity for Obama to do something courageous. Instead, he wimped out, established his precedence to make lame excuses to obscure the truth, provide comfort and aid to the civilized world's most reviled international war criminals, even at the expense of every soul on this planet.
One way or another the photos will "leak" out anyway and Obama will be just another patsy for the neocruds.
I wonder if he got through Law School in a similar fashion, turning inconvenient pages without reading them and "moving forward" with grace, charm and diplomacy? After wasting 8 long years on the previous knuckle dragging troglodytes, he's liable to get away fooling 'some' credulous people but he's well on the road to pissing off millions of disgusted American patriots with a great resolve along with a billion outraged Muslims around the planet.
I agree, I think the photos will be leaked, as well. And the leakers had better be shrewd about it, too.
After all, apparently, we have standards, and can only allow PG-rated torture to be viewed.
I saw some last week, in an Austrailian paper. Not the children but women being raped and sodomized by Americans in uniform.
but it's history. It happened.
John J.Coghlan
Obama has decided not to release the torture photos because on second thought he has decided that it would not serve his purpose.
The new president is starting to sound like the old one, with regard to the torture photos. Earlier this month, he said: “The most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to inflame anti-American public opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.” It would inflame American public opinion, which could force his hand to investigate, and prosecute the torturers, which he seems not to want to do. Anti-American public opinion could not be inflamed any more than it already is. The only way Anti-American public opinion is going to change, is if we take a strong stand against torture, and bring to justice all the people who were involved in it.
The best way to keep our troops from greater danger is to bring them home. Most people are aware that we were brought to war with lies and deceit. Why are we still fighting these illegal, and immoral wars of aggression? Is Obama looking for a way to bring the troops home? The best way would be to put them all on boats and plains, and head them in this direction, as they did in bringing the troops home from Vietnam. We could have a nice homecoming celebration for them when they get here. It would also be a joy to our troops to know that the people who did this to them are behind bars. Let's do it for the troops.
We have enough unquestionable solid evidence against the Bush Organized Crime Family to put them in prison for the rest of their lives. How can law enforcement ever again arrest an ordinary citizen for petty crimes if they let the big shots get away with monumental crimes against our nation and the world. How can we ever again be, One Nation under god, with liberty and justice for all, if we ignore justice for all.