Well, there you go again, Jimmy. Only grunts and NCOs take the
blame, not those responsible for giving the orders.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/19/detainee.abuse/index.html
Forget "scraping the bottom of the barrel", it's still half-full.
Bob Dog
Atheist #153 = 1^3 + 5^3 + 3^3
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"You won't find any opposition to the idea of evolution among
sophisticated, educated theologians. It comes from an
exceedingly retarded, primitive version of religion, which
unfortunately is at present undergoing an epidemic in the
United States."
- Richard Dawkins
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Army: Soldiers did mock executions
Newly released documents show Iraqi detainee abuse
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 2,500 pages of documents just
released by the Army reveal instances of detainee abuse, including
mock executions, by U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
The Army released the documents this week as part of a Freedom of
Information Act request by the ACLU. The same request resulted in
the release of several thousand pages of similar documents earlier
this year.
"The Army does not tolerate detainee abuse and will continue to
aggressively investigate all allegations of abuse and hold
individuals accountable when appropriate," an Army spokesman said.
At least three soldiers were investigated and reprimanded for
handling detainees outside of authorized military parameters,
according to the documents.
In June 2003 an Army second lieutenant from the 1st Armored
Division, identified in the redacted documents by the last name
Yancey, and an unidentified sergeant were involved in two
incidents in Iraq.
Witness statements from his platoon said Yancey took a boy
detainee out of a truck and fired his weapon next to the
detainee's head.
In Yancey's account to military investigators, he had fired at a
pack of threatening wild dogs. But a witness from his platoon said
they did not hear any dogs in the area.
Further investigation into the incident found that Yancey enjoyed
administering "street justice," according to witnesses who had
seen him firing warning shots.
One soldier reported to investigators that Yancey "feels good when
he scares people," according to the documents.
Mock executions
In another incident, just two days later, Yancey's platoon found a
man and his sons taking metal from an ammunition factory. A
sergeant in the platoon detained the bunch and asked the man to
choose which son should die.
Witnesses in the platoon said the sergeant took one of the sons
around the corner of a building and fired a shot to scare the
father into believing his son had been shot.
Army officials were unable to confirm what, if any, punishment was
delivered to the unnamed sergeant.
Yancey received an administrative discharge from the Army instead
of going through a court-martial, according to Army officials.
In another incident described in the documents, an Army captain carried
out a mock execution of a man forced to dig his own grave.
The incident took place near Ramadi, west of Baghdad, in July
2003.
Capt. Shawn L. Martin of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment began
looking for suspects after a roadside bomb hit a U.S. patrol
earlier in the week, according to the Army documents.
Martin took one suspect to a remote desert location and forced him
to dig his own grave, interrogated the man and then ordered
soldiers to pretend to shoot him, according to sworn statements in
the documents.
Army officials said Martin's action violated regulations of
handling detainees. He was convicted, fined $12,000 and sentenced
to 45 days in a military prison, said Army officials.
In another incident, in February 2004, a soldier taunted a
detainee in Iraq with a Jewish star of David and used gestures
that were "disrespectful to Arabs," according to the documents,
which gave little other detail.
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