British soldiers facing new allegations of brutality in Iraq

[cal04]

An amateur video that appears to show British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners is being investigated by military police this weekend. Video footage of soldiers apparently head-butting, punching and kicking prisoners in the genitals while held in a secure military compound is being studied by the Royal Military Police after the existence of the tape was exposed by the News of the World.

The film is understood to have been taken in early 2004, as the situation around the southern town of Basra began to deteriorate. British troops were involved in calming a number of street riots, and were attacked with stones, sticks and hand grenades. During the footage, the cameraman - filming from a rooftop - can be clearly heard encouraging his colleagues to abuse four young prisoners, who appear to be teenagers. In all, the video records 42 clear blows on the Iraqis, with batons, boots and fists all used. The attacks appear to be led by a sergeant. Another sequence also appears to show an Iraqi corpse being held up and flaunted as a trophy.

Another newspaper quoted defence sources last night as saying they were "95 per cent sure" the pictures were genuine, but were wary after being embarrassed over fake pictures of alleged abuse in the past. The tape, which is three minutes and 12 seconds long, came to light after veterans of the campaign showed the footage to comrades on a base back in Europe. One of those colleagues reported its contents to the tabloid newspaper. The soldier's unit or regiment has not been disclosed.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it took such allegations "extremely seriously". She said: "We are aware of these very serious allegations and can confirm they are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing extremely seriously."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article344971.ece

[NanceGreggs]

1. Jeez, there sure are a lot of ...

... 'bad apples' out there, huh? Just another ISOLATED incident that doesn't reflect on the leadership of Bush & Blair?

[sabra]

2. British troops videoed 'beating Iraqis' (teenagers)

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1708159,00.html

British troops videoed 'beating Iraqis'

Sunday February 12, 2006
The Observer

Details emerged last night of a shocking video which appears to show a group of British soldiers brutally beating and kicking defenceless Iraqi teenagers in an army compound.
The footage is said to show eight soldiers pulling four teenagers off the street following a riot and dragging them into their army base, before beating them with batons, as well as punching and kicking them.

An urgent Military Police investigation was under way last night into the events shown in the video. The Ministry of Defence issued the following statement: 'We are aware of these very serious allegations and can confirm that they are the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. We condemn all acts of abuse and treat any allegation of wrongdoing extremely seriously.'

But the emergence of the footage, given to the News of the World by an anonymous whistleblower, will spark a huge controversy about the conduct of the army in Iraq. There were also fears that it could lead to more attacks on the British soldiers currently serving there.

...

In some of the worst footage, a prisoner is kicked in the back and the body six times by two soldiers. As he struggles on the floor, one of the soldiers grabs him again by the shoulder, kicks him twice and then begins to hit him on the legs with a baton.

[Selatius]

3. This will make the US/UK look even worse to many Iraqis

Half of them already feel it's justified to launch attacks against coalition forces. I wonder if this will have the same explosive effect that the Rodney King beatings did in Los Angeles.

[LynnTheDem]

6. US Military stats; "insurgent" attacks steadily increasing past 3 years

WASHINGTON - Sweeping statistics on insurgent violence in Iraq that were declassified for a Senate hearing on Wednesday appear to portray a rebellion whose ability to mount attacks has steadily grown in the nearly three years since the invasion.

The statistics were included in a report written by Joseph A. Christoff, director of international affairs and trade at the Government Accountability Office, who testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing on Iraq stabilization and reconstruction.

The American military declassified the statistics so he could present them to the hearing in his report, Mr. Christoff said in an interview. The figures cover attacks on American and Iraqi forces and civilians.

The curve traced out by the figures between June 2003 and December 2005 shows a number of fluctuations, including several large spikes in insurgent activity — one as recently as October of last year. But while American and Iraqi officials have often pointed to the downward edges of those fluctuations as evidence that the steam was going out of the insurgency, the numbers over all seem to tell a different story, Mr. Christoff said. "It's not going down," he said. "There are peaks and valleys, but if you look at every peak, it's higher than the peak before."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0209-12.htm

[saltpoint]

4. The Coalition of the Willing...er...Killing.

I wonder what quarrel those particular British soldiers had with those particular Iraqi young people that would have been grievous enough to justify such brutality.

I wonder what Tony Blair thinks about this, and whether we'll hear his voice on his soldiers' actions in a foreign land.

I'm also hoping this incident, as repellent as it certainly is, will help even supporters of the Iraq invasion to reach critical mass in opposing it. If Prime Minister Blair and President Bush go down in history as bloodmongers and fools, it will be a status they carved out for themselves and have themselves to blame for it.

[PSPS]

5. "it could lead to more attacks on the British soldiers"

Notice the British version of attacking the messenger?

> There were also fears that it could lead to more attacks on the British
> soldiers currently serving there.

See, if only those darn videos hadn't become public, everything would be peachy!

If the UK and her citizens were actually concerned about "attacks on the British soldiers," they would simply take them out of Iraq and be done with it.

[Greeby]

7. You assume that us proles have any damn say in the matter

When 2 million people (out of an approximate 30 million electorate) march in the streets of London and say "No, Hell No!" and their so-called leader goes ahead and launches our involvement in this war anyway. What makes you think anything we do or say now will make him get us out?

[PSPS]

9. More than they can in the US

With the UK's parliamentary system, the average citizen has more of a voice than in the US's "winner takes all" system. But Blair is still there, isn't he?

[Greeby]

10. The guilty parties there are:

The 24,000 Labour voters in his constituency of Sedgefield (who are the only people who got a direct vote on him) and the Parlimentary Labour Party, too many of whom are too gutless to toss him overboard

[High Plains]

8. It might as well be a suicide bomber recruitment video

Payback is a bitch, isn't it?

[brainshrub]

11. British troops videoed 'beating Iraqis'

As if we in the West weren't giving the Muslim world enough to be outraged about:

British troops videoed 'beating Iraqis'

Details emerged last night of a shocking video which appears to show a group of British soldiers brutally beating and kicking defenseless Iraqi teenagers in an army compound.

The footage is said to show eight soldiers pulling four teenagers off the street following a riot and dragging them into their army base, before beating them with batons, as well as punching and kicking them.

An urgent Military Police investigation was under way last night into the events shown in the video. The Ministry of Defense issued the following statement: 'We are aware of these very serious allegations and can confirm that they are the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. We condemn all acts of abuse and treat any allegation of wrongdoing extremely seriously.'

By the way, where are the latest pictures and videos of US troops torturing Iraqis that the courts ordered the Bush administration to release six months ago?

[PDJane]

12. We're supposed to have forgotten

about those, dontcha know. The public isn't supposed to care about that, and the Bush admin is going to quite openly refuse to honour the court order.

[magellan]

13. "We condemn all acts of abuse

...and treat any allegation of wrongdoing extremely seriously."

Yeah, NOW you will. Sounds to me like this video isn't in the hands of the British military or gov't. Any idea who's got it?

[marmar]

14. The world's most powerful Anglophone countries...

continue their quest to piss off the entire planet.

[rocktivity]

15. Here's one other thing that the British troops were videtaped doing

complete with an Elvis Presley soundtrack.

:eyes:
rocknation

[RebelOne]

16. Those were mercenaries.

[Briar]

17. Well

duh. We brainwash young men (and women) to ignore all civilised restraints and send them out with the explicit intention of letting them attack and kill other human beings, and then we are surprised when they do so? Every time a soldier acts with restraint and respect for "the enemy's" human rights, we see a triumph of the human spirit over brute instinct and jingoistic demonisation of the "other".

Just when are we going to stop applying double standards to all these issues?

[leftchick]

18. AFP:Footage of troops 'abusing' Iraqis sparks alarm in Britain

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060212/wl_mideast_afp/iraqbritainabuse_060212152120


LONDON (AFP) - The British government is facing fresh controversy over the conduct of its troops in Iraq after a tabloid newspaper published video footage purporting to show savage abuse of young Iraqis.

The ministry of defence had ordered Saturday an "urgent investigation" into the video, reported in the mass-circulation News of the World, in which a group of teenagers are seen to be ruthlessly attacked by soldiers.

"If it is true, this is unacceptable behaviour. Those who are responsible will be brought to trial," British finance minister Gordon Brown told BBC television.

He added: "This will be acted on; the investigation should take place; the name of the British forces around the world is one we must defend and protect and be safeguarded by taking the action that is necessary."

[spinnaker]

19. Link

Link to video is here http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/armyvideo.shtml">video

Once again Britain is doing her bit to export democracy. The racism and complete lack of respect for the locals that was prevalent during Britains last occupation of Iraq is alive and well.

[leftchick]

20. did you see the video and hear it?

it is horrible. Another chink in the liberator's armour. And time to get the white boys the fuck out of there.

[fshrink]

21. I have, and the worst

was the sound of the soldiers actually enjoying the beating. Not even fear here, like in some cops' beatings. Just plain sadistic, vaguely sexual, pleasure. No animal would reach that level.