HUFFINGTON POST-U.S. Soldier In Iraq--killed herself

[SunsetDreams]

after objecting to torture.

U.S. Soldier Killed Herself in Iraq -- After Objecting to Torture
Posted March 17, 2008
Greg Mitchell

Looking back at all of the sad, tragic and unnecessary deaths in Iraq that I have written about in the past five years, it is hard to identify one that stands out. But one death does still haunt me, above all others.

Alyssa Peterson was one of the first female soldiers killed in Iraq -- and she died by her own hand after objecting to interrogation methods used on prisoners. A cover-up, naturally, followed.

Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Ariz., native, servied with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a "non-hostile weapons discharge."

She was only the third American woman killed in Iraq, so her death drew wide press attention. A "non-hostile weapons discharge" leading to death is not unusual in Iraq, often quite accidental, so this one apparently raised few eyebrows. The Arizona Republic, three days after her death, reported that Army officials "said that a number of possible scenarios are being considered, including Peterson's own weapon discharging, the weapon of another soldier discharging, or the accidental shooting of Peterson by an Iraqi civilian." And that might have ended it right there.

more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/us-soldier-killed-herse_b_91898.html


All the more reason we need a Democrat in the Whitehouse!

[SunsetDreams]

1. k&r

[fed-up]

2. k & R nt