Posted on 09/23/2005 5:16:58 PM PDT by jmc1969
U.S. Army troops subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other torture at a base in central Iraq from 2003 through 2004, often under orders or with the approval of superior officers, according to accounts from soldiers released by Human Rights Watch today.
Three U.S. army personnel-two sergeants and a captain-describe routine, severe beatings of prisoners and other cruel and inhumane treatment. In one incident, a soldier is alleged to have broken a detainee's leg with a baseball bat. Detainees were also forced to hold five-gallon jugs of water with their arms outstretched and perform other acts until they passed out. Soldiers also applied chemical substances to detainees' skin and eyes, and subjected detainees to forced stress positions, sleep deprivation, and extremes of hot and cold. Detainees were also stacked into human pyramids and denied food and water. The soldiers also described abuses they witnessed or participated in at another base in Iraq and during earlier deployments in Afghanistan.
Soldiers referred to abusive techniques as "smoking" or "fu**ing" detainees, who are known as "PUCs," or Persons Under Control. "Smoking a PUC" referred to exhausting detainees with physical exercises (sometimes to the point of unconsciousness) or forcing detainees to hold painful positions. "Fu**ing a PUC" detainees referred to beating or torturing them severely. The soldiers said that Military Intelligence personnel regularly instructed soldiers to "smoke" detainees before interrogations.
One sergeant told Human Rights Watch: "Everyone in camp knew if you wanted to work out your frustration you show up at the PUC tent. In a way it was sport… One day [a sergeant] shows up and tells a PUC to grab a pole. He told him to bend over and broke the guy's leg with a mini Louisville Slugger, a metal bat."
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
I can see Rather getting smoked
Wait a minute. Why was Human Rights Watch detaining our soldiers???????????????? WHY???
And is it true that they too were being tortured to make such statements?
inquiring minds want to know.
;)
And of course Krugman. Where do I get tickets?!
Right out of the playbook as written by Kerry. I heard a rumour he had been in Vietnam.
I don't care unless the terrorists were uniformed military following the orders of a legit government.
Let me know when we're exceeded the cutting off of heads of civilians.
When there isn't a war against people that want to kill us going on, they run around screaming about "gay rights." Typical Commie scumbags. Not to be taken seriously.
human rights watch major funding comes from The Open Society, George Soros money.........
A broken leg does not equal a severed tongue or being gassed to death. Where the heck were these guys when Saddam was in power?
And before anyone says anything else...Bush's fault.
These are not Americans? Not in America? Good! Where's a GUN?
Good question.
Soldiers told Human Rights Watch that they did this? Are they under any obligation to speak to this organization? Hard to believe this sort of thing went on. If it did, I'm sure the prisoners deserved it anyway.
Did Human Rights Watch ever speak out regarding the horrific, unspeakable crimes against humanity committed by Saddam's regime? How about Castro, or the old USSR? Or do they think America is the worst violator of human rights? Forcing guys to put underwear on their head sure is cruel!
Soldiers told Human Rights Watch that they did this? Are they under any obligation to speak to this organization? Hard to believe this sort of thing went on. If it did, I'm sure the prisoners deserved it anyway.
Did Human Rights Watch ever speak out regarding the horrific, unspeakable crimes against humanity committed by Saddam's regime? How about Castro, or the old USSR? Or do they think America is the worst violator of human rights? Forcing guys to put underwear on their head sure is cruel!
"Detainees were also stacked into human pyramids..."
That has been done to death. Can't we be more creative in our torturing techniques? </>SARCASM
Sarcasm tag added for the inevitable troll that will show up and accuse me of being, well, ME! ;)
Please O Infidel Satan Spawn of a Pig, take this underwear from my head and cut me in half with a rusty knife.
These Great Satan torturing techniques are unbearable.
Allah! Save me from the pyramid of naked ones. It is giving me a deplorable erection.
Would you buy a used car from "three U.S. army personnel-two sergeants and a captain" if you didn't know who they were? These bozos can write this crap all day long and not reveal their sources by claiming the fear of "retaliation." At the end of the day, it's still all a load of bovine scatology. If these "two sergeants and a captain" actually do exist, they more than likely worked in a warehouse in Kuwait and never went anywhere near Iraq.
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