U.S. Government, Media Silent on Torture of Detained Iraqi Kids

[Whoa_Nelly]

Just as the US-led forces refused to release thousands of adult prisoners after the June 28 handover of partial sovereignty to Iraq, US and UK authorities continue to incarcerate children.

The Pentagon says around 60 teens, "primarily aged 16 and 17," are still being detained, though unnamed sources at the Pentagon and US Central Command (CentCom) said some prisoners are as young as 14 years old, according to Scotland’s Sunday Herald. The British Ministry of Defense also admitted that it had interned minors, and that one was still in custody.

<snip>
Nevertheless, details of the known child abuse cases are slowly emerging, primarily in the European media. Stories in the mainstream American press have focused on abuse and torture of adults, often skimming over US soldiers’ possible actions against their younger captives, with a few exceptions

<snip>
Army investigator Major General Antonio M. Taguba stated in a February 2004 report that all of the above witnesses’ accounts were "found to be credible based on the clarity of their statements and supporting evidence provided by other witnesses." Months later, it is not known that any action has been taken against the translator or guards apparently implicated in the Army’s own reports.

more...
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=800

[bpilgrim]

1. this is a very dark time for america ESPECIALLY our 'media'

yo, NYT... WTF!

peace

[Red_Viking]

2. Oh, I laughed out loud!

Sean Hannity is a douchebag.

We just watched "Outfoxed." It was grueling to see footage of Hannity and O'Reilly. Gak! Those two are lunatics. I love how O'Reilly tried to humiliate Jeremy Glick then lied about their altercation for months afterward. When Glick sought an attorney to sue, the attorney said the hard part would be proving O'Reilly KNEW he was lying. Good grief!

Anyway, thanks for the laugh. And I love the Python reference. Brilliant.

:dem:

Namaste,

RV

[bpilgrim]

3. thats a du brainstorm from way back

but it's one of my favorites, too.

and speaking of Jeremy Jeremy Glick...
http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/oReally/glick.mp3

Glick was brilliant an O'Really was his outragous self in rare form :crazy:

:hi:

peace

[0007]

6. Thanks for the audio dialog with O'Rielly and Jeremy Glick

"Shut up" Bill O'Rielly has a strong propensity of telling people what to do when he doesn't want to listen.

[Dover]

4. Does the American media keep track of children incarerated right here

in the good ol' USA?

Children are not considered off limits anymore. Innocence is not accepted or protected.

[Born Free]

5. The GOP loves children!

"Children are not considered off limits anymore. Innocence is not accepted or protected."

The GOP realy does care about the children and will spare no expense to protect them from the point of conception all the way to birth - then the children are their own!

[JSJ]

7. kick to a fascist midsection

[struggle4progress]

8. Groups Ask Court to Unlock Prisoner Abuse Info

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (IPS) - Human rights, veterans and civil liberties groups on Thursday will urge a federal court to order the U.S. government to release records on the alleged mistreatment of prisoners at U.S. military bases and other detention facilities overseas, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans for Peace.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York on Jun. 2, charges that federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) failed to comply with two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made in October 2003 and May 2004.

”The government has continued to stonewall our efforts to get these documents,” said Amrit Singh, staff attorney at the ACLU.
<snip>

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25040


'Oregonian' Reports on Prisoner Abuse by Iraqi Guards
By Greg Mitchell
Published: August 10, 2004 12:08 PM EST

NEW YORK A team of Oregon Army National Guard troops "frustrated and infuriated" after witnessing the torture and abuse of prisoners in Iraq earlier this summer, has turned to The Oregonian in Portland to get their story told. This has led Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to demand that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld investigate whether the soldiers were improperly ordered by superior officers to leave a detention area after they intervened to stop Iraqi guards from beating handcuffed prisoners.
<snip>

Wyden, meanwhile, has promised to protect from retaliation the Guardsmen who served as sources for the Oregonian's bombshell report on Sunday.

A guardsman who witnessed the day's events, Capt. Jarrell Southall, had provided the newspaper with a written account of the episode. The newspaper, led by reporter Mike Francis, also interviewed other Guardsmen who did not wish to have their names used. Fifteen photos of what the soldiers found also appeared in the paper.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has also confirmed the incident.
<snip>

http://199.249.170.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000604123


How Portland Paper Got Iraq Abuse Story (and Shocking Photos)

By Charles Geraci
Published: August 11, 2004

<snip>
It all began when Francis, while embedded in the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry regiment of the Oregon Army National Guard in Iraq, received a tip from one of the guardsmen in mid-July. This soldier referred to a certain "detention facility" but would say nothing more. Subsequent conversations with about a dozen other soldiers confirmed a troubling episode inside the compound of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

In the midst of Francis' questioning, he received a written account from Capt. Jarrell Southall, an Oregon guardsman who witnessed the abuse.

Despite an Army order that soldiers were not to discuss the events, Southall agreed to go on the record, while other soldiers clung to anonymity. Francis said that he had "multiple conversations" with Southall alerting him to the seriousness of the story and ensuring he had no problems coming forward.

"I asked Southall if he was sure about wanting to do this," said Francis. "He said 'yes' -- that he was moved by what he saw." Southall did contact a military lawyer and afterwards stressed that he was speaking as an individual, not as an army officer.
<snip>

http://199.249.170.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000604284