[casi-analysis] casi-news digest, Vol 1 #175 - 3 msgs

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Today's Topics:

   1. Iraq Torture really a bit of jolly Fun (farbuthnot)
   2. Coalition war crimes in Iraq (CharlieChimp1@aol.com)
   3. US refuse Sunni involvement in Iraq Election (The Iraq Solidarity Campaign)

--__--__--

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 11:47:19 +0000
Subject: Iraq Torture really a bit of jolly Fun
From: "farbuthnot" <asceptic@DELETETHISfreenetname.co.uk>
To: casi-analysis@lists.casi.org.uk
CC: hussy_al_2000@yahoo.co.uk


[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]

Monsters R US. Odd Saddam's torture techniques were reviled and ours equall=
y
horrific, now relegated to mere 'cheerleader' stuff and 'prisoner control'.
I despair. f. =A0
=A0Published on Monday, January 10, 2005 by Reuters
Lawyer: Iraqi Abuse Was Like Act of 'Cheerleaders'
by Adam Tanner
=A0
FORT HOOD, Texas - A lawyer for Charles Graner, accused ringleader in the
Iraq prisoner abuse scandal, on Monday compared piling naked prisoners into
pyramids to cheerleader shows and said leashing inmates was also acceptable
prisoner control.
"Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a
year. Is that torture?" Guy Womack, Graner's attorney, said in opening
arguments to the 10-member U.S. military jury at the reservist sergeant's
court-martial.
Graner and Pvt. Lynndie England, with whom he fathered a child and who is
also facing a court-martial, became the faces of the Abu Ghraib prison
scandal after they appeared in photographs that showed degraded, naked
prisoners.
The prosecution showed some of those pictures in their opening argument,
including several of naked Iraqi men piled on each other and another of
England holding a crawling naked Iraqi man on a leash.
Womack said using a tether was a valid method of controlling detainees,
especially those who might be soiled with feces.
"You're keeping control of them. A tether is a valid control to be used in
corrections," he said. "In Texas we'd lasso them and drag them out of
there." He compared the leash to parents who place tethers on their toddler=
s
while walking in shopping malls.
Pictures of the humiliating treatment of the prisoners at the Abu Ghraib
prison outside Baghdad prompted outrage around the world and further eroded
the credibility of the United States already damaged in many countries by
the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Apart from arguing that the methods were not illegal, Graner's defense is
that he was following orders. "He was doing his job. Following orders and
being praised for it," Womack told the court, adding later that Graner woul=
d
testify in the case.
The chief prosecutor, Maj. Michael Holley, asked rhetorically: "Did the
accused honestly believe that was a lawful order?"
Initial witnesses described how Graner, wearing gloves, led several guards
in stacking naked prisoners accused of leading a prison riot into a pyramid
on November 8, 2003.
"That's Corp. Graner right there," Pvt. Jeremy Sivits, who is serving a yea=
r
prison sentence for his role in the abuse, said as he pointed out Graner
organizing naked prisoners into a pyramid.
That night Graner also knocked out one of the hooded prisoners, an accused
boy rapist, by punching the temple of his head, he said. "I told Corp.
Graner, 'I think you knocked him out sir,"' said Sivits, who pleaded guilty
at his court martial last year. "He obviously had to hit him pretty hard to
knock him out."
He said Graner also commented out loud about how the punch had impacted his
hand. "Oh, damn, that hurt," Sivits quoted Graner as saying.
Graner was later demoted to that of specialist.
Sivits also testified that Graner beat a prisoner recovering from a gunshot
wound in December 2003. "Please mister, please, please, please stop," was
the Iraqi's response, Sivits said.
PART OF WIDER ABUSE QUESTIONS
The Bush administration has said the actions were those of a small group an=
d
were not part of a policy or condoned by senior officers.
But investigations have shown many prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and at th=
e
U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba also suffered abusive treatment
after the government considered ways to obtain information in the war
against terrorism.
The trial of Graner, a former Pennsylvania civilian prison guard who chatte=
d
and joked with his defense attorneys before the hearing opened, was expecte=
d
to last at least a week.
Defense attorney Womack said U.S. embarrassment over the Abu Ghraib
photographs had prompted the charges against his client. "The embarrassment
puts pressure on the government: how do we mollify the world and make them
like us again?" he said.
Graner, 36, faces up to 17 1/2 years in prison on charges that include
mistreating detainees, dereliction of duty and assault. He has pleaded not
guilty.
Four of seven accused members of Graner's unit have already pleaded guilty
to abuse charges and three have been sentenced to prison. Pvt. Ivan
Frederick, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in the case, was
scheduled to testify on Monday afternoon.
=A9 Copyright 2005 Reuters Ltd
###




--__--__--

Message: 2
From: CharlieChimp1@DELETETHISaol.com
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 19:59:00 EST
Subject: Coalition war crimes in Iraq
To: Intelligentminds@yahoogroups.com, newsclippings@casi.org.uk


[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]




Iraq's  real WMD crime
By Lawrence  Smallman in Baghdad
Wednesday 17 March 2004,  13:03 Makka Time, 10:03 GMT
Depleted  uranium has a half life of 4.7 billion years          Related:
_UN nuclear inspectors return to Iraq _
(http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/887734B9-B166-47C7-A17B-817A62BD33D=
C.htm)    _Iraq and WMD: Timeline_
(http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E0727022-CAA6-462A-AB7B-00AB65E05CB=
6.htm)
 _Misery in Baghdad's ailing hospitals _
(http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DEED7CDE-9F22-4751-B027-A3191734AA1=
E.htm)    _Iraqi victims of war: Fact
sheet_
(http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F37A5384-E7C8-4EAD-8262-1727833C32B=
8.htm)
 Tools:
_Email  Article_ (javascript:
window.open('/NR/exeres/4E8EED44-F54B-4EC4-9BCD-26450A6FF14E.htm?sendhrefgu=
id=3D{B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-5F4325676A46}','_blank'
,'toolbar=3D0,location=3D0,status=3D0,menubar=3D0,scrollbars=3D0,resizable=
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-5F4325676A46}','_blank','toolbar=3D0,location=3D0,status=3D0,menubar=3D0,s=
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oid(0);)
There  are weapons of mass destruction all over Iraq and they were used thi=
s
past year.  Iraqi children continue to find them every day.
They have ruined the lives of just under 300,000 people during  the last
decade - and numbers will increase.
The reason is simple. Two hundred tonnes of radioactive material  were fire=
d
by invading US forces into buildings, homes, streets and gardens all  over
Baghdad.
The material in question is depleted uranium (DU). Left over  after natural
uranium has been enriched, DU is 1.7 times denser than lead -  effective in
penetrating armoured objects such as tanks.
After a DU-coated shell strikes, it goes straight through before  exploding
into a burning vapour which turns to dust.
"Depleted uranium has a half life of 4.7 billion years - that  means
thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children will suffer for tens of  thousan=
ds of years
to come. This is what I call terrorism," says Dr Ahmad  Hardan.
As a special scientific adviser to the World Health  Organisation, the Unit=
ed
Nations and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Dr Hardan is  the man who
documented the effects of depleted uranium in Iraq between 1991 and  2002.
But the war and occupation has doubled his workload.
Terrible history repeated
"American forces admit to using over 300 tonnes of depleted  uranium weapon=
s
in 1991. The actual figure is closer to 800.

"This has caused a health  crisis that has affected almost a third of a
million  people"

Dr Ahmad Hardan,
scientific  adviser to the World Health  Organisation
"This has caused a health crisis that has affected almost a third of a
million people. As if that was not enough, America went on and used 200 ton=
nes
more in Baghdad alone (last) April. I don't know about other parts of Iraq,=
  it
will take me years to document that."
Hardan is particularly angry because he says there is no need  for this typ=
e
of weapon - US conventional weapons are quite capable of  destroying tanks =
and
buildings.
"In Basra, it took us two years to obtain conclusive proof of  what DU does=
,
but we now know what to look for and the results are  terrifying."
Leukaemia has already become the most common type of cancer in  Iraq among
all age groups, but is most prevalent in the under-15 category. It  has
increased way above the percentage of population growth in every single  pr=
ovince of
Iraq without exception.
Women as young as 35 are developing breast cancer. Sterility  among men has
increased tenfold.
Barely human

Depleted  uranium has caused
severe deformities in  babies
But by far the most devastating effect is on unborn children.  Nothing can
prepare anyone for the sight of hundreds of preserved foetuses -  barely hu=
man
in appearance.
There is no doubt that DU is to blame.
"All children with congenital anomalies are subjected to  karyotyping and
chromosomal studies with complete genetic back-grounding and  clinical
assessment. Family and obstetrical histories are taken too. These  internat=
ional studies
have produced ample evidence to show that DU has  disastrous consequences."
Not only are there 200 tonnes of uranium lying around in  Baghdad, the
containers which carried the ammunition were discarded. For months  afterwa=
rds, many
used them to carry water - others used them to sell milk  publicly.
It is already too late to reverse the effects.
After his experience in Basra, Hardan says within the next two  years he
expects to see significant rises in congenital cataracts, anopthalmia,
microphthalmia, corneal opacities and coloboma of the iris - and that is ju=
st in  people=E2=80=99
s eyes.
Add to this foetal deformities, sterility in both sexes, an  increase in
miscarriages and premature births, congenital malformations,  additional ab=
normal
organs, hydrocephaly, anencephaly and delayed  growth.

"A world famous German  cancer specialist agreed to come, only to be told
later that he would not  be given permission to enter Iraq"
Dr Ahmad Hardan,
scientific adviser to the  World Health Organisation
Soaring cancer rates
"I had hoped the lessons of using DU would have been  learnt -especially as
it is affecting American and British troops stationed  in Iraq as we speak,
they are not immune to its effects either."
If the experience of Basra is played out in the rest of the  country, Iraq =
is
looking at an increase of more than 300% in all types of cancer  over the
next decade.
The signs are already here in Baghdad - the effects are starting  to be see=
n.
Every form of cancer has jumped up at least 10% with the exception  of bone
tumours and skin cancer, which have only risen 2.6% and 9.3%  respectively.
Another tragic outcome is the delayed growth of children.
Skeletal age comparisons between boys from southern Iraq and boys from
Michigan show Iraqi males are 26 months behind in their development by the =
time
they are 12-years old and girls are almost half a year behind.
"The effects of ionising radiation on growth and development are  especiall=
y
significant in the prenatal child", adds Dr Hardan. "Embryonic  development=
 is
especially affected."
Action needed
Those who have seen the effects of DU hope the US and its allies  will neve=
r
use these weapons again =E2=80=93 but it seems no such decision is likely i=
n  the
foreseeable future.

Many affected foetuses are so
deformed they cannot  survive
"I arranged for a delegation from Japan's Hiroshima hospital to  come and
share their expertise in the radiological related diseases we are  likely t=
o face
over time," says Hardan. "The delegation told me the Americans  had objecte=
d
and they had decided not to come.
"Similarly, a world famous German cancer specialist agreed to  come, only t=
o
be told later that he would not be given permission to enter  Iraq."
Moreover, Hardan believes the authorities need to produce  precise
information about what was used and where, and there needs to be a  clean-u=
p operation
and centres for specialist cancer treatment and  radiation-related illnesse=
s.
Iraq only has two hospitals that specialise in DU-related  illnesses, one i=
n
Basra and one in Mosul - this needs to change and  soon.
"I'm fed up of delegations coming and weeping as I show them  children dyin=
g
before their eyes. I want action and not emotion. The crime has  been
committed and documented - but we must act now to save our children's  futu=
re."
    Aljazeera




--__--__--

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 22:54:34 +0000 (GMT)
From: The Iraq Solidarity Campaign <mcr_coalition@DELETETHISyahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: MCR_Coalition@yahoo.co.uk
Subject: US refuse Sunni involvement in Iraq Election
To: mcr_coalition@yahoo.co.uk


[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]

Monday 10 January 2005, 16:40 Makka Time, 13:40 GMT

The influential Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq has met a senior US =
embassy official and offered to call off an election boycott in return for =
a US timetable for troop withdrawal.

US embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said on Monday the offer was made at a me=
eting on Saturday with the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), which has =
previously called on Iraqis to boycott the 30 January ballot.

But chances of Washington setting such a schedule for the withdrawal of rou=
ghly 150,000 troops are slim.

"That was their offer to us," said Callahan. "We have no intention to estab=
lish a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq at present. The Iraqi government a=
grees."

Members of the AMS were not immediately available for comment.

The talks suggest that with only three weeks before Iraqis go to the polls,=
 efforts are under way to heal rifts over US attacks on Sunni areas and enc=
ourage the community once dominant under ousted leader Saddam Hussein to ta=
ke part in the political process.

Callahan declined to name the US official who met the AMS officials to disc=
uss Sunni participation in the election, but said it was not ambassador Joh=
n Negroponte.

The mainly Sunni Muslim AMS has always said it would not field candidates f=
or elections while foreign troops remained in Iraq.

But it went a step further in the build-up to a US assault on Falluja in No=
vember by calling on Iraqis to boycott the vote itself, dealing a blow to p=
olls already threatened by relentless violence.

Reuters

 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9A9E25C9-D187-43D4-87E2-E4FBEAE3803=
2.htm






The Iraq Solidarity Campaign

---------------------------------
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