Kimberly T
2004-06-01 23:23:14 UTC
Now this is intriguing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE THINGS BUSH DIDN'T MENTION IN HIS SPEECH
The re-writing of Iraqi history is now going on at supersonic speed
By Robert Fisk
The Independent
26 May 2004
I can't wait to see Abu Ghraib prison reduced to rubble by the
Americans
- at the request of the new Iraqi government, of course. It will be
turned to
dust in order to destroy a symbol of Saddam's brutality. That's what
President Bush tells us. So the re-writing of history still goes on.
Last August, I was invited to Abu Ghraib - by my favourite US General
Janis Karpinski, no less - to see the million-dollar US refurbishment
of this
vile place. Squeaky clean cells and toothpaste tubes and fresh pairs
of
pants for the "terrorist" inmates. But now, suddenly, the whole kit
and
caboodle is no longer an American torture centre. It's still an Iraqi
torture centre, and thus worthy of demolition.
The re-writing of Iraqi history is now going on at supersonic speed.
Weapons of mass destruction? Forget it. Links between Saddam and
al-Qa'ida? Forget it. Liberating the Iraqis from Saddam's Abu Ghraib
life
of torture? Forget it. Wedding party slaughtered? Forget it.
Clear
the
decks for both "full (sic) sovereignty" and "chaotic events". This
is,
at
any rate, according to Mr Bush. When I heard his hesitant
pronunciation of
Abu Ghraib as "Abu Grub" on Monday night, I could only profoundly
agree.
But we're in danger again of missing the detail. Just as the
unsupervised
armed mercenaries being killed in Iraq are being described by the
occupation authorities as "contractors" or, more mendaciously,
"civilians" - so the responsibility for the porno interrogations at
Abu Ghraib is being allowed
to slide into the summer mists over the Tigris river. So let's go
back,
for a moment, to the long weeks in which the Department of Bad Apples
allowed its jerks to put leashes around Iraqi necks, forced prisoners
to
have sex with each other and raped some Iraqi lasses in the jail.
And let's cast our eyes upon that little, all-important matter of
responsibility. The actual interrogators accused of encouraging US
troops
to abuse Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail were working for at least
one
company with extensive military and commercial contacts with Israel.
The
head of an American company whose personnel are implicated in the Iraqi
tortures, it now turns out, attended an "anti-terror" training camp in
Israel and, earlier this year, was presented with an award by Shaul
Mofaz, the right-wing Israeli defence minister.
According to Dr J P London's company, CACI International, the visit of
Dr London - sponsored by an Israeli lobby group and including US
congressmen and other defence contractors - was "to promote
opportunities for strategic partnerships and joint ventures between US
and Israeli defence and homeland security agencies".
The Pentagon and the occupation powers in Iraq insist that only US
citizens have been allowed to question prisoners in Abu Ghraib - but
this takes no
account of Americans who may also hold double citizenship. The
once-secret
torture report by US General Antonio Taguba refers to "third country
nationals" involved in the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq.
General Taguba mentions Steven Staphanovic and John Israel as involved
in
the abuses at Abu Ghraib. Staphanovic, who worked for CACI - known to
the
US military as "Khaki" - was said by Taguba to have "allowed and/or
instructed MPs (military police), who were not trained in interrogation
techniques, to facilitate interrogations by 'setting conditions' ... he
clearly knew his instructions equated to physical abuse". One of
Staphanovic's co-workers, Joe Ryan - who was not named in the Taguba
report
- now says that he underwent an "Israeli interrogation course" before
going to Iraq.
We know the Pentagon asked Israel for its "rules of engagement" in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israeli officers have briefed their US
opposite numbers and, according to the Associated Press, "in January
and
February of 2003, Israeli and American troops trained together in
southern Israel's Negev desert ... Israel has also hosted senior law
enforcement officials from the United States for a seminar on
counter-terrorism".
Staphanovic of CACI, who may also be Australian, was accused by
Taguba's
army report of making "a false statement to the investigation team
regarding
... his knowledge of abuses". Another outside interrogator, Adel
Nakhla,who may be of Egyptian origin, was a witness to the "stacking"
of
naked prisoners in Abu Ghraib. John Israel "misled" investigators by
denying he had witnessed misconduct and did not have "security
clearance". Israel, according to Titan - two of whose employees were
mentioned in
Taguba's report - works for one of the company's "sub-contractors".
Titan
refused to name the "sub-contractor".
Why? Among the company's former directors is ex-CIA director James
Woolsey, one of the architects of the US invasion of Iraq, a friend of
Ahmed Chalabi
and a prominent pro-Israeli lobbyist in Washington. Dr London says
CACI
"does not condone or tolerate or endorse in any fashion (sic) any
illegal, inappropriate behaviour on the part of its employees in any
circumstances at any time anywhere".
But it is clear the torture trail at Abu Ghraib has to run much further
than a group of brutal US military cops, all of whom claim
"intelligence
officers" told them to "soften up" their prisoners for questioning.
Were
they Israeli? Or South African? Or British? Are we going to let the
story go?
---------------------------------
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE THINGS BUSH DIDN'T MENTION IN HIS SPEECH
The re-writing of Iraqi history is now going on at supersonic speed
By Robert Fisk
The Independent
26 May 2004
I can't wait to see Abu Ghraib prison reduced to rubble by the
Americans
- at the request of the new Iraqi government, of course. It will be
turned to
dust in order to destroy a symbol of Saddam's brutality. That's what
President Bush tells us. So the re-writing of history still goes on.
Last August, I was invited to Abu Ghraib - by my favourite US General
Janis Karpinski, no less - to see the million-dollar US refurbishment
of this
vile place. Squeaky clean cells and toothpaste tubes and fresh pairs
of
pants for the "terrorist" inmates. But now, suddenly, the whole kit
and
caboodle is no longer an American torture centre. It's still an Iraqi
torture centre, and thus worthy of demolition.
The re-writing of Iraqi history is now going on at supersonic speed.
Weapons of mass destruction? Forget it. Links between Saddam and
al-Qa'ida? Forget it. Liberating the Iraqis from Saddam's Abu Ghraib
life
of torture? Forget it. Wedding party slaughtered? Forget it.
Clear
the
decks for both "full (sic) sovereignty" and "chaotic events". This
is,
at
any rate, according to Mr Bush. When I heard his hesitant
pronunciation of
Abu Ghraib as "Abu Grub" on Monday night, I could only profoundly
agree.
But we're in danger again of missing the detail. Just as the
unsupervised
armed mercenaries being killed in Iraq are being described by the
occupation authorities as "contractors" or, more mendaciously,
"civilians" - so the responsibility for the porno interrogations at
Abu Ghraib is being allowed
to slide into the summer mists over the Tigris river. So let's go
back,
for a moment, to the long weeks in which the Department of Bad Apples
allowed its jerks to put leashes around Iraqi necks, forced prisoners
to
have sex with each other and raped some Iraqi lasses in the jail.
And let's cast our eyes upon that little, all-important matter of
responsibility. The actual interrogators accused of encouraging US
troops
to abuse Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail were working for at least
one
company with extensive military and commercial contacts with Israel.
The
head of an American company whose personnel are implicated in the Iraqi
tortures, it now turns out, attended an "anti-terror" training camp in
Israel and, earlier this year, was presented with an award by Shaul
Mofaz, the right-wing Israeli defence minister.
According to Dr J P London's company, CACI International, the visit of
Dr London - sponsored by an Israeli lobby group and including US
congressmen and other defence contractors - was "to promote
opportunities for strategic partnerships and joint ventures between US
and Israeli defence and homeland security agencies".
The Pentagon and the occupation powers in Iraq insist that only US
citizens have been allowed to question prisoners in Abu Ghraib - but
this takes no
account of Americans who may also hold double citizenship. The
once-secret
torture report by US General Antonio Taguba refers to "third country
nationals" involved in the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq.
General Taguba mentions Steven Staphanovic and John Israel as involved
in
the abuses at Abu Ghraib. Staphanovic, who worked for CACI - known to
the
US military as "Khaki" - was said by Taguba to have "allowed and/or
instructed MPs (military police), who were not trained in interrogation
techniques, to facilitate interrogations by 'setting conditions' ... he
clearly knew his instructions equated to physical abuse". One of
Staphanovic's co-workers, Joe Ryan - who was not named in the Taguba
report
- now says that he underwent an "Israeli interrogation course" before
going to Iraq.
We know the Pentagon asked Israel for its "rules of engagement" in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israeli officers have briefed their US
opposite numbers and, according to the Associated Press, "in January
and
February of 2003, Israeli and American troops trained together in
southern Israel's Negev desert ... Israel has also hosted senior law
enforcement officials from the United States for a seminar on
counter-terrorism".
Staphanovic of CACI, who may also be Australian, was accused by
Taguba's
army report of making "a false statement to the investigation team
regarding
... his knowledge of abuses". Another outside interrogator, Adel
Nakhla,who may be of Egyptian origin, was a witness to the "stacking"
of
naked prisoners in Abu Ghraib. John Israel "misled" investigators by
denying he had witnessed misconduct and did not have "security
clearance". Israel, according to Titan - two of whose employees were
mentioned in
Taguba's report - works for one of the company's "sub-contractors".
Titan
refused to name the "sub-contractor".
Why? Among the company's former directors is ex-CIA director James
Woolsey, one of the architects of the US invasion of Iraq, a friend of
Ahmed Chalabi
and a prominent pro-Israeli lobbyist in Washington. Dr London says
CACI
"does not condone or tolerate or endorse in any fashion (sic) any
illegal, inappropriate behaviour on the part of its employees in any
circumstances at any time anywhere".
But it is clear the torture trail at Abu Ghraib has to run much further
than a group of brutal US military cops, all of whom claim
"intelligence
officers" told them to "soften up" their prisoners for questioning.
Were
they Israeli? Or South African? Or British? Are we going to let the
story go?
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger