catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 6:41 pm Post subject: U.S. ignored reports of Iraqi abuse: documents |
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Americans turned a blind eye to hundreds of reports of abuse, torture and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers, according to reports in nearly 392,000 documents related to the Iraq war and released Friday by WikiLeaks.
The documents say the detainees were whipped, punched, kicked or subjected to electric shocks. Six reports end with a detainee's apparent death.
In one case, Americans suspected Iraqi army officers of cutting off a detainee's fingers and burning him with acid, the New York Times reported. Two other cases produced accounts of the executions of bound detainees.
Several media organizations, including the Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and The Guardian, were granted early access to the files.
The Times said the reports indicate that while some abuse cases were investigated by the Americans, most were ignored. The reports released by WikiLeaks and dubbed "The Iraq War Logs," cover the period from Jan. 1, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2009. WikiLeaks said the files detail more than 109,000 deaths in Iraq, including 66,081 civilians. The reports also document the deaths of almost 24,000 people labelled as insurgents, more than 15,000 Iraqi government troops and almost 3,800 coalition forces.
U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Clinton slammed the release of the files.
"We should condemn in the most clear terms the disclosure of any classified information by individuals and organizations which puts the lives of United States and partner service members and civilians at risk," she said in Washington, D.C.
Threats allegedly used
The documents, according to the Times, also claim that Americans sometimes used the threat of abuse by Iraqi authorities to get information out of prisoners. For example, one report said an American threatened to send a detainee to the notorious Wolf Brigade if he did not supply information.
But the report also said Americans often intervened when Iraqis were being tortured.
The U.S. Defence Department had been bracing for the release of the documents, fearing they could compromise the safety of some Iraqis and allies.
The documents also say that although most civilians were killed by other Iraqis, there are incidents of American soldiers being responsible for killings.
For example, there are reports of four cases of lethal shootings from U.S. helicopters, the Times says. In one instance on July 16, 2007, as many as 26 Iraqis were killed, about half of them civilians. It's possible, however, that the deaths were counted twice.
The documents also detail the deaths of two Iraqis who were believed to be firing mortars, even though they apparently made motions to surrender.
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