Posted on 05/22/2004 9:39:14 AM PDT by Utah Girl
As hundreds of detainees were released from Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, a senior U.S. official Friday confirmed that a previously undisclosed U.S. military interrogation facility at or near Baghdad International Airport does indeed exist.
The official said the site was run in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and all detainees were afforded their rights under that international document.
"That's not to say somebody didn't get their head dunked in the water," he said.
U.S. Special Forces participated in running the site, he added.
Two other intelligence experts have confirmed the existence of a secret interrogation facility as well.
It is not clear if this facility is still being used, the senior official said.
Iraqis interrogated at the site were in a broad category of "more senior than the average security detainee," but none were in the deck of cards that depicted the most senior members of Saddam Hussein's regime, he said.
Insurgents and suspected terrorists were among those questioned at the facility, he added.
The existence of such a facility has long been rumored and has been the subject of recent media reports. NBC News on Thursday reported the existence of the site and that Iraqis were abused there.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the coalition spokesman in Baghdad, Friday denied the NBC report's claims of abusive interrogation techniques being used at the site, saying that "any suggestion that torture is used is false and offensive."
He also added that "coalition forces inside Iraq adhere to the Geneva Conventions in the conduct of detention and interrogation operations."
Kimmitt admitted, however, that the NBC report "revealed specific operational locations," in the first direct confirmation of the site's existence.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
That should be good for at least another 2 weeks of front page, 24/7, cover to cover, ad nauseum coverage by the print and broadcast media.
Beat that dead horse again and again.
That's it. Throw some gas on that fire...
Well, I certainly hope these prisoners were sometimes interrogated and I would think that it would be far more productive to do that away from other detainees and normal routine of the prison.
Hauling them all in during a war and letting them sit around in cells without asking them anything would seem kind of silly on our part, wouldn't it?
Yep. I'd be far more distressed if we DIDN'T have a secret site to interrogate terrorists.
Ohmygosh. Secret.
Why in hell would a US OFFICIAL report this? This is sickening. In the end all this can do is get more of our troops killed. Damn.........
U.S. admits to wanting to actually win the war against terrorists!
Exactly.
Admits to?
Of course it's secret - they're trying to avoid attempted jail breaks.
This is insane. We have the through-the-looking-glass media on one side and on the other, the general public who are counting on someone in charge to do what needs to be done to protect our troops and us.
If the media is beating this because their polls show the public wants them to, they aren't asking the right questions.
I don't think anyone would complain if the main studios of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, etc etc etc would all go up in a ball of flame.
I take that back - the muslims would complain - so would the communists - so would the anarchists - pedophiles, homosexuals, and all other perverts would complain.....
The problem is the media in general could care less about our fighting men and women and the fate of America. They seldom, if at all, post the good that is being done by our troops around the world. They hardly ever post good things being done by the average American. The media rests its head on gloom and doom reporting. They are algae growth, a slime we must continue to battle. Perhaps a Super Chlorination would help alleviate their problem!
OH NO!!!!!
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