[Article]Guantanamo guards batter their own man in training

Scruff

From todays Irish Independent:

A US National Guardsman has been discharged after receiving serious head injuries at the hands of American military police while posing as an uncooperative detainee in a Guantanamo Bay training exercise.

Sean Baker, who was wearing a prison jumpsuit, was pinned down and nearly strangled before having his head smashed against the floor.

The four-man rapid reaction unit that was trying to extract him from a cell had not been told they were on a training routine. They were told he was a genuine detainee who had already assaulted a sergeant and was ignoring orders.

The violence only ceased once the choking Mr Baker succeeded in blurting out that he was a US soldier.

Mr Baker's ordeal has provided more evidence for those arguing that the root of the prisoner abuse in Iraq has its origins in Guantanamo Bay, where about 600 detainees from the war on terrorism are being held indefinitely.

Since his ordeal in January last year, Mr Baker (37), from Georgetown, Kentucky, has suffered regular seizures.

The US Army is treating the incident as an "unfortunate accident".

Mr Baker is considering legal action but faces "considerable hurdles," according to his lawyer, because he was on active military duty at the time.(© The Times, London)

Roland Watson
in Washington

so much for the iraqi incidents being isolated and due to insuffecient oversight and supervision by superior officers....

chewy

this story is couple weeks old first heard it on bbc radio 5

i just dunno