Red Cross Report Describes Abuse in Iraq[70-90 percent of detainees were arrested by mistake]

AP ^ | May 10, 2004 | ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS

[ejdrapes]

Red Cross Report Describes Abuse in Iraq

GENEVA - A Red Cross report disclosed Monday said coalition intelligence officers estimated that 70-90 percent of Iraqi detainees were arrested by mistake and said Red Cross observers witnessed U.S. officers mistreating Abu Ghraib prisoners by keeping them naked in total darkness in empty cells.

The report by the International Committee of the Red Cross supports its allegations that abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers was broad and "not individual acts" — contrary to President Bush (news - web sites)'s contention that the mistreatment "was the wrongdoing of a few."

The report said "high-value detainees" were singled out for special mistreatment. The report did not specify them, but The Associated Press has learned they included some of the 55 top officials in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime who were named in a deck of cards given to troops.

"Since June 2003, over 100 'high-value detainees' have been held for nearly 23 hours a day in strict solitary confinement in small concrete cells devoid of daylight," the report said.

"ICRC delegates directly witnessed and documented a variety of methods used to secure the cooperation of the persons deprived of their liberty with their interrogators," according to the confidential report.

The delegates saw in October how detainees at Abu Ghraib were kept "completely naked in totally empty concrete cells and in total darkness," the report said.

"Upon witnessing such cases, the ICRC interrupted its visits and requested an explanation from the authorities," the report said. "The military intelligence officer in charge of the interrogation explained that this practice was 'part of the process.'"

This apparently meant that detainees were progressively given clothing, bedding, lighting and other items in exchange for cooperation, it said.

It said it found evidence supporting prisoners' allegations of other forms of abuse during arrest, initial detention and interrogation.

Among the evidence were burns, bruises and other injuries consistent with the abuse that prisoners alleged, it said.

The 24-page document, confirmed by the ICRC as authentic after it was published Monday by the Wall Street Journal, said the abuses were primarily during the interrogation stage by military intelligence.

Once the detainees were moved to regular prison facilities, the abuses typically stopped, it said.

The report cites abuses — some "tantamount to torture" — including brutality, hooding, humiliation and threats of "imminent execution."

"These methods of physical and psychological coercion were used by the military intelligence in a systematic way to gain confessions and extract information and other forms of cooperation from person who had been arrested in connection with suspected security offenses or deemed to have an 'intelligence value.'"

The agency said arrests allegedly tended to follow a pattern.

"Arresting authorities entered houses usually after dark, breaking down doors, waking up residents roughly, yelling orders, forcing family members into one room under military guard while searching the rest of the house and further breaking doors, cabinets and other property," the report said.

"Sometimes they arrested all adult males present in a house, including elderly, handicapped or sick people," it said. "Treatment often included pushing people around, insulting, taking aim with rifles, punching and kicking and striking with rifles."

It said some coalition military intelligence officers estimated "between 70 percent and 90 percent of the persons deprived of their liberty in Iraq (news - web sites) had been arrested by mistake. They also attributed the brutality of some arrests to the lack of proper supervision of battle group units."

Pierre Kraehenbuehl, ICRC director of operations, said Friday the report had been given to U.S. officials in February, but it only summarized what the agency had been telling U.S. officials in detail between March and November 2003 "either in direct face-to-face conversations or in written interventions."

Kraehenbuehl said the abuse of prisoners represented more than isolated acts, and that the problems were not limited to Abu Ghraib.

"We were dealing here with a broad pattern, not individual acts. There was a pattern and a system," he said, declining to give further details.

The report described how male prisoners were forced to parade around in women's underwear.

It said that information obtained "suggested the use of ill-treatment against persons deprived of their liberty went beyond exceptional cases and might be considered a practice tolerated by" coalition forces.

Kraehenbuehl said the ICRC regretted the publication and said it would have preferred sticking to its policy of confidential discussions with coalition authorities because the United States had been making progress toward meeting its demands.

ICRC chief spokeswoman Antonella Notari declined to discuss the full report.

[ejdrapes]

A Red Cross report disclosed Monday said coalition intelligence officers estimated that 70-90 percent of Iraqi detainees were arrested by mistake

Who's estimating this? The Red Cross, the Military, the CIA? 70-90%?? I find that a little hard to believe.

[optimistically_conservative]

"Treatment often included pushing people around, insulting, taking aim with rifles, punching and kicking and striking with rifles."

Sounds like the Elian Gonzalez raid.

[Lijahsbubbe]

The report said "high-value detainees" were singled out for special mistreatment. The report did not specify them, but The Associated Press has learned they included some of the 55 top officials in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime who were named in a deck of cards given to troops.

Who will advocate for these poor souls? Bwahahaha...

[Lijahsbubbe]

strict solitary confinement in small concrete cells devoid of daylight

were progressively given clothing, bedding and other items in exchange for cooperationhooding, humiliation and threats

waking up residents roughly, yelling orders, forcing family members into one room

pushing people around, insulting, taking aim with rifles, punching and kicking and striking with rifles."

were forced to parade around in women's underwear

Oh the atrocities of the US, oh the humanity.......

said the ICRC regretted the publication and said it would have preferred sticking to its policy of confidential discussions

Right.

[pfflier]

Where was this news say..oh about three weeks ago before the pictures What a Red Cross coincidence!!!

[ApplegateRanch]

Among the evidence were burns, bruises and other injuries consistent with the abuse that prisoners alleged, it said.

I have a very large, nasty scar that follows the bottom of my rib cage, from breast bone to center-right side; and a couple of associated puncture scars.

It is consistant with a few joke stories I tell credulous people, who are rude enough to mention it at the pool or health club.

Usually the stories involve machetes, bayonettes, katanas, or whatever else I can dream up on the spot.

Once they swallow it, the embellishment starts to see just how gullible they are.

I finally end by telling them the truth: It is a surgical scar due to the bad luck of getting my gall bladder removed less than 6 months before fiber optics made my operation obsolete.

I doubt these prisoners are any less inventive when it comes to explaining their owies & hurties, recieved before or during capture, to the Red Cross.

[Howlin]

said the ICRC regretted the publication and said it would have preferred sticking to its policy of confidential discussions

BS.

Now, where is the follow on report where they said things were improving?

[OneTimeLurker]

70-90% of Iraqis should have been locked up in the first place IMO.

Too bad there aren't enough prisons to house the majority of the population. That would have let us go in there, clear out the terrorists, get rid of Saddam, find the WMDs and gain control of the petroleum.

[kissthis]

This whole story flies in the face of a first hand account by an Iraqi doctor in the prison.

For a facinating account of the prison, as well as tons of more from inside Iraq, see the following blog put up by three Iraqi brothers in Bagdad.

http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

The prison report is dated Saturday, May 08, 2004....second post down.

[hgro]

The IRC gets all of their info from the prisoners. The jails are always full of innocent inmates.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Here is the special AP report on the High Value Prisoners:

AP: Saddam's Officials Got Special Abuse

And they should!

[Lijahsbubbe]

Thanks for the link!

[anniegetyourgun]

Here's an interesting little blast from the past on what the Red Cross was doing last fall in Iraq.

[anniegetyourgun]

Pierre Kraehenbuehl, Director of Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, speaks during a press conference about the ICRC Report on the treatment of detainees in Iraq, at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, May 7, 2004. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini)

Do you suppose Pierre might be French AND German?

[pfflier]

Their timing is surely suspect. Not a word until after we blew the lid off of the problem then..they were right on top of it.

I have always despised the Red Cross because of the things that I saw them do when I was in the USAF. They are in it for the money.

[kissthis]

"Do you suppose Pierre might be French AND German?"

You are attempting to use outdated nationalistic labels. They now go by Socialist Euroweenies.

It's actually much more accurate and realistic than the old names based on outdated borders. It also conviently allows for them to dismiss all we have done for them....IE we liberated France, not Euro.