The
top US general in Iraq authorized interrogation techniques including
the use of dogs, stress positions and disorientation, a memo has shown
Classified documents show the former US
military chief in Iraq personally sanctioned measures banned by the
Geneva Conventions. Andrew Buncombe reports from Washington. America's
leading civil liberties group has demanded an investigation into the
former US military commander Iraq after a formerly classified memo
revealed that he personally sanctioned a series of coercive
interrogation techniques outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. The group
claims that his directives were directly linked to the sort of abuses
that took place at Abu Ghraib. Documents obtained by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) reveal that Lt General Ricardo Sanchez
authorised techniques such as the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners,
stress positions and disorientation. The
ACLU says the documents reveal that the abuse of prisoners in Iraq,
Afghanistan and elsewhere was the result of an organised and
co-ordinated plan for dealing with prisoners captured during the
so-called war on terror that originates at the highest levels of the
chain of command. It says that far from being isolated incident, the
shocking abuse at Abu Ghraib that was revealed last year was part of a
pattern. [more] and [more] and [more]
DID SANCHEZ PERJURE HIMSELF? Gen.
Sanchez told the Senate Armed Services Committee last May (under oath)
that the abusive interrogation rules used at Abu Ghraib "were drafted
'at the company commander level,'" andthat he had "no role in preparing or approving" them. Nowthe ACLU has sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalesasking him to open an investigation into the testimony, calling it a "clear breach of the public's trust"
and "further proof that the American
people deserve the appointment of an independent special counsel by the
attorney general" to look into the systemic pattern of abuses in U.S.
prisons. [more]
Sworn statements that soldiers were told to ”beat the f**k out of” detainees. [more]
Army reservist witnesses war crimes New revelations about racism in the military [more]
U.S. Soldiers Accused Of Raping Iraqi Women Escape Prosecution [more]
Halliburton Employee Says He Was Gang-Beaten By "Red Neck Mafia" Co-Workers at Baghdad Airport [more]
