TROOPS 'SWAPPED HUNDREDS OF ABUSE PICTURES'

Drudge Report ^ | 5/2/04 | Matt Drudge

[wagglebee]

Hundreds of photographs have been taken of British servicemen mistreating Iraqi civilians, it was claimed tonight.

Troops serving in southern Iraq have been swapping the pictures among themselves, said the unnamed soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment who sparked furore over the weekend by releasing photos apparently showing UK personnel abusing an Iraqi prisoner.

The potentially explosive claims, if proven, would contradict Prime Minister Tony Blair's assurance that any misconduct in British ranks was "exceptional" and limited to a handful of servicemen.

Doubts were cast today on the authenticity of the photos, published in the Daily Mirror yesterday, which appeared to show the hooded man being struck with a rifle butt, urinated on and having a gun held to his head.

Sources close to the regiment claimed the rifle, hats and truck seen in the pictures did not match those issued to men in Iraq, and queried why there was no sign of sweat, dirt or injuries on the body of the victim of the alleged assault.

But tonight the soldiers who made the pictures public told the Mirror: "We stand by every single word of our story.

"This happened, it is not a hoax and the Army knows a lot more has happened."

The Royal Military Police is carrying out an urgent inquiry into claims that the man was subjected to an eight-hour ordeal after being picked up in Iraq for suspected theft last year.

It was claimed that he had his jaw broken and teeth smashed before being dumped from a moving vehicle.

In tomorrow's edition of the Mirror, the soldiers detail other alleged incidents of brutality towards local people, including a baton attack which left a prisoner with a compound fracture to his arm.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the soldiers said: "Maybe the officers don't know what is going on - but everybody else does. I have seen literally hundreds of pictures."

Many of the pictures were destroyed last September when the soldiers' luggage was searched as they left Iraq, they said.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the authorities were not aware of other photos of prisoners being mistreated or of a culture of trading pictures.

"If people have got evidence of such activity, then they should bring it to the attention of the Army authorities. We won't stand for activity like that," he said.

[oceanview]

wow, they broke one guy's arm, terrible, just terrible.

[FairOpinion]

Yawn.

Stupid, but I think they are beating this story to death.

Why isn't it front page news that Muslim terrorists poisoned little 8 year old girls in Afghanistan, because they object to little girls going to school?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1128319/posts

I think that's a much bigger story than embarrassing some terrorists, with even their faces not being shown.

Frankly I couldn't care less, what anyone would do to the terrorists, because whatever they would do, isn't enough.

[Arpege92]

What took them so long in reporting this abuse?

[Hildy]

There's something fishy about this whole story.

[CindyDawg]

Funny how all this coming out at the same time.

[MHGinTN]

Homosexuality in the British Army is winked at and totally tolerated. There's a clue for you, even with faked photos.

[sauropod]

Y'know, it isn't often I agree w/ you but this time I do.

[ikka]

Churchill's quote on the three traditions of the Royal Navy: "rum, buggery, and the lash".

However I do wonder how much of this is true. Could the photos have been staged, then shown to the other prisoners as examples of "what will happen" if they don't talk?

[wagglebee]

Yeah, it seems really strange how things that supposedly happened a year ago are coming out now.

[Squantos]

Seems funny that the weapons that the brits (a version of the SA80 that isn't in country ) have in the pics aren't issued to troops in Iraq. Also anyone find it strange that the pics of the US MP's alledgedly mistreating Iraqi's are all dressed in woodlands vs issue 3 color desert BDU ?

Just a few questions that I have .........Stay safe !

[Eurotwit]

Did you see the times stories I just posted?

Lack of blood, bruises and dirt give hint that army 'abuse' pictures were staged

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1128413/posts

[RegT]

Notice that 'many' of the alleged photos were burnt at a checkpoint? How convenient.

[RegT]

Actually it dosen't say 'burnt', but 'destroyed'. Same deal.

[New Perspective]

Why isn't it front page news that Muslim terrorists poisoned little 8 year old girls in Afghanistan, because they object to little girls going to school?

I will give you 2 choices.

A)The media in our free world can cover a story which is covered under the first amendment.

B)Mention this to someone in the press in front of a terrorist, and you will have your head removed from your body.

Now in which country are you going to make a stink in?? I think we know the answer already.

[CindyDawg]

You know, I know this sounds bad but I'm really not upset if some of our guys roughed these terrorists up. They shouldn't and should be told to knock it off but it's probably kind of hard to "play nice" when you are seeing your buddies getting blown up and know what kind of horrors these men have inflicted on us and their own.

[HRoarke]

They knew it was wrong when they were doing it and should be punished.

It is also worth saying that not every Iraqi soldier deserves to be lumped in with terrorists and there is no proof that the people being abused were of any special importance.

This happened a year ago and there have been rumblings about it, just no pictures before now, so I don't buy the "it's all a hoax" theory either.

No one deserves to be pissed on.

[RegT]

I cannot agree with you.

This whole thing has made me sick. It is a disgrace to the likes of Pat Tillman who proudly wore the uniform. In addition, it is completely counterproductive to the mission we are trying to accomplish there.

[river rat]

I wouldn't know one Brit weapon from another....

But - I am confident we wouldn't be hearing any of this clap trap if we hadn't taken any of these lunatics as prisoners...

No one in their right mind would want to be responsible for guarding, careing for or sustaining these freaking lunatics...

All militant Islamics confronted in battle, should be destroyed....
Clean, neat and final...

Semper Fi

[sweneop]

You know, I know this sounds bad but I'm really not upset if some of our guys roughed these terrorists up.

iraqi pow's are terrorists now, too?