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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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January 3rd,
2007 - FBI Details Possible Detainee Abuse |
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FBI Details Possible
Detainee Abuse By Matt Apuzzo Associated Press Writer Wednesday January 3, 2007 1:16 AM Washington - FBI agents
documented more than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the
Guantanamo Bay military base, including one detainee whose head was wrapped
in duct tape for chanting the Quran and another who pulled out his hair after
hours in a sweltering room. Documents released Tuesday
by the FBI offered new details about the harsh interrogation practices used
by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy
combatants. The reports describe a
female guard who detainees said handled their genitals and wiped menstrual
blood on their face. Another interrogator reportedly bragged to an FBI agent
about dressing as a Catholic priest and ``baptizing'' a prisoner. Some military officials and
contractors told FBI agents that the interrogation techniques had been
approved by the Defense Department, including directly by former Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The documents were released
in response to a public records request by the American Civil Liberties
Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and others on behalf of former military
detainees who say they were abused. Many of the incidents in the FBI
documents have already been reported and are summarized in the ACLU's
lawsuit. Defense Department spokesman
Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said the issues raised in the report are not new. A
dozen reviews of detention operations have found no policies that condone
abuse, he said. President Bush signed
legislation in October that authorized aggressive interrogation tactics but
did not define them. ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said the documents show that
stricter congressional oversight is needed. “If you just authorize in a
vague way, there's no end to the abusive methods the interrogators will come
up with,” Jaffer said. The records were gathered as
part of an internal FBI survey in 2004 and are not part of a criminal
investigation. The agency asked 493
employees whether they witnessed aggressive treatment that was not consistent
with the FBI's policies. The bureau received 26 positive responses, including
some from agents who were troubled by what they saw. “I did observe treatment
that was not only aggressive but personally very upsetting,” one agent wrote,
describing seeing a man left in a 100-degree room with no ventilation overnight.
“The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor with a pile of hair next to
him. He had apparently literally been pulling his own hair out throughout the
night.” Another agent said he heard
several “thunderclaps” then saw a detainee lying on the floor with a bloody
nose. Interrogators told the agent the man was upset and had thrown himself
to the floor. In one report, an agent said
he saw a detainee draped in an Israeli flag in a room with loud music and
strobe lights. A note on the report said the Israeli flag “may be over the
top but not abusive.” The words “may be” were then crossed out and replaced
with “is.” Carpenter, the Pentagon
spokesman, said the Guantanamo detainees “include some of the world's most
vicious terrorist operatives.” “The Department of Defense
policy is clear,” Carpenter said. “We treat detainees humanely. The United
States operates safe, humane and professional detention operations for enemy
combatants who are providing valuable information in the war on terror.” The FBI reports do not say
whether any laws were broken. They said nothing employees observed rose to
the level of abuse seen at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. FBI spokesman Richard J.
Kolko said all the information in the reports was passed on to the Pentagon's
inspector general. A federal judge is
considering whether to allow the ACLU's lawsuit against Rumsfeld to go
forward. Government officials are normally shielded from personal lawsuits
related to their jobs. External link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6318366,00.html |