Appeals Court Hears Abu Ghraib Torture Case

[Solly Mack]

Four former Iraqi detainees who say they were tortured at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison should be allowed to pursue their claims against the U.S. military contractor in charge of interrogating them, an attorney told a federal appeals court Tuesday.

Baher Azmy urged a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate his clients' lawsuit against CACI Premier Technology Inc. The company's lawyer, J. William Koegel Jr., argued that a district court judge correctly dismissed the lawsuit in June. The appeals court typically takes several weeks, or even months, to rule.

The plaintiffs say CACI employees conspired to have soldiers torture them to make them more compliant during interrogation. The former detainees say they were subjected to electrical shocks, sexual violence and forced nudity.

In 2004, photos depicting soldiers abusing Abu Ghraib detainees became public, shocking the national conscience and producing "universal condemnation among U.S. political and military leaders," the plaintiffs said in court papers.

More

[sabrina 1]

1. Our torturers are still walking free. In fact our Corporate Media consults them on Foreign Affairs

on a regular basis. But they created so many victims, some tortured to death so no longer able to try to get justice, that their will be reminders of their horrific crimes for decades to come. Until there is some justice.

I am not hopeful at all that these victims will get any justice. At some point there will be the usual ruling and the case dismissed for 'National Security Reasons'.

Caci is a criminal organization and paid no price for their crimes.

Money talks, only a few lower level soldiers were prosecuted. Intended to create the impression that the US takes 'torture seriously'.

Still it's encouraging to see that the crimes just won't go away and maybe some day when this country restores the rule of law, there will be justice.

[Solly Mack]

2. During the Bush administration I predicted that people would relegate

torture, war crimes, and assorted other crimes against humanity committed by the U.S. government to the past as quickly as possible. The government certainly pushed that idea along and many Americans happily embraced it. Allowing them the false comfort of pretending it all happened so long that nothing can be done about it or that it no longer matters.

I'd wager to those tortured by the U.S. government that it still matters. For those tortured, it is never the past - it's written all over their bodies, it's forever imprinted on their brains, and it is relived in their nightmares.

But, hey, as long as America wants to put their own war crimes behind them and forget all that unpleasantness, who are the victims of torture to say otherwise?

(Snort)

[sabrina 1]

3. I was more naive than you. I actually thought if we got rid of Republicans in power, the process of

holding War Criminals accountable would begin. I was a bit disturbed by some of what I was hearing, 'we can't talk about that now, wait until we win the WH, Congress and the Senate'. However I bought into the fact that maybe we did need all that. And then we got it. Let's just say I am no longer naive, and you were correct.

[Solly Mack]

4. I held out hope - even as I mocked myself for it - that America would get over itself this one time

and do the right thing.

I think, in part, that America believes its own hype and that can get in the way of doing what's right. (like prosecuting people for war crimes)

People lie to themselves by pretending what happened was some aberration that will never happen again.

I think America is a strong enough nation to send a President (and others) to prison without imploding. Sadly, I'm in the minority.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe America isn't strong enough.