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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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January 4th,
2007 - Pentagon Says Abuses Already Investigated |
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Pentagon Says Abuses
Already Investigated By Pauline Jelinek Associated Press January 4th, 2007 Washington - The Pentagon
plans no action as a result of a newly released FBI report on detainee abuse
at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, a spokesman said Wednesday, asserting
there is nothing new in the report. "The idea that this is
new is misguided and misleading," said Defense Department spokesman
Bryan Whitman. "These are things the
department has thoroughly investigated and where allegations have been
substantiated, disciplinary action has been taken," he said. Documents released Tuesday
by the FBI focused on harsh interrogation techniques used by military officials
and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants at the facility
the Pentagon set up in Cuba for terrorism suspects. FBI agents documented more
than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the facility, including
one in which a detainee's head was wrapped in duct tape because he chanted
the Quran and another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering
room. Some military officials and
contractors told FBI agents that the interrogation practices had been
approved by the Defense Department, including directly by former Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The documents were released in response to a
request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and
others on behalf of former 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, though the report notes some smaller details about some of the
incidents that are new. The records were gathered as
part of an internal FBI survey in 2004. Asked Wednesday if the
Pentagon plans any follow-up to the report, Whitman said: "No, it's
already been thoroughly investigated." External link: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS/701040372/-1/State |