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Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos 'Show Rape'
Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, it has emerged.
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.
PHOTOGRAPHS of Iraqi prisoner abuse which US President Barack Obama does not want released include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. Prison guards secure the main gate of the newly named Baghdad Central Prison in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib February 21, 2009.
REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen 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 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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117 Comments so far
Show AllThank goodness we have our enhanced interrogations to keep america safe!
Just think how many of OUR BOYS we have protected ! Thanks Dick!
"But after lobbying from senior military figures, Mr Obama changed his mind saying they could put the safety of troops at risk."
Remove the troops; show the photos; start criminal proceedings
Absolutely.
Actually the photos don't put the troops in any more danger than they are by Obama trying to Win with war, and then telling the world to help him win and keep killing looking for the bad guys who fight back and want us to leave their country.
The graphic descriptions of USA ordered torture just adds to the imagination of everyone's minds already familiar with torture of all kinds.
Obama is cowardly and abetting War crimes to take this "easy way out" which is really diggin the hole deeper to shrink from justice at this revolutionary time.
The Photos will soon be in your supermarket mags.... despite presidential orders.
We are the revolution.
I never believed "Obama the liar" was going to release the photos but just using his template. First saying he is going to do the right thing, then let his minions object to him doing the right thing and then quote those who oppose his position as the reason why he can't do the right(legal, moral and ethical) thing. Lets see how many times Obama has done this so far, countless (end the Iraq war, close Gitmo, transparency and FISA just to name a few).
Mark my words "Obama is more dangerous than Bush."
Ha! That was my guess about his backtracking on closing Gitmo. Can't tell me that he can't whip the party in line when he wants to accomplish something. Instead, when he is boxed in, the strategy is to make it appear that the majority won't support him so he has to back out.
Quite the staged charade.
Joe
Here are two more for your list. Promising and then declining to renegotiate NAFTA. Promising and then declining to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest.
Is Obama "more dangerous than Bush?" He might be. He wants to expand the Afghanistan War into Pakistan -- a nation with nuclear weapons. And, he wants to create a "statutory basis" for ignoring U.S. law, treaties and the Constitution, in order to continue imprisoning people indefinitely without charges or trial -- rather than avoiding the issue by imprisoning them offshore (Gitmo). Even Bush didn't go as far as starting a nuclear war and dismantling the Constitution.
One thing is certain: he's more dangerous to the Democratic Party, since he's put Democrats in the delicate position of defending Obama policies which are the same as, or worse than, Bush policies.
Maybe Obama will switch parties one day (like Arlen Specter). I wouldn't be surprised.
Obama is going to Germany and he will put on his beenie, and go to Buchenwald, but he won't go to the concentration camp of Gaza. No wonder Netanyahu can piss down his back and tell him it's raining.
Maj Gen Taguba forgets to mention other troops serving the Americans in Afghanistan, but I guess they're not worth mentioning, as they don't have that 'special relationship' with the US.
I would think the only thing that matters is the "special relationships" that American troops seemed to have with detainees
Considering the story focuses on the Abu Ghraib photos, it's not such a bad omission. Any idea if there are also photos from Afghanistan prisons?
Check out the movie "Taxi to the Dark Side."
Yes, I screened it for one of my student organizations last fall semester, it was disturbing. But it also dedicated time to the Abu Ghraib abuses, including that horrible video...I meant, is there a similar volume of abuse photos that have never been released?
...putting his Cheney in the little kid's Ashcroft...
I'll look for this on the Sunday Talk Shows - talk about a 'TV ratings' surge.
It will be a real hit on the Christian Broadcasting Network, eh?
These wars are illegal.
These are war crimes.
All of the 'illegal combatants' are GIs.
Our 'government' has made sadistic terrorists out of our own children.
A few GITMO hostages are nothing compaired to the million sickos we have brought home.
But then "We Don't Torture" so show the films on the Ten Minutes of Hate for Jesus hour.
Well said, Humbaba!
Scarabocion
Sadam's regime might have been a bunch of sadistic thugs, but the only female US soldier captured by the Iraqi army was treated for her wounds in a hospital and kept safe there until her dramatized-for-propaganda "heroic rescue".
I would not want to be in the boots of the next US soldier, male or female, to be captured by the Iraqi resistance. We have given them all sorts of ideas about what could be done to "our boys and girls" before they are dispatched.
While I respect Gen.Taguba's opinion regarding the potential impact on our troops' safety, I suspect that the Obama admin is more concerned about inflaming American public opinion. Releasing the photographs would rub our noses in yet another heinous crime commited in our name by bush and his coterie of perverts and could put more pressure on the "invertebrate dems" in Congress to hold them responsible.
to be captured by the Iraqi resistance
or the Iranian resistance
or the Pakistani resistance
or the N Korean resistance
or the Colombian resistance
or the....
"Resistance" is a fair word. If you don't like it, don't illegally invade and occupy other nations. And don't rape their women and boys.
But those "terrorists" are evil. They chop heads off and hate America for her freedoms! Ask Glen beck..he knows!
Hey and don't forget the shelter-dog he meant to get for the first family--BUT!
the guy is a phony pony
When you vote and when you pay your taxes, this is what you vote for and pay for. When you oblige and fail to protest (and I mean PROTEST), through cowardice and avarice, this is what you oblige and privilege and allow.
When you shop, (and you think you are ONLY buying your little dinky cell phones--ohh so cool), this is REALLY what you are shopping for.
This is your Amerika, people.
YOU STUPID IDIOT COWARDS!
Stupid Idiot Cowards, eh? Are you making great changes in the situation that all of us can't seem to see, with your superior intellect and your great bravery? Ah. maybe you should be a leader, instead of expressing your frustration with insults. we all know that the situation is dire, you don't have to go so far as to insult us in all CAPS/
oh the poor rev. was insulted.
sorry chaps.
didn't know you were the victim here.
"...the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy..."
As we all know, this is just further evidence that our foreign policy is in desperate need of revision.
Foreign policy should never be defended at gunpoint, or by conducting war crimes.
WTF--
You beat me to it. That was my first thought EXACTLY.
Rainborowe
Recall when the congress was shown the photos. And amidst their cries of horror...they did nothing.
What a tepid, timid hollow vessel Obama is when confronting a grave moral challenge -always covering the corrupt ruling class is his main objective.
Let me ask--what does it serve to show us the horror of the Nazi Death camps? Certainly we have all witnessed that at the expense of all other horrors throughout our lives---so it wouldn't happen again...so we wouldn't forget, they said....Guess it doesn't apply to any other tribe...especially if they are the new Jews, the Arabs.
That Obama seeks to hide it--make it look like he has something so much worse that what is already out there- to hide.
Tell ya what will keep the soldier safest, houseboy Obama, bring the soldiers home. You are worse than Bush because instead of being the change agent--the alternative to Bush--you endorse Bush...but Bush projected his crimes --you just posture as if you are more evolved morally claiming that appropriate actions have been taken when the photos document war crimes as SOP. If you stood in front of me, houseboy Obama, I would turn my back.
"What does it serve to show us the horror of the Nazi Death camps?" I'll bet those photos and films put the [German] troops "in greater danger." In fact, I'll bet some of them faced trials, convictions and prison/death sentences.
"If you stood in front of me, [ ] Obama, I would turn my back." Minus the unnecessary word, that is a good idea.
Taguba's statement (I generally respect him and think he was put in a horrible no-win position by having to write the report) that the only purpose releasing the photos is "legal" just shows the minor place the rule of law has come to occupy in American society. Gee, isn't a "legal" reason a good one? At least the ACLU still thinks so.
On a more psychological note, who the hell are these people perpetrating and colluding in these acts? What is going on in the mind of a woman taking pictures while a man rapes an adolescent? Who put the sheets up on the door? Beyond the political/legal/human rights issues, the most terrifying thing about all of this is that our country is producing people (and gives them professional positions) who possess absolutely no decency or restraint, who, given the chance (the Iraqi "playground") freely gave sway to their darkest fantasies without the least restraint or respect for the other. This all reflects a darker, more intractable (because unspeakable) disturbance in American society...how is it that this is the kind of person the good ol' USA is growing (alongside its genetically modified corn).
"On a more psychological note, who the hell are these people perpetrating and colluding in these acts? What is going on in the mind of a woman taking pictures while a man rapes an adolescent? Who put the sheets up on the door? Beyond the political/legal/human rights issues, the most terrifying thing about all of this is that our country is producing people (and gives them professional positions) who possess absolutely no decency or restraint, who, given the chance (the Iraqi "playground") freely gave sway to their darkest fantasies without the least restraint or respect for the other. This all reflects a darker, more intractable (because unspeakable) disturbance in American society...how is it that this is the kind of person the good ol' USA is growing (alongside its genetically modified corn)."
Exactly.
Morally and ethically, this goes far beyond joining the military because there are no decent jobs available. This goes far far beyond "doing a job", "earning a paycheck", "needing money for college". Right into the abyss.
These people are monsters. There is no ethical and moral defence for their actions.
"These people are monsters. There is no ethical and moral defence for their actions."
Absolutely. But this is what always happens in war. This time its the Americans who are the perpetrators. Its war. It's the ultimate obscenity. We all know this but the words are repeated so often they have no meaning. The ultimate obscenity. Shrug. I wonder whats on TV tonight.
Don't underestimate the corporate media's repetitive praise of these people as "heroes." When you're seventeen and from a poor family, the steady military paycheck and instant-spouse incentives are tempting . . . but adding the "hero" appellation to the mix makes the sale.
Then, once you're "in" (the military), only the most conscientious and courageous have the fortitude to whistle-blow and resist atrocities. Those are the real heroes who deserve our praise.
Good idea: complain to corporate media about their slanted reports. Counter the right-wing's constant barrage of complaints leveled at corporate media for their mythical "liberalism." Tell them that putting on a uniform doesn't make people heroes, nor does it justify atrocities. And, reporting U.S. war crimes is not just media's responsibility, it is crucial to preserving our democracy.
drip. drip, drip.
Sy Hersh reported on this and far worse a few years ago. Until the photos are relased, the simple written word isn't enough to jolt the reptilian brains of "American Idol" worshippers.
Some of the people in our military and those faceless, nameless, Blackwater ghosts are seriously depraved. US military prisons became a hell on earth for all Muslims. On orders from the top, thousands of people were encouraged to release their most despicable demonic fantasies on a powerless population.
And what's with the all the photos, anyway? Creeps me out. They're like serial killers taking trophy items for re-living those special moments. If these "soldiers" had any shame or concerns there wouldn't be a trove of personal photos. The photographs convince me they took pride in their handiwork. So screw every one of them affiliated with the entire sadistic, criminal enterprise.
LET THE PURGE BEGIN.
I for one, do not want a satanic cult of military trained rapists, psychos, and their leaders free to roam our streets.
There is one of these stinking sicko bastards just down the block from where you live. And if you live in Charlestown, West VA they own the whole damn town.
They won't just be roaming our streets. Many of them will be POLICING our streets.
"...will be..."
right.
If any of this is true...I really don't know what to say. Torture is bad enough but raping females and sodomizing males? In an American controlled facility????? This is revolting and disgusting not to mention totally illegal!!! The inhumane treatment of prisoners is something the U.S. and the world will have to live with for a long, long time. I am not naive enough to think these crimes are not committed every day around the world but never in my lifetime did I expect to see these crimes committed by the USA. THESE ARE WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY - WHEN WILL THOSE RESPONSIBLE BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE??? Winning hearts and minds and bringing "freedom" to the world...what a load of BS.
Surely you have not forgotten Abner Louima? If the name does not ring a bell, type "abner louima" into an internet search engine.
Also Michael Mineo.
Crimes such as these have already been committed by those representing the US.
All the crimes you mention were by cops who served in the military MP units in Iraq Afghanistan, and in Israel (while getting their dual citizenship military service requirement out of the way so they could be "good Jews"). And the Jews were financed by none other than Bernie Madoff and Ezra Merkin in their trip to Israel.
"never in my lifetime did I expect to see these crimes committed by the USA"
It's too bad the mainstream media tends to hide stories like this. If more Americans were enlightened as to the true nature of our government, they might start voting more compassionately.
RMG, our own prisons are hell on Earth as well. Raping and beating is not a phenomenon reserved for foreigners. And it's not just prisoners abusing each other. It's getting worse with the corporate run prisons, which don't have oversight.
siderealm, it's ridiculous to suggest that the abuse is because the cops are Jews. They come in all nationalities.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Especially when, apparently, it was policy. I guess its not illegal when the president does it. I guess its not illegal when the president orders it. I guess its not illegal for the next president to pardon it. I guess the America I believed in when I was a kid never existed.
Unfortunately for so many; the typical "US Logic" follows the faulty concept that to release the photos would endanger american troops in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Never mind the fact that they are members of an illegal invasion force, that has made civilian deaths and total destruction of the land, water, air their primary objective.
It would be the 'release of the photos' that would turn the tide against our "boys and girls" in uniform: not the fact that they are international criminals and members of the most destructive military in the history of the world.
This is exactly the kind of logic that has lead the USA to the lowest level of all the other nations of the world.
And the world is watching.
And the world will not tolerate America much longer.
Good Luck America, you really need it.
"It would be the 'release of the photos' that would turn the tide against our "boys and girls" in uniform: not the fact that they are international criminals and members of the most destructive military in the history of the world."
And there is another reason to not release the photos. It might cause enlistments to drop off. Hopefully.
I am quite speechless . . .
There is an interesting website with all the photos of the victims that were tortured feel free to take a look http://www.salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/chapter_2/index.html.
the link has already been trashed by the government censors.
If you go to
http://www.salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/chapter_2/
you can still get it for the time being.
Where's the rape? CENSORED
Those are not the photos described in the above article.
The Bush-Cheney Legacy. Those photos belong in the fancy Bush library costing millions to glorify his kingship. Those millions should go to the ones we abused beyond belief in the name of Christian liberation.
Kernelz,
post revolutionary north america - 2015
the bush presidential library has been renamed,
no blood for oil - a popular slogan amongst american activists in the 1990's (when america was mercilessly bombing iraqi civilians)
a memorial dedicated to the victims of the great oil war -
: at the end of the 20th century, a monster rose to power through family prestige and oil politics centered in texas. after rigging the presidential election of 2000, this bumbling idiot (as contemporary historians perceive bush 2) w/ the assistance of his ruthless dark sith mr 'darth' cheney, used the US military to terrorize the world as they concentrated wealth and insured their associates in the energy sector handsome profits.
millions and millions perished as the emperial behemoth sloughed across the face of the earth - uprooting nations, torturing the innocent in search of the blood of the earth, indifferent to the human carnage left in it's wake.
the unbridled corruption, greed and violence inflicted upon the global community, by this posse, is seen by post revolutionary historians as the root cause of the nuclear war that ensued over the straights of hormuz - that paralyzed global energy markets - pushing the world into a global revolution.
some say obama had a chance to alter course - others say the die was cast earlier, serendipitously by bush 1 in the early 90's. that fate was inevitable.
as north americans visit the memorial, the revolutionary government of north america would like to remind visitors of the poignant slogan of 20th century jews who were persecuted by the nazi military regime. as this slogan was modified by revolutionaries who fought w/ their spirit, bodies and mind to overthrow the US military regime.
never again - no blood for oil.
...peace...