New Torture Allegations at Abu Ghraib

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 10:53:26 AM EST
Tags: Abu Ghraib (all tags)

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Michael Keller is a computer programmer from Tampa who joined the Florida National Guard where he was in charge of oversight at Abu Ghraib prison. His goal was to protect the inmates. He has written a new book, Torture Central: E-mails from Abu Ghraib. From the St. Petersburg Times:

Keller provides new details of the torture he witnessed at Abu Ghraib.

"The detainee is then laid flat on a medical litter, and another litter is placed on top of them producing a sandwich effect," he wrote in Torture Central: E-mails from Abu Ghraib. "The two litters are then tightened together with ratchet straps, creating a vice. The detainee remains crushed between the litters for one hour, with the guard checking every 15 minutes to ensure that the detainee still has a pulse."

There were other abuses, including those involving children: [More...]

Keller writes that the facility was full of children, most of whom had been denied due process. One had been arrested for running toward Marines while trying to retrieve a soccer ball.

"We have two 12-year-old children who were arrested by Marines and have been in Abu over 9 months," he writes. "Their arrest record (written by the arresting Marines) simply reads 'Reason for Arrest: Because we were bored.'"

In addition, the book says, medical information was kept in an inadequate spreadsheet; as a result, more than one diabetic inmate died after failing to get an insulin shot. Keller says he offered to build a database to fix the problem, but officials would not approve it.

Abu Ghraib, like Guantanamo, will forever be a stain on our national legacy. Along with the War in Iraq, it should be the first thing children in school are taught about the presidency of George W. Bush.

All of TalkLeft's coverage of Abu Ghraib is accessible here.

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New Torture Allegations at Abu Ghraib | 5 comments (5 topical)

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Question (none / 0) (#1)
by Al on Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 02:30:51 PM EST

Will a Democratic president recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court and sign on to the Treaty of Rome?

Isn't the Bush's latest argument (none / 0) (#2)
by Jgarza on Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 04:10:46 PM EST

That the US doesn't torture, therefore if the US has done it, it isn't torture?

Ohh how I love logical reasoning fallacies.

gee, i don't know why (none / 0) (#3)
by cpinva on Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 04:37:45 PM EST

everyone's complaining,

with the guard checking every 15 minutes to ensure that the detainee still has a pulse."

picky, picky, picky!

Didn't the DC Court (none / 0) (#4)
by tnthorpe on Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 05:52:36 PM EST

of Appeals just tell us this is all in a day's work when Rummy, Gonzo, W, and Cheney run the show?

Who Knows Torture Best (none / 0) (#5)
by boudin on Mon Jan 14, 2008 at 01:58:51 PM EST

Since the Abu Ghraib story broke I have theorized, admittedly with no other evidence than intuitive observation, that a major factor contributing to the quick and reflexive cover-up could be due to the nature of the "advisers" at work there. If the full truth ever comes out, I wonder if it will show that our people were being shown the intricacies of information extraction from Arabs by the experts of the Mossad. The Israelis have an interest in the region, the Mossad are experts in the field, and neither they nor the US would want them to be identified as participants in the invasion of Iraq. And if they had been there, it would only have happened with approval from the highest levels.

I suppose we'll never know.