New Revelations by American Soldiers of Abuse in Iraq

[Spurt]

BOSTON, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Another American soldier has come forward to reveal abusive interrogation techniques by military personnel in Iraq. Tony Lagouranis, a former Army interrogator at Abu Ghraib and member of a special intelligence team in Iraq, has given FRONTLINE a firsthand account of his involvement in the harsh treatment of prisoners.

"It's all over Iraq," Lagouranis told FRONTLINE. "The infantry units are torturing people in their homes. They would smash people's feet with the back of an axhead. They would break bones, ribs. That was serious stuff."

Lagouranis' comments are included in an upcoming FRONTLINE, "The Torture Question," airing nationally on Tuesday, October 18, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings). The program includes interviews with other interrogators who also say the abuse of prisoners throughout Iraq is more widespread than previously reported.

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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051017/nym089.html?.v=23

[Dhalgren]

1. What in hell are we doing?

"The infantry units are torturing people in their homes. They would smash people's feet with the back of an axhead. They would break bones, ribs. That was serious stuff."

Serious stuff, indeed. This...we, can simply not continue with this type of behavior. We are not who we think we are...

[Miss Chybil]

14. We're winning hearts and minds.

I'd say in 10, 20 years, Iraq will be up and running - with a full cache of WMD - to make sure this never happens again. By then, it probably won't take a whole 45 minutes to drop a mushroom cloud on us, much less Great Britian. Way to go, Georgie boy.

[Larkspur]

2. But, but, but "they hate us for our freedoms..."

Freedom to torture. Good reason to hate us.

[whatever4]

3. oh that's just

fucking great. It wasn't "just" inside the prisons.

Oh man Scotty beam me up, TAKE ME WITH YOU!! damn it but I hate hearing this.

It's what I argued about with I don't know how many people. This torture, this inhumanity.

But there wasn't enough "proof", it was all "rumors" and so I should have "shut up".

Hey, let me say it one time

I TOLD YOU SO YOU DAMNED FOOLS!!!!!!!!

I told you (I know, they aren't even here, but please allow me?) told you told you TOLD YOU this was bad. I said it would be story after story after story, and that after a while, no matter what the US said or did, the stories would keep coming out. I asked them, repeatedly, "how many is too many?" Those many other forum lovers, seeking discussion, seeking opinions, putting me down and you wouldn't believe the things these "intelligent" people said. To me. About TORTURE.

and I told them, and I kept on TELLING them, but no, this is wrong, this is bad, even if there is ANY legitimate use for this, WHY are the stories coming out then, why wasn't it carefully controlled...as we would HOPE any torture would be carefully "controlled"

told them. The stories would keep coming out. Story after story, scar after scar, and I told them, WE WILL NEVER recover from this.

I made such a scene. I made such a fool of myself, I stayed on a few more months and finally gave it all up. I could tell you where, tell you who, name poster names, probably even dig up some of the old discussions. Wouldn't matter, but the anger is still there in me. Last year. The year before. Maybe hundreds. Probably hundreds, come to think of it. Bar. You were flat wrong BAR you dumb so and so I TOLD YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you idiot...

Told them. Told them these stories, that there would be thousands, would have to end up being thousands, and, when is it too much, if they thought it was "no big deal, happens all the time, we've always done stuff like this". Sure. Sure we have. But it was the first I ever heard about it...and I was in the damn military. So it wasn't exactly business as usual, and it wasn't exactly a rumor that I learned about the GC in NCO Preparatory School, the history, and WHY it's so...damned important. Was so damned important. To treat their prisoners well, so our own prisoners would be treated well, and because it was our superior justice and freedom we believed in.

All for nothing. Wasted. For these bastards.

I tried to tell them. I tried so hard. Now, I'm just ashamed of them, so many of "them", because I liked them. But now I despise them. And how can I not?

How can we ever hold our heads up again?

I can't

[Dhalgren]

16. That thing you feel burning in you, is your love for your country.

You will never lose that. The anger you feel is from the betrayal of your country by the very ones who have sworn oaths to defend it. These fascist fucks have not only ruined our country, they have made blood enemies out of us...for life. They may forget this shit, but we never will...

[whatever4]

19. Agreed nm

[SunDrop23]

4. My God, what a disaster and an embarassment. eom

[Ferret Annica]

15. I knew this would happen if they didn't stonewall

I mean they don't care if the torture doesn't stop. They care if it is reported in the media.

[WePurrsevere]

5. This is abhorent behavior & yet BushCo condones & encourages it.

(Recommended for visability)

[Catfight]

6. The only veto bush threatens is anti-torture...he condones it. nt

[Karenina]

8. Torture and abuse

are integral parts of Amerikkkan domestic and foreign policy.

[pushycat]

7. American soldiers who torture captured citizens is a new

paradigm for American citizens to reflect upon. We give our gov good, decent people and they return them to us with such baggage as torture.

Our leadership is to blame for this shift in morality toward more and more cruelty in the name of national security. BAH ! another stupid lie.

Rumsfeld how do you sleep at night? Bush? Cheney? ......

[Spurt]

9. I'm looking forward...

...to somebody who sees the Frontline show reporting it here.
If the Yahoo item is correct, a lot of people are going to be seriously pissed off.

[Angry Girl]

10. Why the hell is this article under Financial News at Yahoo! ??? nt

[specimenfred1984]

11. Just Watched Frontline, Very Very Sad And It Proves...

beyond any shadow of any doubt that *, Rumsfeld and Gonzales are war criminals.

Not that it'll do any good in the fascist country we've become.

[struggle4progress]

12. The phrase "fraternity prank" is gonna give me nightmares from now on. eom

[Cults4Bush]

13. Im sick.... my stomach just turned big time.

This shit is gonna haunt us for generations.

[Dhalgren]

17. As I said somewhere else, this business just proves that

we aren't who we think we are...

[Cults4Bush]

18. Yep the seventh veil has been completely ripped away for all with

the exception of about 30-40% of Americans... more will follow soon I think... or I hope anyways.