So Piers Morgan was onto something after all

[Mr Creosote]

http://www.channel4.com/news/news_story.jsp?storyId=1628080

How proud do we feel to be British today?

[fedsron2us]

1. Be fair. Before they are allowed to abuse Iraqis

they have to practise on each other

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/2531237.stm
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=502

Given what has gone on at Deepcut and other army barracks is anyone really surprised by that this sort of outrage occurs when troops go abroad The British army have tolerated bullying, abuse and torture for as long as I can remember. The politicians and the MOD usually find a million reasons for covering up or denying the scandals. Expect to hear the usual 'few rotten apples' crap trotted out to reassure the public in the next couple of days.

[SweetLeftFoot]

4. Ireland

All this psych war shit was developed in Ireland in the early 70s.

[fedsron2us]

9. It was well established even before the troubles in Ireland

The same things were happening in Aden and during the Malaysian insurgency. It goes way back to Suez and beyond. They just did not have digital cameras in those days.

[SweetLeftFoot]

10. True

But it was in Ireland that the "white noise" and other psych tactics were really perfected.

[Briar]

2. Morgan's story was true: we already knew about the abuse.

I think the same trick played on Dan Rather was played on Morgan. The "Discredit a true story by sourcing it with false evidence" trick. When you expose the evidence, by implication the story is also made to look untrue.

But it isn't.

[T_i_B]

3. All the same

the fake pictures were NOT a good idea. They did not help anyone trying to stop this sort of thing.

[Briar]

5. They were good for the people doing it. n/t

[Englander]

6. I was surprised that the pictures..

were not leaked before the court-martial;I remember hearing how this utter cretin (Bartlam) took his pictures to be developed at his local chemist.I didn't know how grim they were.

The Guardian has all 22 pictures,though be warned that some are obscene;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,1393803,00.html

[Briar]

7. I remember seeing photos of abuse in 2003 n/t

[Briar]

8. Today's Snowmail

Court martial latest
====================
More from the court martial in Germany, three British soldiers on trial for abusing Iraqi civilians. Those awful pictures, now the sense entered by the Army's own legal authority a man named Mercer, that there had been reports of mistreatment. So much so that he was forced to issue an edict warning soldiers not to assault prisoners. Tonight, the evidence creeps towards a suggestion that others were involved and that there may have been more incidents. One army source has called me and said that it would be highly unlikely for ordinary lance corporals to do this without a platoon commander and a lieutenant knowing of it. This is evidence we have yet to hear, and of course these guys are innocent until proven guilty.


(Unfortunately, I shall be out and won't see Channel 4 news tonight.)

[Englander]

11. Steve Bell on Blair & Iraq;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/0,7371,337484,00.html