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Thursday, May. 06, 2004 12:32 PM EDT
Pentagon Prison Report Details Inmate Attacks on MPs
Largely forgotten in the hysterical media coverage of the Iraqi prison abuse scandal is this tidbit: the vast majority of the alleged abuses were committed against the most hardened terrorist suspects and known troublemakers, many of whom took part in prison uprisings that put the lives of U.S. military guards at risk.
Section 34 of the now notorious Taguba Report begins: "The following riots, escapes, and shootings have been documented and reported to this Investigation Team." Here's a few selected highlights:
* June 9, 2003 - Riot and shootings of five detainees at Camp Cropper. (115th MP Battalion) Several detainees allegedly rioted after a detainee was subdued by MPs of the 115th MP Battalion after striking a guard in compound B of Camp Cropper.
A 15-6 investigation by 1LT Magowan (115th MP Battalion, Platoon Leader) concluded that a detainee had acted up and hit an MP. After being subdued, one of the MPs took off his DCU top and flexed his muscles to the detainees, which further escalated the riot. The MPs were overwhelmed and the guards fired lethal rounds to protect the life of the compound MPs, whereby 5 detainees were wounded.
* November 24, 2003 - Riot and shooting of 12 detainees . . . Several detainees allegedly began to riot at about 1300 in all of the compounds at the Ganci encampment. This resulted in the shooting deaths of 3 detainees, 9 wounded detainees, and 9 injured US Soldiers.
A 15-6 investigation by COL Bruce Falcone (220th MP Brigade, Deputy Commander) concluded that the detainees rioted in protest of their living conditions, that the riot turned violent, the use of non-lethal force was ineffective, and, after the 320th MP Battalion CDR executed "Golden Spike, the emergency containment plan, the use of deadly force was authorized.
* November 24, 2003 - Shooting of detainee at Abu Ghraib(320th MP Battalion). A detainee allegedly had a pistol in his cell and around 1830 an extraction team shot him with less than lethal and lethal rounds in the process of recovering the weapon.
A 15-6 investigation by COL Bruce Falcone (220th Brigade, Deputy Commander) concluded that one of the detainees in tier 1A of the Hard Site had gotten a pistol and a couple of knives from an Iraqi Guard working in the encampment. Immediately upon receipt of this information, an ad-hoc extraction team consisting of MP and MI personnel conducted what they called a routine cell search, which resulted in the shooting of an MP and the detainee.
* December 17 2003 - Shooting by non-lethal means of detainee from Abu Ghraib (320th MP Battalion). Several detainees allegedly assaulted an MP at 1459 inside the Ganci Encampment, Abu Ghraib (BCCF). An SIR was initiated by SSG Matash (320th MP BRIGADE, S-3 Section).
The SIR indicated that three detainees assaulted an MP, which resulted in the use of a non-lethal shot that calmed the situation. [End of Excerpt]
Another incident much ballyhooed in the press as a "murder," looks a whole lot different in context of the Taguba Report, which says that on June 13, 2003:
"30-40 detainees rioted and pelted three interior MP guards with rocks. One guard was injured and the tower guards fired lethal rounds at the rioters injuring 7 and killing 1 detainee."
No wonder our understaffed military police units in Iraq felt they had to resort to intimidation and humiliation tactics in a bid to keep this gang of violent criminals and bloodthirsty terrorists at bay.
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Still stupid IMO. Doing it is bad enough, filming it is downright asinine. Believe me, I have no problem whatsoever with these pukes "tripping and falling' on occasion, just make sure the cameras are off.
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Interrogation techniques, torturous or not, are and always will be a seemingly necesssary part of war for obtaining information regarding the enemy. When the hell did they also become photo op's? That there are hundreds or even thousands of pic's just seems stupid to me. Do your business in a business like manner guys.
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The only mistake they made, WAS TAKEN THOSE DAMN PICS.
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They would threaten the detainee with releasing the pics to his friends and family as a way of coercing them into giving up information....................perhaps?
