From the Frontlines: A Combat Soldier's View of the Iraq Prison Abuse Case

E-mail from Iraq - National Center for Public Policy Research Press Release ^ | May 5, 2004 | Amy Ridenour, Spc. Joe Roche, + other betrayed, honorable US troops

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

		For Release: May 5, 2004 Contact: Amy Ridenour at (202) 371-1400 x110 or press2@nationalcenter.org From the Frontlines: A Combat Soldier's View of the Iraq Prison Abuse Case Letter from Iraq Gives Soldiers' Reactions The National Center for Public Policy Research this week has posted online two letters received from a soldier, Spc. Joe Roche, who presently serving on the front lines in Iraq. The first letter provides a glimpse of the attitude of rank-and-file combat soldiers in Iraq to the news of abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Iraq. Excerpts: "I'm at a place right now where there are thousands of U.S. soldiers. I went to breakfast and dinner at the KBR dining hall here. It is huge, hundreds of soldiers gathered to eat. Around us are large-screen tvs, and yes, the news was mostly about the prison abuse. Everyone is so angry. I mean, angry! It is as if those soldiers hurt us more than the enemies here in Iraq have. I don't think that if that RPG last week had hit and killed us in my hummwv, there would have been any of the damage done to our cause here that those soldiers have done." "As you know, we have done raids and captured some of the top terrorists in Baghdad over the past months. My sister has some dramatic pictures of at least one raid. In all of those, we handled the enemy w/ respect. Our big bosses always pressed us on the Geneva Convention rules before raids, and we have taken many classes on ROEs (rules of engagement) and on the proper treatment of prisoners. There are rosters w/ all our names on them for these classes because dealing w/ prisoners is major concern of our leadership. My battalion has caught car bombers, weapons' smugglers, and those laying IEDs to kill us. We've even captured in raids those who fired mortars at our base on Baghdad Island. And EVERY TIME, we treated them w/ respect and took care to give them full medical treatment, food and clothing." "Let me recount to you a story... One day [two American soldiers] were hit by an IED in a hummwv... They got the one soldier out who was badly injured, but the fire was so bad that they couldn't get his friend out. They don't know if he was alive as he burned, but they had to watch. Now, that street that this happened on was one where they had built schools, improved much infrastructure, many many projects to make it a better and safer place. ...When the IED blew, across the street were some of those very same neighborhood people cheering. They cheered as our fellow American burned and the other one was dragged out. Now, these are tankers, and they have big BIG guns, and all were ready to fire. The soldiers, all of them seeing the tragedy of the attack, and seeing the sick group cheering across the street, they all held their composure. No one fired a shot, no one did anything inappropriate. They did exactly as they were trained." The second gives an idea of the response of soldiers to "care packages" -- gifts of snacks, toiletry supplies and leisure items such as books and DVDs -- sent by Americans to troops serving in combat abroad. An excerpt: "...One of the most inspiring and important things to us has been the incredible arrival of care packages from people all over the country. It is overwhelming." The text of the first letter can be accessed at http://www.nationalcenter.org/2004_05_01_BlogArchive.html#108373189457257523 online; the second at http://www.nationalcenter.org/2004_05_01_BlogArchive.html#10836356378620677 online. The letters' author, Spc. Joe Roche, serves with the 16th Engineering Battalion of the 1st Armored Division, which is part of a quick deployment force tasked with dealing with sudden eruptions by enemy forces within Iraq. More information about Joe, other commentaries he has written, and information (including an address and suggested items) about sending care packages to soldiers fighting in Iraq can be accessed at http://www.nationalcenter.org/RochePage.html online. The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, conservative/free-market think-tank established in 1982 and located on Capitol Hill. It can be visited at http://www.nationalcenter.org online. ### 777 N. Capitol St. NE, Suite 803 Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 371-1400 Fax (202) 408-7773 E-Mail: info@nationalcenter.org Web: www.nationalcenter.org

[Future Snake Eater]

They cheered as our fellow American burned and the other one was dragged out.

Animals. And we're supposed to feel sorry for them? Not in this life...

[neutrino]

Thank you for posting this.

[boxerblues]

They could have gone to the higher ups in the military and threatened to go public if nothing was done

After reading the report on another thread some of them did question it to the higher ups, even after the command was aware of it they did not let information filter down. This was a total breakdown of communications.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1130271/posts

b. (U) SGT Javal S. Davis, 372nd MP Company, stated in his sworn statement as follows: “I witnessed prisoners in the MI hold section, wing 1A being made to do various things that I would question morally. In Wing 1A we were told that they had different rules and different SOP for treatment. I never saw a set of rules or SOP for that section just word of mouth. The Soldier in charge of 1A was Corporal Granier. He stated that the Agents and MI Soldiers would ask him to do things, but nothing was ever in writing he would complain (sic).” When asked why the rules in 1A/1B were different than the rest of the wings, SGT Davis stated: “The rest of the wings are regular prisoners and 1A/B are Military Intelligence (MI) holds.” When asked why he did not inform his chain of command about this abuse, SGT Davis stated: “ Because I assumed that if they were doing things out of the ordinary or outside the guidelines, someone would have said something. Also the wing belongs to MI and it appeared MI personnel approved of the abuse.” SGT Davis also stated that he had heard MI insinuate to the guards to abuse the inmates. When asked what MI said he stated: “Loosen this guy up for us.” Make sure he has abad night.” “Make sure he gets the treatment.” He claimed these comments were made to CPL Granier and SSG Frederick. Finally, SGT Davis stated that (sic): “the MI staffs to my understanding have been giving Granier compliments on the way he has been handling the MI holds. Example being statements like, “Good job, they’re breaking down real fast. They answer every question. They’re giving out good information, Finally, and Keep up the good work . Stuff like that.”

< snip > 14. (U) Formal charges under the UCMJ were preferred against these Soldiers and an Article-32 Investigation conducted by LTC Gentry. He recommended a general court martial for the four accused, which BG Karpinski supported. Despite this documented abuse, there is no evidence that BG Karpinski ever attempted to remind 800th MP Soldiers of the requirements of the Geneva Conventions regarding detainee treatment or took any steps to ensure that such abuse was not repeated. Nor is there any evidence that LTC(P) Phillabaum, the commander of the Soldiers involved in the Camp Bucca abuse incident, took any initiative to ensure his Soldiers were properly trained regarding detainee treatment. (ANNEXES 35 and 62)

[hgro]

Just curious, were any ears cut off or tongues cut out of the Iraqi prisoners.

I'd guess that the best punishment for those dopes that were involved in this fiasco would be to be required to strip off their own clothes and pose for duplicate pictures that they required of the Iragi prisoners.

[blackie]

God Bless our Troops ~ Bump!

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[The Mayor]

Bump!

[Last Dakotan]

...new found need for apologizes..

Not so new - a legacy of the Clinton era.

[mudblood]

Thanks for letting me know about this post. Its brought me a little closer to the experience of actually being there, in those uniforms, than I'm sure I'll ever get.
Regarding the cheering: its a very good thing that I never joined the military, that I'm not over there now. If I wasn't married, as I am, and if I didn't have a lot to lose, I'm afraid I would have opened up on the "friends of our enemies". Of course, I realize that this is the wrong thing to do, which is a problem for me because I think that whenever the military encounters enemies it should kill them. And these Iraqi's who cheered, they are the support network of the terrorists (militants, in Reuters speak).

[mudblood]

Its funny: the iraqi prisoner abuse story is getting as much play as the 9/11 story. Slow news week or conspiracy? I report, you decide.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness. -- Nathan Brittles, Captain, US Cavalry

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Anything to weaken the Commander-in-Chief. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/PMSNBC/AP/AFP/Reuters/NYT/WAPO/LAT/al Jazeera know who their friends are, too.