July 15, 2004
"The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking"
by Liza Sabater
I came back from watching Farenheit 9/11, enraged and teary eyed to find out not only there is evidence that children and women were tortured at Abu Ghraib; but the videos of the tortures were used to extort the parents / husbands / relatives of the victims.
The original post is at EdCone.com. Link to the streaming video also at The Poor Man: Sy Hersh Makes Paul Krugman Look Like Dear Abby.
Read comments at Eschaton; Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite to Stupid; and Daily Kos || Kids sodomized at Abu Ghraib, Pentagon has the videos - Hersh, where it was pointed out that the rumors were first posted at Torture and Rumors of Torture: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal on June 10th. There was a mention on July 1st at Der Spiegel: More Than 100 Children Imprisoned; Report Of Abuse By U.S. Soldiers - A BuzzFlash Reader Contribution but it was Michael D from DailyKos who first pointed out in Daily Kos || Child Rape among 'Dozens' of Video Clips that NBC News Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reported the following on MSNBC - 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for May 7:
U.S. military officials tell NBC News, the unreleased images, show American soldiers severely beating one Iraqi prisoner to near death; apparently, raping an Iraqi female prisoner; acting inappropriately with a dead body; and Iraqi guards apparently videotaped by U.S. soldiers raping young boys.
Let the Republicans waste their energies on the inane jokes of Whoopie Goldberg or the alleged bigotry of Ted Rall. If blogs are becoming the ultimate social networking tool,then let's use their power to explode these 'forgotten' news into a meme.
While you are at it, go read Arianna Huffington's new essay : ARIANNA ONLINE - July 13, 2004 - George W. Bush: Presidential or Pathological? It may explain the pathology that is running the war and this country.
That's it for tonight. Will talk about F 9/11 later. I have to go now and hug my two little boys.
U P D A T E S
New York Daily News - World & National Report - Teens held, U.S. admits Juveniles in Abu Ghraib.
Salon.com Politics : Hersh: Children sodomized at Abu Ghraib, on tape and it explains that the Pentagon has the evidence but is witholding it.
Boing Boing: Hersh: children raped at Abu Ghraib, Pentagon has videos with a link to MSNBC - Beneath the Hoods, an article that identifies some of the victims on the infamous Abu Ghraib photos and videos.
Posted by Liza Sabater in Blogs, Media, Memes, War
Permalink |
Comments (5)
| TrackBack (0) | Technorati Cosmos
Trackbacks
Trackback for this post:http://www.culturekitchen.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/1692
The following blogs make reference to this post :
Say it loud, say it proud!
All there is to this story at the moment is unsubstantiated rumor. I'd hold my judgment in abeyance until there's proof provided for this allegation.
2
Comment by: Liza at July 15, 2004 10:24 AM
Alex,
There is a real media video that you can download at the Ed Cone and Poor Man sites. Those who have seen it have written about it at DailyKos. The MSNBC transcript goes back to May. The RM video though is not of "broadcast" quality and as people at Daily Kos suggested, maybe the reason why networks have not gone after this piece of news. Even if there is evidence it is not photogenic enough.
In war these kinds of atrocities always happens. This time around, there is evidence that US soldiers have been using rape and torture for "extracting" information from Iraqis and that these acts are a policy of deliberate cruelty, sanctioned by the President himself.
Also, that the "evidence" is not good enough for the TV networks, that's as important a piece of news as the alleged rumor. It is important to point out that the networks want videogenic images, they want material they can exploit and profit from.
Anybody who wants to have "broadcasting" quality evidence is as sick as the perpetrators of the crime being reported. The networks are part of the psycho-pathology that has turned rape into a political policy and it is imperative that their behaviour is reported as well.
3
Comment by: Alex Knapp at July 15, 2004 11:14 AM
There's a video of the actual torture of children? The only link to a video I found on Ed Cone was a link to Sy Hersh giving a speech.
And even if there is a RM video, is it authenticated? Are the soliders identifiable? Are they soldiers at all?
Just a note of caution, because this kind of thing not only can be faked, but it has been in this war already. Recall the photos of British troops torturing Iraqis that turned out to have been fabricated.
4
Comment by: liza at July 16, 2004 10:53 AM
Alex,
I've seen you've been making the rounds on other sites raising the same questions. What exactly do you need as evidence when there are publications in Europe who have testimonial accounts of witesses AND Rumsfeld has still to release all the Abu Ghraib information and evidence he said was worse than what we have seen up to now?
5
Comment by: Mark Kraft at July 18, 2004 02:53 AM
There is supporting evidence to Hersh's claims of sexual abuse of minors at
Abu Ghraib. It's in the supporting statements for the Taguba Report. What
the public has seen of the Taguba Report is little more than a 50 page
summary, while infact there are over 6000 pages in the report, which include
statements and interviews by numerous witnesses.
Among that evidence is testimony that backs up Seymour Hersh's assertions.
See these actual copies of documents from the Taguba report, which are on
the Washington Post website. They appear to document exactly the kind of
sexual abuse to minors that Hersh saw.
Read this document for testimony of what might he the exact scene Hersh is referring to. and read this document which indicates just how bad it was for ALL the children of Abu Ghraib.
Best,
Mark
1
Comment by: Alex Knapp at July 15, 2004 09:45 AM