WP- Soldiers Vented Frustration, Doctor Says( AF Col Nelson Psychiatrist )

[maddezmom]

Soldiers Vented Frustration, Doctor Says
Psychiatrist Studied Interviews With Guards Accused of Abusing Iraqi Detainees
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 24, 2004; Page A18


Physical abuses by U.S. military police of Iraqi prison detainees stemmed from a mixture of soldiers' anger and frustration over poor working conditions, their racism and the absence of any meaningful supervision, according to the report of an Air Force psychiatrist who studied the episode for the Army.


The unclassified report, by Col. Henry Nelson, provides the military's principal, internal explanation for why the soldiers participated in the abusive actions. His independent study was based on a review of thousands of pages of interview transcripts and other documents the Pentagon has not released, and it is appended to a report of the Army investigation headed by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba.

At the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, "the worst human qualities and behaviors came to the fore" in an atmosphere of "danger, promiscuity and negativity" within a closed environment, wrote Nelson, a member of the Army's investigating team. He noted training lapses, as others have, but also said that soldiers' unfamiliarity with Islamic culture, their pervasive sense of danger and the indefinite nature of their tenure were factors that wore them down.

~snip~

On Aug. 23, 2003, Nelson wrote, an intelligence officer "kicked and beat a passive, cuffed detainee who was suspected of mortaring Abu Ghraib." This incident, Nelson wrote, "was witnessed by officers and NCOs alike."

Military officials have generally described the abuses as a function of "aberrant behavior" and weak leadership within the military police units stationed at the prison, rather than as a result of orders passed down the military chain of command. Nelson's study, according to a brief summary given by Taguba, suggested the abuses were "wanton acts of select soldiers in an unsupervised and dangerous setting."

~snip~
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50522-2004May23.html

[NNN0LHI]

1. Frustration? Perhaps they should try spanking their monkey once n/t

[maddezmom]

2. another link in SFGate

Report details root of abuse
Psychiatrist's account at odds with testimony
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/24/MNGAH6QN241.DTL

[maddezmom]

8. Report details root of abuse Psychiatrist's account at odds with testimony

~snip~
The unclassified report, by Col. Henry Nelson, provides the military's principal internal explanation for why the soldiers participated in the abusive actions. His independent study was based on a review of thousands of pages of interview transcripts and other documents the Pentagon has not released, and it is appended to a report of the Army investigation headed by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba.
~snip~
In highlighting psychological and cultural factors underlying the abuses, Nelson noted that soldiers sent to Iraq were immersed in Islamic culture for the first time and said "there is an association of Muslims with terrorism" that contributed to misperceptions, fear and "a devaluation of a people." He reported that one military police platoon leader was openly hostile to Iraqis, and that a police dog handler was "disrespectful and racist" -- attributing to his dog a dislike of Iraqi "culture, smell, sound, skin tone (and) hair color."
~snip~

[0007]

3. Is this the tone for condonation?

"Racism and the absence of any meaningful supervision. -

A function of "aberrant behavior" and weak leadership within the military police units -

Training lapses -

[maddezmom]

6. Nelson is not giving anyone a pass including senior officers

The sadistic and psychopathic behavior was appalling and shocking," Nelson wrote in the report, which was provided to The Washington Post by a government official. "Abuse with sexual themes occurred and was witnessed, condoned photographed, but never reported."

Much of the language in Nelson's study supports the Army's contention that the abuses were a product of a distorted environment at Abu Ghraib last year, amounting to a wartime version of the malicious conduct by marooned children in the novel "Lord of the Flies."But the report is at odds with recent congressional testimony by top Army and military intelligence officials that the prison abuse involved only low-ranking soldiers and was not known by more senior officers.

[lostnfound]

4. More spin on the Wurlitzer? Do psychiatrists EVER explain our enemies?

No. Because all evil resides on the other side of the fence of us and them.

And because it's unAmerican to humanize your enemies..in Bushworld.

[nonbelief]

5. Oh! Well, that explains everything!

American soldiers hate all foreigners because American soldiers are frustrated because foreigners hate America because foreigners are evil and hate freedom.


All your questions answered.

Move on, folks.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. "their racism" Noticed how it rolled off the tongue in a non-chalant

manner? Here we are, those of us who are non-white or off-white, trying to get the message across that racism does exist in this nation. The resistance we receive from the white community in accepting this fact is sometimes abusive. But then Abu Ghraib comes along and everyone talks about racism being a factor as if it's an attitude that is widely known to occur in our country.