'Dirty Brigades': US-Trained Iraqi Forces Investigated for War Crimes

[Purveyor]

Source: ABC NEWS

By JAMES GORDON MEEK, BRIAN ROSS, RYM MOMTAZ and ALEX HOSENBALL

U.S.-trained and armed Iraqi military units, the key to the American strategy against ISIS, are under investigation for committing some of the same atrocities as the terror group, American and Iraqi officials told ABC News. Some Iraqi units have already been cut off from U.S. assistance over "credible" human rights violations, according to a senior military official on the Pentagon's Joint Staff.

The investigation, being conducted by the Iraqi government, was launched after officials were confronted with numerous allegations of “war crimes,” based in part on dozens of ghastly videos and still photos that appear to show uniformed soldiers from some of Iraq's most elite units and militia members massacring civilians, torturing and executing prisoners, and displaying severed heads.

The videos and photos are part of a trove of disturbing images that ABC News discovered has been circulating within the dark corners of Iraqi social media since last summer. In some U.S. military and Iraqi circles, the Iraqi units and militias under scrutiny are referred to as the "dirty brigades."

“As the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] and militias reclaim territory, their behavior must be above reproach or they risk being painted with the same brush as ISIL [ISIS] fighters,” said a statement to ABC News from the U.S. government. “If these allegations are confirmed, those found responsible must be held accountable."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/dirty-brigades-us-trained-iraqi-forces-investigated-war/story?id=29193253

[jtuck004]

1. 'Can't think of a better country to teach them these things... n/t

[jwirr]

2. That does not surprise me. Many of the rulers in the ME use some really terrible actions on an

everyday basis. For instance the Saudi's use beheading just like ISIS. That we added some new ideas tells us that we are not objecting to the practices. Anyone surprised that our troops come home with PTSD?

[Midnight Writer]

3. Well, DUH

Let's review here. We supported the evil Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who abused his own people and supported terrorism against Israel. So we sent in troops, removed Hussein and replaced him with a Shia government, who cruelly discriminated against Sunnis, Kurds, and religious minorities. Sunnis rebelled and began attacking the Iraqi forces we trained and armed. In Syria, Assad was our ally, then he was our enemy, so we armed the rebel groups who were against Assad. Some of these rebels turned into ISIS, so we armed other anti-Assad rebel groups to fight against ISIS and Assad. The fragmented Iraqi army was not strong enough to fight ISIS, so they invited the "Axis of Evil" Iranian military in to fight ISIS. So we armed the Iraqi military, we armed the various anti-Assad Syrian rebels, we armed the Kurds, we armed the Shia tribal warlords, we armed the Sunni tribal warlords, we armed (through Israel, Oliver North's "neat idea&quot Iran, and we inserted our own military advisors who are working with the Iraqi military, the Kurds, the anti-Assad-anti-ISIS Syrian rebels and alongside the "Axis of Evil" Iranians. Not to mention our equally confusing history of interventions in Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan and Iran.

How did it all go so wrong?

Maybe we should stay home and use these trillions of dollars in military spending (and save the lives and health of our soldiers) to build our own renewable clean energy infrastructure and let the folks in the Mideast work out their own differences. Our "help" there doesn't seem to be very helpful.

[Hulk]

4. We are a major weapons producer in the worl

Death and destruction are our game. Israel, and our other continuous battle fields, are our testing grounds.
Saw this all clearly explained in a video some time back, by an ex-Israeli soldier. His story about how Israel persecuted and oppresses the Palestinians was an eye opener. In addition, Israel now trains many of our police force in tactics they use against the Palestinians.

[bemildred]

5. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[MisterP]

6. this is how it played out in Nigeria, too: whenever government forces were sent to "protect" a

town they'd end up slaughtering a lot of them--this LED TO Boko Haram