What the Press Won't Tell You About the Taguba Report

NewsMax.com ^ | 5/06/04 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Ever since it was released to the media late last week, the Pentagon's "Taguba Report" on the abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. MPs has fueled a firestorm of controversy, adding new details about heinous-sounding crimes that hadn't been included in initial media reports on the scandal.

While prison abuse photographs broadcast by CBS News last week document little more than the humiliation of Iraqi inmates, it was Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba's catalogue of allegations that offered the most dramatic claims of physical abuse; including brutal beatings, a dog attack and sodomizing of a detainee "with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick."

However, so far the press has failed to mention this salient fact: Gen. Taguba actually documented two sets of allegations; the first set backed by confessions and photographic evidence; the second comprised mainly of unverified allegations by the inmates themselves.

Not surprisingly, the worst of the allegations fall into the latter category, though the media has been covering them as if they were just as credible as those that have been confessed to.

Here's how Gen. Taguba describes the evidence to support the first category of less offensive mistreatment:

"These findings are amply supported by written confessions provided by several of the suspects, written statements provided by detainees, and witness statements."

The Taguba list of confessed-to lighter crimes includes:

* Punching, slapping, and kicking detainees; jumping on their naked feet;

* Videotaping and photographing naked male and female detainees;

* Forcibly arranging detainees in various sexually explicit positions for photographing;

* Forcing detainees to remove their clothing and keeping them naked for several days at a time;

* Forcing naked male detainees to wear women’s underwear;

* Forcing groups of male detainees to masturbate themselves while being photographed and videotaped;

* Arranging naked male detainees in a pile and then jumping on them;

* Positioning a naked detainee on a MRE Box, with a sandbag on his head, and attaching wires to his fingers, toes, and penis to simulate electric torture;

* Writing "I am a Rapest” (sic) on the leg of a detainee alleged to have forcibly raped a 15-year old fellow detainee, and then photographing him naked;

* Placing a dog chain or strap around a naked detainee’s neck and having a female Soldier pose for a picture;

* A male MP guard having sex with a female detainee;

* Taking photographs of dead Iraqi detainees.

For the second, far more serious set of crimes, Taguba admits he's relying mainly on the complaints of the detainees themselves, without any confessions by the perpetrators to back their stories up.

He prefaces that section by saying, "In addition, several detainees also described the following acts of abuse, which under the circumstances, I find credible based on the clarity of their statements and supporting evidence provided by other witnesses.

It's that list of uncorroborated allegations that the media has been ballyhooing as "torture," including claims that U.S. MPs engaged in:

* Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees;

* Threatening detainees with a charged 9mm pistol;

* Pouring cold water on naked detainees;

* Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair;

* Threatening male detainees with rape;

* Allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell;

* Sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick.

* Using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee. [End of Excerpt]

Before the press labels any more of our soldiers serving in Iraq guilty until proven innocent, perhaps reporters should make it clear that the most damaging of the prison abuse complaints come from Saddam Hussein's dead-enders, al Qaeda terrorists who have joined their cause and common street criminals - all of whom have a vested interested in seeing the U.S. fail in Iraq.

[thegreatbeast]

It hardly matters now. The horse has left the barn. Even should every allegation prove false and every picture PhotoShopped from here to eternity it will be undertood that American troops "tortured" prisoners.

[GottaLuvAkitas1]

Very good post! I too need to keep the last of this post in mind.

Thank you!

[Anti-Bubba182]

"..Here's how Gen. Taguba describes the evidence to support the first category of less offensive mistreatment:

"These findings are amply supported by written confessions provided by several of the suspects, written statements provided by detainees, and witness statements.".."

What is interesting is that all the photos we see on the media relate to the more minor mistreatment. Meanwhile every harpy in perdition is screaming bloody murder. The careful but glacial pace of a detailed investigation will allow them to run wild with the most dire accusations presented as fact.

[kingu]

You know, I gotta laugh about all of this. Yes, a few bad apples did things that were wrong. Big shocker when you've got 150k of troops in theater.

But the way the media is reacting, you'd think that no one has bothered to mention that this is probably the best treatment prisoners have ever received at these prisons. You know the average Arab on the street is reading about this and scratching at their headpieces.

"What? Only four hours of questioning? Sleep deprivation? Sodomy with a chemical stick? I got worse than this when I got a speeding ticket last year. These Americans - don't they know what we do with thieves around here?"

[jaykay]

Before the press labels any more of our soldiers serving in Iraq guilty until proven innocent, perhaps reporters should make it clear that the most damaging of the prison abuse complaints come from Saddam Hussein's dead-enders, al Qaeda terrorists who have joined their cause and common street criminals - all of whom have a vested interested in seeing the U.S. fail in Iraq.

After 9/11/01 we were told that the few renegades who commited the terrorist attacks didn't represent Islam, so there was no need for Muslims or their Imams or any Arab political leaders to apologize.

Now that a few renegade Americans have commited a far less massive atrocity, the POTUS must bow and scrape on arab TV.


Where is our apology for Iraqis for dancing and celebrating when our soldiers are murdered while rebuilding their miserable country?

Where is our apology for the Fallujah massacre/bar-b-que?

Where is our apology for 750 of the cream of our youth blown up and ambushed by those they are trying to help?

Why the hell should I care what the arab gutter thinks of me or my country?

Why don't they care what the American street thinks of the arabs?

[rebel_yell2]

C B S

Three letters say it all.

[DHerion]

I remember seeing a few videos of the Feydayeen tossing Iraqis off of buildings before the war. From what I recall those were the - G-rated videos - that there are many more videos that are truely horrendous. Maybe it's time those were accidentally leaked to the world. Let people see what true torture and abuse are - Arab style.

[Betwixte]

Most interesting. It's interesting to see the progression of thought from thread to thread about this issue. There's are lot more questions about exactly who took these pictures and why.

We do have a lot of sickos, but then, so do they.

[jaykay]

But those videos would be too disturbing for the networks to air, just like the 9/11 footage, the Fallujah massacre footage, the March 23, 2003 ambush footage of executed American POWs. It's only fit for broadcast if Americans are doing the dirty deeds.

[lizma]

LOL. They haven't purchase shredders. What cheapskates!

[FairOpinion]

"Before the press labels any more of our soldiers serving in Iraq guilty until proven innocent, perhaps reporters should make it clear that the most damaging of the prison abuse complaints come from Saddam Hussein's dead-enders, al Qaeda terrorists who have joined their cause and common street criminals - all of whom have a vested interested in seeing the U.S. fail in Iraq.

===

Actually the media is very careful to avoid pointing out that these prisoners are NOT POW-s, but terrorists.

The Al Qaeda manual itself tells the terrorists to complain about abuses, whether or not they have taken place.

Does anyone remember the huge flap about the "looted" Baghdad Museum? Then it turned out that it was an inside job on one hand, and on the other hand most artifacts have been hidden into bankvaults for safe keeping and have been found. In other words, the entire Museum flap was phony. Yet most people only saw the accusatory headlines, that the US failed to protect the Museum, very few saw the eventual exoneration on page 42.

This whole thing may well be proven false or taken totally out of context.

[daddyOwe]

Are Americans the only ones who follow the laws of the Geneva Convention on the rules of detainees. Now lets see the barbecued bodies of the contractors couldn't be called detainees they just killed them dance on their dead bodies and hung them from bridges. I hear all the time how would we like our soldiers to be treated. Think about it, throughout time how have our soldiers been treated, Not too good, but do any of those countries apologize to us.

[calcowgirl]

US Army Report on Iraqi Prisoner Abuse by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba
May 5, 2004
Complete text of Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th Military Police Brigade by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba

Link

[Poohbah]

If the investigating officer finds allegations "credible," that's a code-word for "The JAG's got an open-and-shut case at the court-martial."

[happygrl]

that there are many more videos that are truely horrendous. Maybe it's time those were accidentally leaked to the world. Let people see what true torture and abuse are - Arab style.

Hmmm......

It was reported that there was a big trade in these videos on the streets of Iraq after the regime was overthrown. People were buying them to see if their own "disappeared" relatives were in them.

[CharlieOK1]

from this post by dead:

For images of actual torture, check out this festival of islamic fun and games - http://www.bootsandsabers.com/archives/002477.html (WARNING: gruesome nauseating scenes of slow beheadings of conscious men, anal penetration up through the shoulder with a spike, that sort of thing.)