Stripes letter from military police SGT in Baghdad

[lebkuchen]

Leadership gone bad

I have to say this stuff that happened at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is an example of leadership gone really bad. I can’t believe for one second that those troops didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. Nor can I believe the command was not aware that it was occurring. It sure doesn’t help our cause here in Iraq or the perspective of our being humane and following the codes of conduct. It really angers me.

Of course this type of behavior has happened in past wars when prisoners were interrogated. But I believed we were above this level of abuse and maltreatment by now. Apparently this is not the case.

I remember when I was attached to a military police company while in the reserves years ago. We were given instructions as to the laws of prisoner treatment and the Geneva Conventions, as we continually do today. The 5 S’s — secure, silence, segregate, safeguard, speed — are taught to all MPs, and the Geneva Conventions laws of prisoner treatment are taught to all soldiers, military interrogators and civilians alike.

It really turns my stomach to think that I’m in the same Army as these people, let alone the same military occupational specialty, and at a level of leadership that allowed it to continue. To use ignorance as an excuse is totally lame. It’s shameful, and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Sgt. Kevin McCue
Military policeman
Baghdad


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=21996

[SpiralHawk]

1. Damn straight, Sarge

And the leadership buck should stop in the Oval Office.

Bush is responsible, though once again he is ducking responsibility. He knew about this in January, yet the torture continued till 5 days ago. Commander-in-Chief, my ass. Live up to the title, or get out of your stolen office. On second thought, get out anyway and give it back to the citizens of the United States of America. Do the patriotic thing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Sergeant they will and stay safe

Problem is this goes to very high levels of command and we both
bloody know it

[AussieInCA]

3. amazes me the chickenhawk apologists for this stuff

military over there must be livid about this

[Gin]

6. Sy Hersch said the American Taliban..forgot his name..was stripped

naked..hooded and put in a cell for 3 days that way..so..this is the MO of the spooks...I don't recall reading that in the news...but Hersch said it happened on Charlie Rose last night..and made the comparison to the newest treatment scandal in Iraq.

[DrWeird]

8. John Walker.

It was rather clear he had been abused, he had massive welts all over his body. I guess most Americans were too caught up in a state of muslim-kiling euphoria to notice.

[lebkuchen]

10. He was also photographed nude, with troops gesturing around him

He also had an obscenity written across his blindfold by our ELITE SF.

http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/04/13/story46355.asp

That would have been the time for the Bush administration to step in and call a halt to such behavior. They didn't, and as a result we have 130,000 soldiers at the mercy of Iraqi anger.

[BrotherBuzz]

14. John Walker Lindh

This is not torture?

[lebkuchen]

17. I did a search to see if I could see the original photo w/SF in background

and came up with this:

...as part of a written court filing, Lindh’s lawyers last month released a picture of him in Afghanistan, blindfolded, strapped to a stretcher and naked. Defence officials have said that while that photo may have appeared shocking, it was taken out of context because he was naked as part of his preparation for medical treatment.

In the newly-revealed incident, Lindh has an obscene, derogatory word written across his blindfold, a senior defence official said.

The Pentagon has repeatedly limited the media in the kind of photos it can take of prisoners from the war in Afghanistan on the argument that photos subjecting the prisoners to humiliation violate Geneva Convention provisions on treatment of prisoners.

The photos troops took of themselves with their prisoner were found when the Pentagon did a computer search for documents and other materials ordered by the court hearing charges against Lindh, another official said.

Existence of the photos were first reported on CBS Evening News, a television programme.

Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know if the photos were being held at the Pentagon and that he hadn’t seen them.

‘‘You know, there’s hundreds of detainees, and about every day somebody says something,’’ he said in response to reporter’s questions.

‘‘I guess if you ask me when I got up in the morning - and we’ve got people being killed in the Mideast and we’ve got a war going on in Afghanistan - if I am going to change my schedule and go chasing after rumours on things like that, it’s unlikely,’’ he said in impromptu comments in a Pentagon hallway.

http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/04/13/story46355.asp

Perhaps if Sec. Rumsfeld hadn't been such a "busy" man and had taken action against this sort of abuse from the start, we wouldn't have 130,000 troops in Iraq subjected to the wrath of the rightfully angry people there. The man is incompetent and should be fired.

[BrotherBuzz]

18. If you expand your search

You'll find the CIA was calling the shots on this one. Very hush-hush, don't you know. Blowback is a bitch.

[nodictators]

12. Worse yet, Sen. Biden is an apoligist for Bush

This morning, Biden said on NBC's Today show that Bush is not well served by his subordinates, especially Rumsfeld.

Biden and all Dems should hold Bush responsible! In fact, as reported by AP, after Biden spoke,

"Bush said he retained confidence in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and told him earlier Wednesday to 'find the truth and tell the Iraqi people and the world the truth. We have nothing to hide.'"

Once again Biden looks like a fool, and unwittingly makes Bush look good. When are people like Biden going to learn how to act?

Invasion -- Occupation -- Subjugation

[Bertha Venation]

4. "the Geneva Conventions laws of prisoner treatment are taught to all

soldiers . . ." -- but they're excused if they can prove they didn't pay attention in class.

I'm incensed that this letter from a sergeant in Baghdad is the FIRST mention I have heard of the Geneva Convention from ANYONE but us questioners during this whole disgusting episode.

[lebkuchen]

9. Andrew Apostolou of the Fnd for Def. of Democracies was on CNNI today

Apostolou said he was sick to death of the "sniveling" he was hearing from those in the military who would use the excuse of not having received Geneva Convention training. He said, most emphatically, that one didn't need to know what the Geneva Convention said to know that such actions were repugnant, abhorrent and inhumane.

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/

[sui generis]

15. amen to that

does anyone remember how strongly Bush & Co (and a lot of America according to the polls) pursued opting out of war crimes conventions before we started down this road? Well, Georgie, these are war crimes. Beating civilians to death as entertainment is a war crime. Quite frankly, if my son or brother or father (or sister or mother or daughter) were beaten to death or tortured while in American custody for somebody's amusement, there isn't a damn thing in the universe that would keep me from exercising the same kind of destruction on those Americans responsible, and I am an American. Now imagine what it must be like for people who are already predisposed to hating America?

[Bertha Venation]

16. Damn right! eom

[mopaul]

5. righteous outrage

it's good to hear, coming from REAL soldiers, with a soul.

[Redleg]

7. The sixth "S" stands for "sodomize."

EOM

[DinahMoeHum]

11. Piss-poor training, piss-poor discipline. . .

Piss. Poor. Leadership.

"...leadership gone really bad..." says it all.

Thanks, Sgt. McCue.


:nuke:

[KayLaw]

13. So true

This stupid talk about pranks and hazing shames the people of our military. My father was a lifer and never would have taken part of this crap because he is a decent, moral person. Anyone who implies " everyone does it to blow off steam " is an immoral, perverted fool who deserves a good, swift kick!