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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Evidence coming to show Marines abused Contractors |
| 2005-07-10 |
| Its not all Sunshine over there - glad Fox has the guts to look further into the story. The Marines ahve some serious investigating and apoligizing to do for this thuggery. The Marines allegedly bound and roughed up the contractors, who were given orange jumpsuits to wear. They also received a prayer rug and a copy of the Koran (search) and were placed in a cell next to Iraqi insurgent suspects. ... Several told FOXNews.com in interviews that sign-in logs can corroborate their story and they said they have receipts from a restaurant and other places they stopped at during the time in question. Plus, the contractors say the Marines' description of the convoy doesn't match the vehicles they were driving. ... The Marines said two rounds of ammunition had hit near where they were stationed. When the Zapata crew asked to see exactly where the rounds hit, they said they couldn't get a straight answer. ... The Marines eventually brought the Zapata contractors to a compound where they were put in 6-by-6 foot concrete cells. When they asked for an attorney, they were told to "shut up," the contractors claim. They were detained there for three days. Ginter claims that on his way back from being escorted from the bathroom, one of the Marines "physically forces me on the ground, banged my knees on the ground 
he kicked my ankle into the cross position," and took off his cross necklace. He also claims the Marine squeezed his testicles "so hard I almost puked" and threatened to unleash a dog on him if he moved. "Seriously, I thought someone had died, I thought some way they had connected a death to us and I thought 
maybe it was a joke, maybe it was training and we didn't know about it," Ginter added. Raiche said he had his wedding ring and jewelry removed and was also threatened with the dog. He also said he heard one Marine heckle, "how does it feel to make that contractors' money now?" A female Marine was taking pictures of the proceedings, they said. The contractors had blacked-out goggles placed over their heads when they were put on a bus from the original detention site to another one near Fallujah, where Iraqi insurgent suspects are also kept. Ginter said there was a small slit in the goggles that he could see out of. "I watched as my fellow brothers were thrown to the ground, physically abused 
knees, necks, tossed to the ground with the female taking pictures," Ginter said. "It was like going into the Twilight Zone." Ginter and Raiche said only five or six members of their group were interviewed when investigators from agencies like the FBI showed up. They said they asked for a lawyer, to make a phone call, to contact the Red Cross, Amnesty International and others but were denied such requests. |
| Posted by:OldSpook |
| #4 True - REMF is an attitude not a position. ANd this bunch sounds liek the "pogues" every service has in some spots. The surprising thing is that Marines did this. As an Army (combat) vet, I might expect this kind of thing out of some reserve Army unit. But not the Marines. Especially not after the ones I've worked with in my post-Army agency career. And I know (personally) 1 former Marine (later went Army SF in the reserves, served in Afghanistan, which is how I know him) working for Zapata that tell me these guys were on the level - one of them that got abused was a former Marine himself (full MCL membership and a Semper Fi tatoo on his arm). So some of this being poor unit discipline seems likely - and that indicates a supply unit or the like pressed into prisoner duty (which explains the mixups, and apparently poor leadership thats very atypical of Marine combat units). Just going with what i know, and people I know. I knew the original story smelled very fishy, and now it is beginnign to stink is these laogs and receipts who the Maarines to be in the wrong about the original story and subsequent errors, trying to blame the contractors aand then cover the abuse with lies. "Conduct Unbecoming" comes to mind - Marines say they hold themselves to higher standards. All I have ever met do so. We shall see if the command structure over there does so. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-07-10 23:26 |
| #3 This is one side of the story. I'd like to see the final investigation. Those who are guilty will be held accountable and probably receive BCDs and maybe do time in the brig - rightfully so. OTH, it's a stretch for me to imagine some Marine just came out of the blue and started grabbing some contractors nuts for no reason. Prolly shouldn't of grabbed the guy's nuts but I have a sneaky suspicion someone ran their mouth off at prolly the wrong time to the wrong guard. Also, some female taking pix of the whole ordeal? Interesting, if true, very stupid wrt Abu Ghraib situation. BTW OS, we don't really have REMFs, that's an Army thing and an Army saying. My dad being former 101st vet uses that term. We prefer Pogue. However, when we got female supply clerks manning .50 cals on the top of convoys and getting killed occasionally - REMF doesn't really apply to anyone in this war. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2005-07-10 22:11 |
| #2 News article is inconclusive as to whether the contractors' alibis pans out. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-07-10 21:59 |
| #1 I told you guys that the Marines were lying about this - I know a lot of contractors (all former service, Army and Marines, plenty of Rangers and Recon types) and I know they were not "cowboying" the area. Some damn idiot jarhead REMFs caused the trouble. Evidence shows the contractors were not in the area, and the Marines were wrong - and on top of that, the letters from the commander that barred them (basically ending any career they may have stateside as well as over there) were based on lies from the Marines who should be investigated and questioned for the abuse. Jarheads, you may want to remind yourselves that the Marines DO make mistakes, and they need to rectify them the way I know Marines *usually* do, by admitting the mistake and making it right. Not ass-covering and lying. If they don't and the MSM decides to get in on this, then they will have thier own little "Abu Ghraib" on thier hands, whether it is justified or not. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-07-10 17:53 |