Posted on 12/04/2004 7:48:01 PM PST by Former Military Chick
A senior US military officer said that new pictures showing apparent abuse of Iraqi prisoners did not accurately reflect the good work done by the thousands of American soldiers in Iraq.
But General Mark Kimmitt acknowledged in an interview with al-Jazeera television that some people would use the photos to tarnish the image of America's military.
Kimmitt, a senior US Central Command officer, spoke on the pan-Arab television network a day after the US military launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show US Navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.
The photos, found by an Associated Press reporter, were among hundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing web site by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty.
Some of the photos have date stamps suggesting they were taken in May 2003, which could make them the earliest evidence of possible abuse of prisoners in Iraq. The far more brutal practices photographed in Abu Ghraib prison occurred months later.
Kimmitt, who was the military spokesman in Iraq at the time of the Abu Ghraib scandal and is now based in Qatar, told al-Jazeera that he believed the photos showed the acts of an isolated few.
After months of ongoing investigation, Kimmitt said the number of US military troops involved in acts of abuse had been found to be very limited.
Asked by al-Jazeera if such pictures were a problem for the military, Kimmitt said they were certainly a "tool" and some would try to use them to show the US military in a negative light.
The photos drew strong reactions in Arab media.
"Here is the US Navy stirring the storm that the Abu Ghraib (scandal) has evoked before," an Al-Jazeera commentator said, in a report with images from the Abu Ghraib prison as well as the newly revealed photos.
One photo was published on the front page of the daily Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.
It showed three hooded prisoners pressed against one another on a floor with what appear to be white sheets wrapped around their torsos. The photo caption read: "Signs of a new scandal."
In a damage-control campaign after an outraged reaction from the Arab world on the Abu Ghraib pictures, American President George W Bush appeared on Arab television in May to tell audiences in the region that the torture was the act of a few.
Navy Commander Jeff Bender, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, said in a written response to questions that the matter would be "thoroughly investigated".
The photos were turned over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which instructed the SEAL command to determine whether they showed any serious crimes, Bender said.
It was unclear who took the pictures.
Kimmitt, in the al-Jazeera interview, also was asked if elections were possible in the midst of a violent campaign by Iraqi insurgents. He said an additional 12,000 US soldiers sent to Iraq would be enough to help secure the elections, with help from Iraqi security forces.
Earlier, General John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, said Iraqi forces were growing in number, but were not experienced enough to ensure security during the January 30 Iraqi national elections without the additional American help.
My impression from anecdotal experience is that no one in this country except the press and other America hating scum give a rat's a$$ about these stories.
okay.. so they cut people's head's off and we put soldiers in prison.. ummm......real clear! Get the "imbed's" out!
Oh no, they SAT on them??!! Oh, the humanity!!!
Posted already.
This story is just such a load of BS. The photo's I have seen is hardly earth-shattering. Stupid maybe, but if I had seen these photo's prior to this "story" I wouldn't even have given it a second thought. You have some SEALS sitting on some detainess lying on the ground and posing for a picture, etc. Big deal.
PS : I can just see the AP reporter who "found" these photo's on the Internet scream "Alluha Akbar" when he found them. He probably cried tears of joy. AP probably gave him a promotion too. This whole thing seems so childish and immature. Was the rporter surfing for porn when he found these pictures. Do they have people sitting around surfing Google all day. It's so stupid.
I've seen several of the pictures. What is the supposed abuse? One showed a smiling SEAL with a thumbs up next to clothed, hooded (and therefore unidentifiable) prisoners. The ONLY thing that suggests to me is the unlawful taking of a personal photograph. Oh, the horror!
Another showed a shirtless prisoner with blood on his chest. I suppose that it's possible that the SEALs abused a prisoner and made him bleed, but blood is not in short supply in a war for many reasons. Is the blood from before or after he was taken prisoner? Why should I assume the worst?
Maybe I missed the pictures that were EVIDENCE of the mistreatment of prisoners. Anybody know what the supposed scandal involves?
There is no story here. Last AP story admitted pics show nothing illegal. Note the military quote in this article is that some people will "use" the photos to cause trouble - not that anything was done wrong.
Ap is trying to make up an issue that these photos "predate" Abu Grahib. Only significant if you believe the U.S, troops are jackbooted Nazis in all their operations.
These are pictures in the midst of raids. Suspects are being held or subdued. In one photo, God forbid, an Iraqi is bleeding. I assume the Marines shoot people too, especially earlier in the war.
AP found these photos by searching military family websites. They show a few Marines in action and try to make something of it. There isn't. The photos do not demonstrate abuse.
This may be news to some people, but a number of terrorists and insurgents actually resist being detained. Yes, unlikely as it seems, many of them will continue to fight and struggle after being captured. Taking photos of routine activity like subduing detainees should not be raising eyebrows, yet people are flying off the handle over this stuff. I agree it wasn't smart to post them on the internet, given how hypersensitive people are, but there's no scandal here.
Photo apparently showing a prisoner having his picture taken at gunpoint (Photo: AP)
I know absolutely nothing about guns so I don't know if a gun like that would have a light on it but doesn't it look like the light on the man's face is coming from the gun, and that they are just using it to illuminate his face to get the identification picture? And even if it is just a gun pointed at him, so what? These are raids against suspects in a combat zone. Does the AP think we're playing pattycake with these guys? How is this "prisoner abuse"?
This is such a non-story and the media knows it, which is why it's being downplayed for the most part and will blow over by tomorrow.
Exactly. There are so many possible explanations, which is why this whole "story" is just so bizarre. The guy with the blood on him could very easily have gotten injured because he resisted arrest. Or maybe the soldier popped him one because he was trying to run away.
Funny thing is, the AP doesn't seem to complain about the pictures showing dead insurgents, but a picture showing a soldier sitting on a freshly captured detainee and suddenly the AP starts using the word "abuse". Oh the humanity! It's like we're living in a parrallel universe.
Alice, meet the Associated Press. Associated Press, meet Alice.
The media (especially al-Jazeera) are horrified and shocked at this behavior. They've never seen anything like it!
Nine more days and it'll have been a year since that photo was taken. Remember the elation?
I don't read the Inquirer anymore. The Evening Bulletin just started and I'm waiting to get it in my area. It's supposed to be a more conservative paper.
Yup. And can't you just smell the rampant hypocrisy of the media?
It is like the media just has to find something to tick off folks and avoiding the truth while they are at it.
The light is probably a Surefire of some kind, which looks like this:
Many M4s and M249s (assault rifles and machineguns) in use by the military have similar lights mounted on them.
You are entirely right, though. These are violent people being detained in very violent place. You want guns and lights on them while you're handling them, as these guys are seen doing. You'd be negligent to do otherwise.
FReegards,
Steel Wolf
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