Posted on 05/13/2004 5:43:57 PM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA - Stung by the Iraq prison scandal, the Army's interrogation school at Fort Huachuca opened its doors Wednesday in a bid to show the world that nothing is amiss in its training methods.
The school's techniques have come under a microscope amid revelations that Army interrogators were involved in prisoner abuse that has sparked international outrage.
Major Gen. James A. Marks, Fort Huachuca's commander, said the Army has nothing to hide about the way its interrogators are trained.
"We draw a very clear line for people," about what is and is not acceptable prisoner treatment,...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailystar.com ...
PING for the MI Corps.
Follow on from the local Sirra Vista paper.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Local News
National media tours intelligence center; Many groups witness interrogation training
By Nate Searing
Thursday, May 13, 2004 12:34 PM MDT
Herald/Review
FORT HUACHUCA - Maj. Gen. James Marks opened the doors to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center on Wednesday, welcoming news outlets from across the country for an in-depth look at how interrogators in Iraq and Afghanistan are trained on post.
Marks, who spoke to more than 20 reporters and photographers, outlined the training and organization of human intelligence gatherers, or interrogators, at the school on post before leading the group on a tour of the training facilities and giving them a chance to observe mock interrogations similar to the real ones taking place at detainment facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The unprecedented access to the normally low-profile military intelligence school comes in the midst of growing scandal over reports of abuse and mistreatment of Iraqi combatants at the Abu Ghraib prison facility.
All military intelligence officials trained to interrogate suspects in the Iraqi theater received their training at the Intelligence Center. And while preliminary reports suggest much of the abuse was perpetuated by military police in the prison, the interrogation processes and military intelligence personnel have come under fire as well.
Calling the instances of abuse the work of "rogue soldiers," Marks outlined the school's training operations for specific prohibitions against physical violence, sleep deprivation and humiliation.
"We don't authorize any forms of hands-on intimidation," Marks said, adding the process of eliciting information can include heightening and utilizing the fears of a prisoner, but international laws prohibit contact for any purpose other than transport and if warranted, self-defense.
Marks' comments kicked-off a tour of the school, including an opportunity for the press to observe as students from the 97th E Human Intelligence Collector Course completed their final training exercises and interrogations.
It is a 16-week, four-days-a-week course where students learn to interrogate, obtain and exploit documents and elicit information fromcombatants and prisoners of war. More than 25 percent of the military intelligence school's 103 courses involve law of war and legal training, a total of 184 hours.
The training includes specifics on the responsibilities of a soldier to report war crimes, how to respond to illegal orders and the rules and requirements for soldiers under the Geneva Convention, Marks said.
Upon completion of their training, the students graduating from the course will make their way into combat zones within 27 days.
"This is the most competitive occupation in the Army," Marks said.
"We train our soldiers to do what is right Š I am disgusted by those (incidents of abuse). It's simply not how we train."
Law of war and legal training
Within the the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, failure to follow the principals of the LAw of War is not tolerated and is grounds for immediate academic failure for all tests and practical excercises, whic may result in the removal from the course. Studies regarding the Law of War and a prisoner's rights are divided into three major sections:
Law of War and Legal Training
€ 184 hours of direct training on Law of War
€ Practical excercises and testing on codes of conduct
Summary of Training
€ Review of Law of War training
€ Treatment of POWs
€ Treatment of detained personnel
€ Treatment of protected persons
Indirect Law of War Training
€ How to properly elicit information
€ Interrogation operation excercises
€ Field-training excercise
As opposed to the overwhelming outrage at the murder of Nicholas Berg, right?
They're just looking for an excuse. Any excuse will do. No matter how hypocritical.
Check out the follow on story in reply #3.
Exactly. Those so-called soldiers who committed the abuse have not only provided aid to the enemy, they have blackened the reputation of all real soldiers in the Army and embarrassed the United States of America. Hopefully, their next deployment will be for a long tour at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
You are right, it is a good article. However, I still don't have a problem with taking their clothes from them or putting a bag over their heads. The perverted sexual crap was way out of line, but I don't see anything wrong if it's handled in a professional manner and it's reserved for only the most hard core prisoners. I think it would make them feel vulnerable and disoriented and would be quite effective.
Clint, I agree with you about the hypocrisy--but those were U.S. soldiers who committed the crimes--we are better than that. Those guys need to be hammered.
Got a story about that right here:
Muted Arab reaction to Berg beheading ( Still~~~Thursday May 13, 2004 )
When the Army investigators first showed up, their living area was so filthy it stank. Soldiers were out of uniform and unshaven on duty. No guard-mount was conducted, and no standing operating procedures were established. They had over 20 escapes, but had not altered their guard plan. Battalion commanders and privates were on a first name basis. The company commander was secretly taking photos of his female soldiers in the shower. The brigade commander had visited and checked so infrequently that she lied to the investigators about how often she had been there. The investigators knew why there was prisoner abuse before they even asked anybody about it. The unit was completely undisciplined and the leadership was worse than ineffective. Commanders have been relieved, but they need to be court-martialed.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not excusing what our people did. But the investigations are underway and the guilty will be punished. That is good. We police our own. (Most of) the rest of the world... polices nothing.
On the shady side of the wall.
Exactly.
As long as the shady side is on the inside!
I work with a fella whose son returned home from Iraq yesterday...The son was a guard at the air base next to the prison for the last 9 months, I am told...
This son claimed the prison was mainly for political prisoners...He stated that the troops were totally disgusted over the release of the pictures from the prison...He also claims that these so called "abuses" have been going on for over a year and everyone knew about it...It was part of the intimidation process used on the prisoners to get them to talk...
When asked about the civilian that was murdered recently, this g.i. says the troops are riled up and retalitory action is iminent...However, the media will not report any stories that will reinforce support at home...He says this is common practice...
Just tellin it as I heard it...
When I was in the Signal Corps I was stationed there for some training nice post and the MI troops there were staright shooter every one...
When I was in the Signal Corps I was stationed there for some training nice post, and the MI troops there were straight shooters every one...
I read that Karpinski issued orders and never even bothered to see if they were being followed.
Wasn't there some kind of fight between Karpinski and the MI that Sanchez sent in?
What we really need to do is a timeline.
BTW, my comment about the technique did not mean I am excusing what went on in that prison. It merely meant that under some circumstances I don't think depriving someone of their clothes is "abuse" nor do I think putting a bag over someone's head is "abuse". However, that would have to be in the hands of a professional, well disciplined interrogator. That certainly wasn't the case there.
Thanks for the ping!
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