Reuters Staff Abused by U.S. Troops in Iraq

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January in a military camp near Falluja, the three said Tuesday.


The three first told Reuters of the ordeal after their release but only decided to make it public when the U.S. military said there was no evidence they had been abused, and following the exposure of similar mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

~snip~

The U.S. military, in a report issued before the Abu Ghraib abuse became public, said there was no evidence the Reuters staff had been tortured or abused.


Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq (news - web sites), said in a letter received by Reuters Monday but dated March 5 that he was confident the investigation had been "thorough and objective" and its findings were sound.


The Pentagon (news - web sites) has yet to respond to a request by Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger to review the military's findings about the incident in light of the scandal over the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=586&ncid=586&e=8&u=/nm/20040518/wl_nm/iraq_reuters_dc

[arcane1]

1. looks like the press is the "enemy" as well

no surprise there...

rating this a "5"

[zbdent]

10. These reporters were lucky!

(In one sense).

They weren't "taken out", like a few other reporters.

[GOPFighter]

2. This is getting real ugly!

As a veteran, I'm incredably sickened and saddened by the actions of our troops in the prisons. Is it happeneing in our prisons in the U.S. as well?

[Karenina]

3. Get serious.

:eyes: Mumia & Charlie had a "close encounter." Wonder if Graner is a Rush fan...

[DiverDave]

17. Oh, right, mamua

lets not start this crap again...tried and convicted. period.

[tom_paine]

20. Like asking if Ernst Rohm was a Hitler Fan

Though Graner is more at the Horst Wessel level or below.

This is a 100% slam-dunk.

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. in our prisons?

Nah. What's the chances of abuse happening in there.

[NNN0LHI]

16. "Is this happening in our prisons in the U.S. as well?" Here is the answer

http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/factsheets/deathRow10.html

Governor George Ryan pardoned four members of the Death Row 10 -- Aaron Patterson, Leroy Orange, Madison Hobley and Stanley Howard. That four of the Death Row 10, African American men tortured by Jon Burge and his officers, have been pardoned is a testament to the struggle that the Campaign initiated and has been a major part of locally and nationally for more than four years. Now the dirty secret of what went on at Area 2 and 3 interrogation rooms in Chicago is national and international news. Here is their story. The struggle continues.

Jon Burge, former Lieutenant of Chicago's Area II Violent Crimes Detective Unit, was fired from the Chicago police department on February 10, 1993, for torture. Burge was responsible for torturing more than 40 Black men during interrogations.

Methods of torture included electric shocks, suffocation hoods, Russian roulette, burns, beatings, and threats of death. The 1989 decision in Wilson vs. City of Chicago brought these facts to light. Burge's reign began in 1973. For twenty years, he received advances, promotions and support from political figures such as former police Superintendent Leroy Martin and Mayor Richard Daley. Through the organizing efforts of committed activists, Jon Burge was dismissed from the Chicago police force.

"The Death Row 10" are men convicted and sentenced to death as a result of the use of torture to obtain "confessions" by the Area II commander and fellow officers.

more

[Judi Lynn]

28. Thanks for the info. Have never seen it before today

although human rights organizations have been trying to call attention to our prison systems' vicious human rights abuses for ages.

At some point, the tide MUST turn.

[NNN0LHI]

35. Former Chicago police Lieutenant Jon Burge now spends his days...

...retired and collecting his police pension in Florida playing golf every day. The bastard should be spending his retirement in jail for the rest of his life. And you are more than welcome for the information.

Don

[Hekate]

40. Periodically the Los Angeles Times runs yet another expose

of the California criminal incarceration system. Even just scanning the articles is not for the faint of heart. Even without overt abuse by guards, what goes on among the prisoners is dehumanizing. There must be a better way.

As to what's going on in military detention from Gitmo to Iraq, it's fueled partly by motives of revenge which are at a minimum not discouraged by the chain of command. For the rest of it, I do hold the chain of command up to and including the self-declared Commander in Chief responsible for setting up a corrupt system.

From the start, the Bush administration declared that the Geneva Convention wasn't going to apply to captives of the US. This was not only unconscionable policy, but put our own military personnel and any civilians in the war zones at greater risk for mistreatment if they become POWs themselves. Revenge, after all, cuts both ways.

Clowns and madmen are in charge.

Hekate

[napi21]

4. Not many more credible than Reuters. Wonder if

others in the media will come out of hiding and be open and honest now?

I remember hearing that one of Nixon's big problems was pi**ing off the Press.

ShrubCo has enjoyed a lot of Press cover in his first 3 1/2 years. The first signs of them opening up was at the last "Press Conference", if you can call it that. It actually looked like a coordinated effort to test Bush's candor. We found he has none.

BushCo has been taking the allegiance of the Press for granted. Good idea for Dems. If he turns them against him, they'll bury him!

[UpInArms]

6. here's a link to the original January story

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2004%20News%20archives/Jan/29n/Reuters%20slams%20US%20treatment%20of%20journalists%20in%20Iraq.htm

Reuters slams US' treatment of journalists in Iraq

Jordan Times, Thursday, January 29, 2004

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Reuters news agency has slammed the Pentagon for failing to address concerns about reporters in war- torn Iraq after US troops killed two of its cameramen and arrested two journalists and their driver. On Jan. 2, two Reuters journalists and the driver were detained for 72 hours near the restive town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, by US troops after being mistaken for enemy fighters, the company said in a statement.

Following their release, the international news agency lodged a formal complaint with the US military, attesting to their alleged mistreatment in detention.

"Unfortunately no progress has been made. Immediate action is necessary to address these issues," it said, in a copy of a letter sent to the US defence department.

...more...

and

http://www.mediareviewnet.com/US%20military%20brutalised%20reporters.htm

US military 'brutalised' reporters

13 January 2004 07:15

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=13&o=40422

The international news agency Reuters has made a formal complaint to the
Pentagon following the "wrongful" arrest and apparent "brutalisation" of
three of its staff this month by US troops in Iraq.

The complaint followed an incident in the town of Falluja when American
soldiers fired at two Iraqi cameramen and a driver from the agency while
they were filming the scene of a helicopter crash.

The US military initially claimed that the Reuters journalists were "enemy
personnel" who had opened fire on US troops and refused to release them for
72 hours.

Although Reuters has not commented publicly, it is understood that the
journalists were "brutalised and intimidated" by US soldiers, who put bags
over their heads, told them they would be sent to Guantanamo Bay, and
whispered: "Let's have sex."

...more...

[Just Me]

7. Geezus,...media members were tortured, too!!!

What the hell?!?!?! No wonder the whole world thinks we're monsters,...we torture anyone in our way!!! Damn! I feel sick. The horrors just keep streaming out.

[ant]

8. you know, it might be easier...

...if they just report who hasn't been tortured and abused.

[Wind Dancer]

9. Insanity!

It is never-ending!

[skypilot]

11. I take it that this group of abusers/torturers...

...wasn't dumb enough to take pictures.

[Zhade]

38. Those pictures were intended as blackmail.

Nothing stupid about them - the whole purpose was to force released detainees to become informants, with the pics as blackmail should the Iraqis not cooperate.

Sick, vile, disgusting, criminal - but not stupid. Just stupid that they thought they could get away with it.

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Makes you wonder about Mazen Dana

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1021480,00.html

US troops 'crazy' in killing of cameraman

Jamie Wilson in Baghdad
Tuesday August 19, 2003
The Guardian

Journalists who were with a Reuters news cameraman shot dead by US troops while filming outside a Baghdad prison yesterday accused the soldiers of behaving in a "crazy" and negligent fashion.

They claimed the Americans had spotted the Reuters crew outside the jail half an hour before Mazen Dana was killed and must have realised he was not a guerrilla carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

The chief executive of Reuters, Tom Glocer, said: "The latest death is hard to bear. That's why I am calling upon the highest levels of the US government for a full and comprehensive investigation into this terrible tragedy."

Dana, 43, is the second Reuters cameraman to be killed since the US-led force invaded Iraq. His death brought to 17 the number of journalists or their assistants who have died in Iraq since the war began on March 20.



Of course, the soldiers involved in the killing were cleared of any wrong doing according to the Pentagon's investigation. Funny thing, this happened right in front of the Abu Ghraib prison.

[UpInArms]

13. was the death of Mazan Dana to keep him

from bearing witness at Abu Ghraib?

Pretty sobering thought.

:(

[Just Me]

14. Now we know why they shot him,...he was outside the prison.

:cry:

All of this is so humiliating and disgusting and horrible!!!

I just,...cannot begin to express my grief and anger!!!

[greenleaf]

36. It seems

that US troops wont shrink from murder if threats and intimidation dont work.

Paul McGeough an Australian journalist reporting from Baghdad in April of this year( this was before the torture stories 'broke', God it seems like ages ago now) had this encounter.

<snip>

When the GI challenged him, Sadeer tried to explain in his limited English that he entered the hotel routinely. But he was barked at, shoved away and then belted on the foot with a rifle. He used to slow in traffic to greet the US troops. Now he has turned: "Americans bad for Iraq - too many problems."

Leaving the hotel on foot, we had to go through the same streets to get to his car. I tried to explain our movements to the officer in charge of a US tank unit, but we were greeted with a stream of invective.

As I thanked the officer for his civility and moved on, one of his men fell in beside me, mumbling. Asked to repeat himself, he exploded: "Don't you f---in' eyeball me."

Nodding to his officer and raising his weapon, he shrieked: "He has rank to lose. I don't. I'll take you out quick as a flash, motherf---er!"

<End>

http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/12/1081621847374.html

I guess he wasnt bluffing.

[Judi Lynn]

39. Very sturdy article, greenleaf

This was also interesting:

Hachim Hassani, an Iraqi Islamic Party alternate ICG delegate, said: "The coalition has opened too many fronts in Iraq, alienating a large swath of the population. The Iraqi people now equate democracy with bloodshed."

But the most stinging rebuke came from a man on whom the Americans thought the could rely - the highly-respected Adnan Pachachi, a former foreign minister of Iraq who is so close to Washington that three months ago he was given the honour of escorting the First Lady, Laura Bush, to the State of the Union address.

That he spoke out was bad enough for American credibility here; but that he chose to do so on Al Arabiya, the Arab satellite TV channel so hated by the Pentagon, was open defiance.

Pachachi, an IGC member, invoked one of the constant Arab criticism of the Israel's collective punishment of whole Palestinian families or communities in the occupied territories, when he said: "It is not right to punish all the people of Falluja, and we consider these operations by the Americans unacceptable and illegal."
(snip)

That's really worth a moment of thought, if this guy actually went with Laura _Bush to the State of the Union address. I hope they reallyfeel this shames them. They damned well should.

[rebellious woman]

15. Shades of vietnam....these boys & girls whacked out on drugs?

Extacy being passed out over there?

[Alerter_]

19. bet on it

[yellowcanine]

18. Yeah, the Army "investigated" this.

A summary of the investigation by the 82nd Airborne Division, dated
January 28 and provided to Reuters, said "no specific incidents of abuse
were found." It said soldiers responsible for the detainees were
interviewed under oath and "none admit or report knowledge of
physical abuse or torture."

The U.S. military never interviewed the three for its investigation.


So the "investigation" consisted of interviewing the alleged perps under oath who denied the abuse but the alleged victims were not even interviewed. Yeah, sounds like a thorough investigation to me. What is Reuters whining about? Damn librul media! <Sarcasm off>

[maddezmom]

21. link has been updated with more info and includes NBC

~snip~
Ureibi, who understands English better than the other two detainees, said soldiers told him they wanted to have sex with him, and he was afraid he would be raped.


NBC, whose stringer Ali Muhammed Hussein Ali al-Badrani was detained along with the Reuters staff, said he reported that a hood was placed over his head for hours, and that he was forced to perform physically debilitating exercises, prevented from sleeping and struck and kicked several times.


"Despite repeated requests, we have yet to receive the results of the army investigation," NBC News Vice President Bill Wheatley said.

~snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=586&ncid=586&e=8&u=/nm/20040518/wl_nm/iraq_reuters_dc

[Shakespeare]

22. Why in the HELL didn't they report on this sooner?

This happened to members of their staff in JANUARY. NBC should've been all over this story months before Sy Hersch and CBS picked it up.

[maddezmom]

23. Probably afraid their reporters would get booted?

I dunno....seems like lots of folks knew and did nothing until CBS and Sy Hersh reported.

[Shakespeare]

24. That should never stop you from reporting a story.

The publicity in the wake of the story would pretty much prevent the military from retaliating by ranking their press creds. They should've gone public with this LONG ago.

[maddezmom]

25. looks like Reuters went public..read post #6

as for NBC...I agree, they should have reported, but seems they didn't. :shrug:

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shakespeare]

27. No, I'm just a former journalist.

They had an obligation to report it. One of the unfortunate aspects of war reporting is that your ass is occasionally on the line in a very real way. If you don't like that, you're always free to ask for a transfer or change your line of work.

I'm not braver or more courageous than anyone, but I DO know what the job entails and what you're ethically obliged to do. As someone else noted above, Reuters DID report it in late January--to Al Jazeera. Throwing the harsh light of day on a story like this informs the public and often stops abuses from continuing. That's part of the JOB.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shakespeare]

31. Wow...talk about an overreaction.

It's a journalist's job to report this kind of story. I fail to see why you think it would so dramatically endanger their lives--at worst, the military could hassle them over their press credentials, but that's about it. Your reaction is beyond bizarre.

Again, I'm not talking about courage. I'm talking about a journalist's obligation to report a story. Stop conflating the two.

[Just Me]

32. I apologize.

For all that's worth,...to you.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ze_dscherman]

37. Because Reuters waited for the result of the investigation

When the military said the reporters were not abused, they decided to come out with the story.

[soggy]

29. this is UNBELIEVABLE!

Folks, this aint a "few bad apples", it's not even Abu Ghraib or MP... this is the 82nd Airborne Division in Falluja, and amazingly it was reported in January!!! And these were reporters for Reuters, not murderers and insurgents! To me, this is the biggest revalation since the photos broke.... but something's wrong. This was the #2 story on yahoo when I left work and it's completely vanished by the time I got home. I googled it and the only recent story I find is from a CHINESE news site! The other articles are all from January, like this one...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1121981,00.html

Please don't let them flush this story!

[KDLarsen]

34. Randi Rhodes just talked about this..

.. I thought at first she was talking about Abu Ghraib, but I was surprised to hear the it was a whole different place.