IRAQ WAR - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
More than 100 die in U.S. custody in Iraq |
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by John J. Lumpkin Boston.com Entered into the database on Wednesday, March 16th, 2005 @ 23:40:19 MST |
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The figure, far higher than any previously disclosed, includes cases investigated
by the Army, Navy, Central Intelligence Agency and Justice Department. Some
65,000 prisoners have been taken during the U.S.-led wars, most later freed. The Pentagon has never provided comprehensive information on how many prisoners
taken during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have died. The 108 figure, based
on information supplied by Army, Navy and other government officials, includes
deaths attributed to natural causes. To human rights groups, the deaths form a clear pattern. "Despite the military's own reports of deaths and abuses of detainees
in U.S. custody, it is astonishing that our government can still pretend that
what is happening is the work of a few rogue soldiers," said ACLU Executive
Director Anthony D. Romero. "No one at the highest levels of our government
has yet been held accountable for the torture and abuse, and that is unacceptable." To the Pentagon, each death is a distinct case, meriting an investigation but
not attributable to any single faulty military policy. Pentagon officials point
to military investigations that have found that no policy condoned abuse. Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. John Skinner said the military has taken
steps to reduce the chance of violent uprisings at its prisons and the use of
excessive force by soldiers, and also has improved the health care available
to prisoners. "The military has dramatically improved detention operations, everything
from increased oversight and improved facilities to expanded training and the
availability of state-of-the-art medical care," he said in a statement. Some death investigations have resulted in courts-martial and convictions,
others in reprimands. Many are still open. In some cases, during riots and escape
attempts, soldiers were found to have used deadly force properly. The most serious sentence handed out in the completed cases is three years
imprisonment, which was given to two soldiers in separate cases. Pfc. Edward Richmond was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for shooting Muhamad
Husain Kadir, an Iraqi cowherd, in the back of the head on Feb. 28, 2004; Richmond
said he saw Kadir lunge for another soldier. Staff Sgt. Johnny M. Horne pleaded guilty to killing a critically wounded Iraqi
teenager in Sadr City, Iraq, on Aug. 18, 2004. Horne described it as a mercy
killing. In Iraq, the military is currently holding around 8,900 people at its two largest
prisons, Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca. At least two prisoners died during interrogation, in incidents that raise the
question of torture. Human rights groups say there are others: -- Manadel al-Jamadi, a suspect in the bombing of a Red Cross facility in Baghdad,
died Nov. 4, 2003, while hanging by his wrists in a shower room at Abu Ghraib
prison. Nine SEALs and one sailor have been accused of abusing al-Jamadi and
others in Iraq. The CIA and Justice Department are also investigating the death. -- Four Fort Carson, Colo., soldiers, including three in military intelligence,
are charged with murder for the death of an Iraqi major general who died in
November 2003. The CIA has also acknowledged that one of its officers may have
been involved and referred the case to the Justice Department for investigation. Of the prisoner deaths: -- At least 26 have been investigated as criminal homicides involving possible
abuse. -- At least 29 are attributed to suspected natural causes or accident. -- 22 died during an insurgent mortar attack on April 6, 2004, on Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq. -- At least 21 are attributed to "justifiable homicide," when U.S.
troops used deadly force against rioting, escaping or threatening prisoners
and investigations found the troops acted appropriately. The majority of the death investigations were conducted by the Army's Criminal
Investigation Division, as most prisoners are held in Army-run facilities. In many of the cases, resolution has not been swift. Military officials have
attributed this in part to the difficulties of conducting investigations in
war zones, and they say accuracy is more important than speed. "Our special agents have literally been mortared and shot at while going
about investigative duties," said Army spokesman Christopher Grey. Grey said Army investigators have looked into 79 deaths in 68 incidents. Most
were in Iraq. No prisoners have died at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the third major
site for prisoners since the Sept. 11 attacks. A Navy official said the Navy Criminal Investigative Service has investigated
eight deaths. One of those, of al-Jamadi, has also been investigated by the
Army and is counted among their numbers, officials said. The CIA and Justice Department have looked into four deaths that may have involved
agency personnel or contractors. One CIA contractor has been charged with assault
in connection with a third death investigation in Afghanistan. The fourth death
was attributed to hypothermia, not mistreatment. |