[Peace-discuss] torture

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Accused Soldiers Didn't Know Geneva Rules
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Filed at 8:38 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The six U.S. soldiers facing courts-martial in connection 
with mistreatment of detainees at an Iraqi prison did not receive in-depth 
training on the Geneva Conventions, which govern the handling of captives, a 
military spokeswoman said Friday.

Those soldiers have been reassigned to other duties in Iraq, Col. Jill 
Morgenthaler said in an e-mail from Iraq. No courts-martial proceedings against them 
have taken place, she said.

Their boss, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800th Military 
Police Brigade, and at least seven others have been ``suspended'' from their duties 
at Abu Ghraib prison, Morgenthaler said.

It was unclear precisely what a suspension entails, or if it is the same as 
being formally relieved. Morgenthaler said she believed Karpinski had returned 
to the United States.

President Bush on Friday condemned the mistreatment of some Iraqi prisoners, 
saying, ``Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people. 
That's not the way we do things in America. I didn't like it one bit.''

He was asked about photos showing scenes of humiliation including Iraqi 
prisoners naked except for hoods covering their heads, stacked in a human pyramid, 
one with a slur written in English on his skin. Arab television stations were 
leading their newscasts on Friday with the photos.

``I share a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated the way they were 
treated,'' Bush said.

Karpinski has been replaced as head of the prison by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey 
Miller, deputy commander for detainment operations. Miller formerly commanded the 
U.S. prison for alleged terrorists at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A leading human rights group said the military should investigate whether the 
soldiers' superiors ordered or tolerated the abuse.

``The brazenness with which these soldiers conducted themselves ... suggests 
they felt they had nothing to hide from their superiors,'' said Kenneth Roth, 
the executive director of Human Rights Watch.

In the past, Karpinski has defended the prison against claims from freed 
prisoners and human-rights groups that prisoners were abused, saying Iraqis were 
treated ``humanely and fairly.''

Last September, during a visit by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, she 
displayed torture devices used there by Saddam's interrogators. The prison was one 
of the most notorious in Iraq under Saddam's regime.

The acknowledgment that the soldiers did not receive in-depth training on 
international covenants regarding the handling of prisoners echoes complaints 
from Army Reserves Staff Sgt. Ivan ``Chip'' Frederick, one of the six facing 
court-martial, and his civilian lawyer in Washington, Gary Myers.

Charges include dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and 
indecent acts with another person.

Some military officials privately said that training or no, the U.S. soldiers 
should have known better.

In some photos from the prison, aired first on CBS' ``60 Minutes II'' and now 
around the world, two U.S. soldiers standing near the prisoners hammed it up 
for the camera.

One of the photos showed a hooded prisoner standing on a box with wires 
attached to his hands. CBS reported the prisoner was told that if he fell off the 
box, he would be electrocuted, although in reality the wires were not connected 
to a power supply.