In This Issue:
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Rumsfeld
Authorized Abuse |
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Bush's Stance on
Geneva Conventions led to Torture |
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Head of
Governing Council Killed; Bush Asks for $25 Billion |
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EPIC Condemns
Murder of U.S. Captive |
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Mosques Hit in
Najaf and Karbala |
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Red Cross
Reports Up to 90% Arrested by Mistake |
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Iraqi Women
Raped, Abused by U.S. soldiers |
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TAKE ACTION:
Investigate Rumsfeld |
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Featured Links:
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Rumsfeld Authorized Abuse
Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker reports that Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld authorized a secret program that allowed interrogation
practices that may have led to the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.
According to Hersh’s sources in the intelligence community, this
included treating the prisoners harshly and subjecting them to sexual
humiliation. And the use of photographs may have been for blackmailing
prisoners into cooperating as informants.
The Pentagon calls the story "outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled
with error and anonymous conjecture." Lawmakers say they will pursue
the growing scandal as high as it goes. EPIC demands a full
investigation mandated by Congress.
Read the full investigative report by Seymour Hersh:
Bush's Stance
on Geneva Conventions led to Torture
According to a NEWSWEEK investigative report, President Bush, along
with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft,
signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that
opened the door to the use of methods that contravene international law
and violate a 1996 U.S. law that bars "any grave breach" of the Geneva
Conventions.
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales wrote a January 2002 decision
memorandum for President Bush establishing the administration’s “no
Geneva convention” application. In the memo, he describes the Geneva
Conventions as “quaint” and “obsolete.”
Secretary of State Powell strongly objected to the Gonzales memo,
warning that the proposed anti-Geneva Convention declaration "will
reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice" and would have "a
high cost in terms of negative international reaction."
This led the White House to partially back down, announcing on February
7, 2002 that the United States would indeed apply the Geneva
Conventions to the Afghan war—but that Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners
were “unlawful” combatants without rights and therefore not afforded
prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Conventions.
Now there is evidence that these loose rules were extended to prisoners
in Iraq, creating the conditions that allowed gross human rights abuses
at Abu Ghraib.
Read “The Roots of Torture” a NEWSWEEK investigation by John Barry,
Michael Hirsh and Michael Isikoff:
Head of
Governing Council Killed; Bush Asks for $25 Billion
The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed today
by a suicide car bomber in Baghdad. Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as
Izzadine Saleem, was the second and highest-ranking member of the
U.S.-appointed council to be assassinated. Saleem was a Shiite and a
leader of the Islamic Dawa Movement in the southern city of Basra.
Aquila al-Hashimi, another Shiite and one of three women on the
25-member body, was mortally wounded in September. Nine other Iraqis,
including the bomber were killed in today’s blast (AP 5/17/04).
The assassination is the latest blow to the planned June 30th "transfer
of power." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B.
Myers, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that he expected an increase in
violence between now and the handover of sovereignty (NY Times
5/13/04).
On the transfer of authority, Mr. Rumsfeld told Senators: "Will it
happen right on time? I think so. I hope so. Will it be perfect? No ...
Is it possible it won't work? Yes" (NY Times 5/13/04).
The Bush administration’s $25 billion funding request for war and
nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan will push next year’s total
beyond $50 billion, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told
Congress on Thursday (AP 5/13/04). Unfair awarding of contracts,
overbidding, corruption and careless spending have plagued the
Pentagon’s management of funds thus far.
According to the Iraq Revenue Watch, any new UN Security Council
resolution should assert the right of the Iraqi people to manage their
own natural resources throughout the duration of the Iraqi Transitional
Authority. It must also transfer control of the Development Fund for
Iraq from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the interim government.
Read more: Bush Supporters are Split on Iraq Plan
EPIC Condemns
Murder of U.S. Captive
On Friday, 450 friends and family gathered to eulogize 26-year-old
Nicholas Berg of Philadelphia, a unique and enterprising communications
entrepreneur. According to his father, Michael, he had traveled to Iraq
to “help build, rather than destroy.” Earlier this month, he was
brutally decapitated by extremists.
EPIC condemns the killing of Nicholas Berg, who was a friend of Iraq.
EPIC does not believe the individual filmed as carrying out the
execution was Iraqi, given the man’s accent and actions. Intelligence
officials say the beheading was most likely carried out by Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with ties to Al Qaeda.
Scholars from Al-Azhar, the world's highest Sunni religious authority,
have unequivocally condemned the killing, saying that Islam stands
against such acts. Militant groups like Hizbollah have also denounced
the execution. According to the Qur’an, followers are to “treat the
prisoners of war kindly.” Such teachings form the foundation and
inspiration of the Geneva Conventions.
For more about What Islam Says About Prisoners, go to:
Mosques Hit in
Najaf and Karbala
Fighting in the holy city of Karbala continued over the weekend
prompting Shiite religious authorities to formally close the shrines of
Imam Husain and his half-brother Abu'l-Fadl Abbas to pilgrims - a rare
procedure that has not been implemented for decades (juancole.com).
Last week on Wednesday, U.S. tanks, helicopters and jets attacked
fighters in Karbala, partially destroying the historic Mukhayyam Mosque
and setting seven hotels ablaze. Twenty-two militants were killed (AP
5/12/04).
In Najaf on Friday the golden dome of the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of
the most sacred sites for Shiite Muslims, was hit by what appeared to
be machine gun fire, resulting in four holes, each about 12 inches by 8
inches (MSNBC 5/14/04). The damage occurred as American tanks backed by
helicopters entered into the center of the holy city and shelled
militia positions (MSNBC 5/14/04). At least seven U.S. tanks thrust
deep into the cemetery which surrounds the city. The cemetery,
considered the largest in the world, is where several million Shiites,
including prominent historical and religious leaders, are buried.
The conflicts in the holy cities of Najaf, Karbala and Kufa between
U.S. soldiers and militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
have been going on for several weeks. An aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric, had
urged U.S. forces and al-Sadr fighters to leave Najaf (MSNBC 5/14/04).
For up to date news and analysis, go to:
Red Cross
Reports Up to 90% Arrested by Mistake
The Wall Street Journal published a confidential 24-page Red Cross
report that describes a pattern of excessive force used by U.S.
soldiers. The Red Cross wrote that "ill-treatment during capture was
frequent" and that it often included "pushing people around, insulting,
taking aim with rifles, punching and kicking and striking with rifles."
Those tactics, which "seemed to reflect a usual modus operandi," the
Red Cross report says, “appeared to go beyond the reasonable,
legitimate and proportional use of force required to apprehend suspects
or restrain persons resisting arrest or capture." (Washington Post
5/11/04)
In addition, the report noted that some military intelligence officers
estimated that 70 percent to 90 percent of "the persons deprived of
their liberty in Iraq had been arrested by mistake." Of the 43,000
Iraqis who have been imprisoned at some point during the occupation,
only about 600 have been referred to Iraqi authorities for prosecution,
according to U.S. officials (Washington Post 5/11/04).
The Red Cross study concludes that the arrest and detention practices
employed by U.S.-led forces in Iraq "are prohibited under International
Humanitarian Law." "We were dealing here with a broad pattern, not
individual acts. There was a pattern and a system," according to ICRC
director of operations, Pierre Kraehenbueh (BBC 5/8/04).
Click here for the full report (large PDF file)
Iraqi Women
Raped, Abused by U.S. soldiers
Although the focus of the prison abuse has rested mainly on Iraqi men
who make up the majority of U.S. detainees in Iraq, there is evidence
that women have been raped, humiliated and sexually assaulted while
held by U.S. forces in Iraq. According to the New Yorker magazine the
photos and videos so far unreleased by the Pentagon show American
soldiers "having sex with a female Iraqi prisoner", and a secret report
by General Antonio Taguba into the scandal confirms that US guards
videotaped and photographed naked female prisoners and that "a male MP
[military police] guard" is shown "having sex with a female detainee".
Other allegations being investigated are that a 12- or 13-year-old girl
had been stripped naked in the block and paraded in front of male
inmates (Guardian 5/12/04).
Rape, a crime against any woman, holds particular danger in Islamic
culture where the victim faces denial, ostracism or even death. Honor
killings, where women are murdered in an attempt to erase the stain of
her rape from the family’s honor, are not uncommon.
Read more: A Double Ordeal for Female Prisoners from the LA Times
TAKE ACTION:
Investigate Rumsfeld
During his visit to the Pentagon to view more photographs of U.S.
soldiers mistreating Iraqi prisoners last Monday, President Bush
praised Mr. Rumsfeld for doing “a superb job” and said the U.S. owed
him "a debt of gratitude." The President’s remarks were greeted by
shock and anger throughout the Arab and Muslim world (Reuters 5/10/04).
That same day, the Senate passed a forceful resolution condemning the
abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, recommending strong
oversight by Senate committees, and urging a full and complete
investigation to ensure justice is served. The Senate also apologized
“for the humiliation suffered by the prisoners in Iraq and their
families.”
The House of Representatives, on the other hand, passed a scandalously
weak resolution on May 6 deploring the “alleged” crimes of “a handful
of individuals.” The resolution (H.Res.627) failed to offer an apology,
mention international law, or provide for immediate, strong
Congressional oversight.
LET YOUR REPRESENTATIVE KNOW YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT WITH THE WEAK
RESOLUTION.
The editors of the Army Times write, “This was not just a failure of
leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran
straight to the top. Accountability here is essential - even if that
means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war” (5/10/04).
Rumsfeld himself has stated before Congress that “if I felt I could not
be effective, I'd resign in a minute” (AP 5/7/04). That may indeed be
required. Conservative commentator George Will writes: "The response by
the nation's government must express horror, shame and contrition
proportional to the evil done to others, and the harm done to the
nation, by agents of the government (Washington Post 5/11/04)."
EPIC strongly agrees. The President and Congress must take action
proportionate to the evil done at Abu Ghraib and the damage done to
America’s standing in the world. Call your Members of Congress via the
Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or 224-3121.
URGE CONGRESS and the BUSH ADMINSTRATION to:
1. LAUNCH a FULL and PUBLIC INVESTIGATION into ALL ALLEGATIONS of ABUSE
and TORTURE. Tell your Members of Congress that you expect far better
congressional oversight, including a congressionally-mandated
investigation. All those responsible for the policies, judgments,
actions, and inaction that allowed these abuses to occur must be held
accountable.
2. PROVIDE the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE for the RED CROSS FULL and
UNIMPEDED ACCESS to all detainees in U.S. custody. President Bush must
end his administration's contempt for international law, and publicly
state that the U.S. is bound to the Geneva Conventions and the
Convention on Torture.
3. SUPPORT LEGISLATION that PROVIDES RESTITUTION to the VICTIMS of ABU
GHRAIB and destroy the prison.
4. WORK to END OFFENSIVE MILITARY OPERATIONS in IRAQ. Tell your
representatives that you strongly believe the U.S. can no longer pursue
a military solution to the crisis in Iraq.
5. DEMAND an END to U.S. CONTROL of IRAQ. The U.S. should turn over
political responsibility for Iraq’s transition to the UN, acting
through an appropriately empowered Special Representative. The U.S.
must also seek the assistance of allies to convene an international
conference chaired by Secretary General Kofi Annan to develop a viable
plan for restoring security and preparing the country for free and fair
elections.
Please call your Members of Congress today via the Capitol switchboard
at (202) 225-3121 or 224-3121.
Tell us what actions you took to defend human rights in Iraq and
reverse the evils done at Abu Ghraib:
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