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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Only Authorized Harsh Method for Iraq Prisoners Is Solitary Confinement |
| 2004-05-16 |
| From an article about testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 11. Mr. [Stephen A.] Cambone, [the under secretary of defense for intelligence] and other military officials said the interrogation techniques approved for use in Iraq were straight out of the Army manual and followed the Geneva Conventions. In that respect, he said, they differed from harsher techniques, like sleep deprivation and forcing prisoners to disrobe entirely for interrogations, that are authorized for use at the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of American forces in the Middle East, said that under a policy issued last Oct. 12, the only extraordinary measure authorized for use in Iraq was placing prisoners in solitary confinement for more than 30 days. That step required the approval of the American commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, but General Smith said he was not aware of it ever being used. Cambone confirmed in response to questioning that this policy applied to prisoners of war and also to people arrested for suspected terrorist acts or for suspected criminal acts. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #10 Exactly how has Cambone perjured himself? In what venue, with what statement and under what oath? |
| Posted by: spiffo 2004-05-16 2:57:13 PM |
| #9 Cambone has committed a major act of perjury. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-16 2:47:45 PM |
| #8 Don't know if anyone has officially tried solitary confinement with infrasound or ultrasound pumped into the cell, but I would imagine that this would break most people pretty quickly (if days is quick enough). |
| Posted by: Lux 2004-05-16 9:58:45 AM |
| #7 OK I hate myself but I DO see a need to use some torture techniques on certain prisoners. If we had a drug that we could just give people and get vital inforamation I would be for that but there isn't. Some of these prisoners had/have information on Iraqi terrorists networks and arms stockpiles. If thier 'treatment' saved just one coalition/Iraqi life then it was worth it. "Sometimes in order to make an omlet, you have to break some eggs." |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-05-16 9:47:15 AM |
| #6 Like the concept that rape, pillage, and selling the women and children into slavery were spoils of war, I'm happy to see that we might move beyond the barbaric practice of torture. If we do, we will be infinitely more civilized. And we will learn other methods. Just because torture is the easiest method, doesn't mean it is the best. Denied the easy route, someone will find a way to pull info out of their evil brains. While I understand that what I'm saying isn't easy and maybe not even smart in this day of wmd's. But if we can get there, hooray. What I love about America is that we TRY. |
| Posted by: B 2004-05-16 8:24:50 AM |
| #5 surly there are still other methods open to us,surly we can still snaek in some pshycological torture to break them down,how about some music,some tapes played of saddam being dragged from his pit,that sort of thing,.If we cant do that then we really should just shredd them where they stand in the street.What really fucks me off is the way the media report 90% of the prisoners are innocent,is this based on what the prisoners say? Now the media believe everything the ex prisoners say.I'd like to see the US army collect some statistics on these 'innocent' prisoners,bet you 80% of them were sunni's and ex-baathists! maybve the reason the eneamy casulaty rate has shot up in the weeks following the prisoner scandel is due to the fact we are now gonna take no prisoners,the gloves are half off now... |
| Posted by: Shep UK 2004-05-16 6:01:10 AM |
| #4 I see a silver lining in all of this: if solitary confinement is all that is available, then there's no need to capture wanted individuals. Once they're located, just shoot them and be done with it. No need to feed 'em, clothe 'em, or care for 'em. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-05-16 4:34:05 AM |
| #3 Reminder that Canadians tortured and murdered captured Somalis, during the 'nineties intervention. Link ...The pictures, which showed Shidane (captured Somali) trussed and hog-tied in a bunker during an hours-long beating that eventually killed him, provided graphic proof of the Canadian soldier's inhumanity - in one infamous image, Mr Matchee holds a baton in Shidane's mouth, like a bit in the jaw of a horse. In another, he puts a gun to the head of the blindfolded and bleeding teen. ...During the 1980s and 1990s, it was an open secret in the military that the Airborne Regiment had become home to a small but highly troubling subset of soldiers who revelled in their bad-boy image. One former general referred to the unit as "a car driven by teenagers." ...It was later determined that at least 80 men would have heard the piercing screams that Shidane made as he was beaten, and that at least 16 soldiers had visited the bunker and witnessed the beating at various stages. Some saw the violence in its later stages, yet did nothing. |
| Posted by: Must Read 2004-05-16 2:48:50 AM |
| #2 Shows how important this election is Zhang. And also BTW too, Thx for Zhang Fei. Grown ups! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-05-16 1:47:23 AM |
| #1 It looks like the same legal eagles in the military who objected to arresting bin Laden or attempting to assassinate (rather than capture) him are now trying to oust Rumsfeld from the Defense Department. It is time for Bush to start purging the military's legal department. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-05-16 1:01:07 AM |