More images of American torture coming out of Iraq

Zebra3

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1710360,00.html

Just days after British invaders being shown attacking innocent people, this should make things even tougher for the occupiers on the ground and back in DC and London.

Interesting to note the bit at the end:

There were reports today that the US government was trying to prevent the new images being broadcast in the US.

Tut, tut. After all the recent talk about free speech..... :rolleyes:

Hobbes

Free speech aside you have to wonder if the media is trying to intentionally p!ss-off the middle East.

Same could be said for the media have something against google.

lostexpectation

that these pictures will piss people off over their leaders in europe!

Nuttzz

Some of the new images showed US soldiers who have already been convicted over the abuse scandal at the prison

I can only assume that they are from the same set as released before. The US preventing their publication is nothing new, IMO when the scandal broke they should have published all the pictures rather than allow this sort of drip drip process

Manic Moran

Has any network or station anywhere outside of Al Jazeera shown the Nick Berg beheading, out of interest?

I think Nutzz has hit it: There is no benefit to be gained from the release of photos to the public now. We all know what happened at Abu Ghraib, there have been prosecutions... The only reason to release picutres in the news now is for circulation and ratings. Otherwise, they can be released in whatever historical books will be written on the subject in the coming years.

NTM

Frederico

Manic Moran wrote:

Has any network or station anywhere outside of Al Jazeera shown the Nick Berg beheading, out of interest?

I think Nutzz has hit it: There is no benefit to be gained from the release of photos to the public now. We all know what happened at Abu Ghraib, there have been prosecutions... The only reason to release picutres in the news now is for circulation and ratings. Otherwise, they can be released in whatever historical books will be written on the subject in the coming years.

NTM

The public knows that a handful of US soldiers tortured a few Iraqis, sadly that seems far from the truth. Without photographic or video evidence it is nigh impossible to backup allegations of abuse against the US military. I remember watching the TV after Abu Ghraib and noticing on the walls of the prison new notices forbidding PHOTOGRAPHY OF ANY KIND and in much smaller letters underneath forbidding torture. The truth of the matter is that torture was probably policy during 2003 (Rumsfeld, Copper Green) and it happened in many other places, Bagraam (Afghanistan), Baghdad airport (US Navy Seals allegedly conducted torture including mock drownings) and I have read quite a few excerpts from US marine army Captains and soldiers that they have tents, drag prisoners in and just beat them to relieve tension...

Personally, I can't stand the propaganda of this conflict and its good to see the stupid masses getting a dose of the realities of war as opposed to the sanitised images we usually receive.

Manic Moran

I've no quarrel with revelations of other abuses. I just think that Abu Ghraib has been done to the extent that it is now counter-productive. If they have photos of other abuses, then so be it. If not, they're just telling us what we already know.

NTM

Hobbes

Manic Moran wrote:

There is no benefit to be gained from the release of photos to the public now.

Which is why I was wondering if someone is doing this to intentionally inflame the middle east.

Although not as reported as much is the recent UN report about Guantamno Bay which said that Torture is going on in the camp and it should be closed down.

The new pictures btw, are even more fuked up then the first lot that came out. One has to wonder how this was going on without thier commanders not knowing about it.

From the ITV news last night I understand that sections of the US media including the NY Times have had these extra pictures from the old abu Graib abuse story for a long time and have been in a legal battle to show them.
They won that battle.

Nuttzz

It was a mistake for the US government to fight it, once the story was out the best thing to do was to come clean and prosecute those involved, at least they did the (more important) latter

Snickers Man

Nuttzz wrote:

It was a mistake for the US government to fight it, once the story was out the best thing to do was to come clean and prosecute those involved, at least they did the (more important) latter

Yeah a 22-year old private from a trailer park. No doubt reinforcing the image that nothing good ever came from these places.

What about the higher ups?

A reservist officer got relieved of her command.

That's it.

fly_agaric

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/02/16/abu_ghraib/portfolio.html *

*contains disturbing images of Americans bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people.

Hobbes

You know the western media (and moreso US media) are playing down this story.

I watched the Austrialian Video on it which shows everything and all I can say is... fuk me. :eek:

The salon link above is tame by comparison.

fly_agaric

Hobbes wrote:

You know the western media (and moreso US media) are playing down this story.

If they are, is it not because this stuff is not really shocking anymore? As others said, the story is old (we just have more pictures to go with the descriptions of what went on [perhaps goes on?] in Abu Ghraib) and IMO many people now have very low expectations of the US when it comes to treatment of prisoners. It is sad really. Especially that Bush et al don't really seem to see the problem.

Hobbes

Well the Oz video has a heck of a lot more in it that didn't come to light around the time of the incident. For example apprantly they were picking up hookers and bringing them to the jail as well.

http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/02/abu_ghraib_redu_1.html