Video: US Soldiers Watch as Man Mercilessly Whipped, Beaten
Man screams "Oh my father" as he pleads with his captors, saying he will tell them whatever they want to know
According to Aikins--who obtained the video while investigating alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan--the two U.S. soldiers, citing their facial hair and uniforms are "probably from a U.S. Army Special Forces team," and the brutal incident likely took place sometime after 2010.
As Aikins reports for Rolling Stone:
Not much is said in the video. The Afghans discuss how to hold down the prisoner in Pashto-accented Dari; the man screams, in Kandahari-accented Pashto, "oh my father" as he is whipped, and pleads with his captors that he will tell them whatever they want to know. Afterward, the uniformed Afghan leans over and asks him if he has any weapons, which the prisoner denies. (A spokeswoman says that ISAF is aware of the video, and has referred it to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which also confirmed an ongoing investigation.)
The scene depicted in the video, and similar allegations of torture that were made to Rolling Stone in the investigation, fit with a general pattern of recurring abuse in U.S. and Afghan custody that has been documented by the UN, Congress, and human rights groups in Afghanistan since 2001.
In the video, the two suspected U.S. soldiers can best be seen around the one-minute mark:
Aikins appeared on Democracy Now! on Thursday, where he spoke with Amy Goodman about his just published investigative piece, 'The A-Team Killings: Are U.S. Special Forces guilty of war crimes?,' as well as the shocking contents of the video he obtained during his reporting.
Part I:
Part II:
____________________________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
According to Aikins--who obtained the video while investigating alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan--the two U.S. soldiers, citing their facial hair and uniforms are "probably from a U.S. Army Special Forces team," and the brutal incident likely took place sometime after 2010.
As Aikins reports for Rolling Stone:
Not much is said in the video. The Afghans discuss how to hold down the prisoner in Pashto-accented Dari; the man screams, in Kandahari-accented Pashto, "oh my father" as he is whipped, and pleads with his captors that he will tell them whatever they want to know. Afterward, the uniformed Afghan leans over and asks him if he has any weapons, which the prisoner denies. (A spokeswoman says that ISAF is aware of the video, and has referred it to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which also confirmed an ongoing investigation.)
The scene depicted in the video, and similar allegations of torture that were made to Rolling Stone in the investigation, fit with a general pattern of recurring abuse in U.S. and Afghan custody that has been documented by the UN, Congress, and human rights groups in Afghanistan since 2001.
In the video, the two suspected U.S. soldiers can best be seen around the one-minute mark:
Aikins appeared on Democracy Now! on Thursday, where he spoke with Amy Goodman about his just published investigative piece, 'The A-Team Killings: Are U.S. Special Forces guilty of war crimes?,' as well as the shocking contents of the video he obtained during his reporting.
Part I:
Part II:
____________________________________________________
According to Aikins--who obtained the video while investigating alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan--the two U.S. soldiers, citing their facial hair and uniforms are "probably from a U.S. Army Special Forces team," and the brutal incident likely took place sometime after 2010.
As Aikins reports for Rolling Stone:
Not much is said in the video. The Afghans discuss how to hold down the prisoner in Pashto-accented Dari; the man screams, in Kandahari-accented Pashto, "oh my father" as he is whipped, and pleads with his captors that he will tell them whatever they want to know. Afterward, the uniformed Afghan leans over and asks him if he has any weapons, which the prisoner denies. (A spokeswoman says that ISAF is aware of the video, and has referred it to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which also confirmed an ongoing investigation.)
The scene depicted in the video, and similar allegations of torture that were made to Rolling Stone in the investigation, fit with a general pattern of recurring abuse in U.S. and Afghan custody that has been documented by the UN, Congress, and human rights groups in Afghanistan since 2001.
In the video, the two suspected U.S. soldiers can best be seen around the one-minute mark:
Aikins appeared on Democracy Now! on Thursday, where he spoke with Amy Goodman about his just published investigative piece, 'The A-Team Killings: Are U.S. Special Forces guilty of war crimes?,' as well as the shocking contents of the video he obtained during his reporting.
Part I:
Part II:
____________________________________________________