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April 30, 2004
More on the Torture

We really, really fucked up with this.

The British press is picking up on the important detail that the people running the prisoner interrogations in the prison were hired contractors, meaning they're not subject to the rules of engagement or any other rules of war. They are truly outside of the law in Iraq, and this is the result.

Staff Sgt. Chip Frederick, the soldier most publicly accused of these crimes, claims that he is a scapegoat.

First of all, it has long been established that "just following orders" is not an acceptable defense. Neither is ignorance of the law. And in Frederick's case, ignorance of the law is not even a credible defense. It is likely that he did not know the letter of the law, in that he had no specific military prisoner training, and had apparently never seen the Geneva Conventions.

But here's the problem: he is a PRISON GUARD in Virginia. Whether he knew the letter of the law or not, there is no way I believe that he thought what he was doing was right. This is confirmed by his journal entries, which indicate that he complained about prisoner treatment to his superiors.

Even if his story is true (he began keeping a journal only after he was first questioned), he still participated and he does not get an excuse. His superiors should absolutely be held responsible, even more so, for these horrible acts, but it's not one or the other. They're all guilty.

I've been debating posting the pictures, and I've decided that I will, now that they're all over the place. I'm putting them in pop-up windows, though, so as not to force anyone to see them. That being said, I think it's very important that we all see them. Remember, this is being done in our name. Try to imagine the reaction in this country if pictures of American soldiers being treated like this surfaced.


As sickening as those pictures are, make sure you have a bucket handy as you read through the reactions to these horrific acts from some right-wing lunatics.

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Excerpt from CNN story:
Ann Clwyd, Blair's envoy and a lawmaker from the ruling Labor Party, voiced her condemnation. "I think they are absolutely terrible. I am shocked," she told British radio.

However, Clwyd said there was no comparison with how prisoners were treated under Saddam. "A small number of cases, horrible though they are -- you cannot compare that with the tens of thousands of people Saddam Hussein was responsible for executing and torturing."

???? Wow - not as bad as Saddam - that's encouraging.

Truly revolting.

Actually, an American contractor torturing anyone, or conspiring to do so, would be in deep doodoo; the American legal code reaches beyond our boundries with this: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+18USC2340A

Sec. 2340A. Torture

(a) Offense.--Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts
to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct
prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned
for any term of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction.--There is jurisdiction over the activity
prohibited in subsection (a) if--
(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States,
irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.

(c) Conspiracy.--A person who conspires to commit an offense under
this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the
penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the
commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.