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Soldier who denounced abuses in Iraq given psychiatric exam
Tue Mar 8, 2:19 AM ET Politics - AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - An army sergeant was given a psychiatric examination and sent out of Iraq after he reported that members of his counter-intelligence team in Samarra were abusing prisoners, according to army investigation documents.
The case was contained in a new batch of army criminal investigation files released in response to a court order obtained as a result of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Unions.
Other documents detailed investigations into alleged abuses by soldiers, harsh interrogations by special operations forces, shooting deaths of prisoners during a riot, and a death in US custody of a prisonr at Abu Ghraib.
But the sergeant's case was unusual in that his superior officers responded to his allegations that members of his counter-intelligence unit were abusing prisoners by having him examined by a military psychiatrist.
The documents show that the commander of the 223rd military intelligence battalion and his executive officer, who had previously led the counter-intelligence team, met with the psychiatrist after she initially gave the complaining sergeant a clean bill of mental health.
The psychiatrist later told investigators "her chain of command put undue pressure on her which forced her to decide to send the sergeant back to the United States," according to the documents.
The army dropped its investigation into the sergeant's abuse allegations on grounds that victims could not be found "and there is no serious injury and/or substantial loss of government or personal property."
But the outcome of its investigation into unlawful command influence was unclear from the documents.
The sergeant said that soon after being assigned to a four-member counter-intelligence team in Samarra in mid April, 2003 he noticed that his team members' use of force was escalating.
"I noticed more physical contact, striking, hair pulling, being forced in forced air positions," he said, adding that on four occasions he had to intervene medically to revive prisoners.
He said he also observed "staged executions" in which a two other sergeants used M-16 rifles or 9mm pistols.
On one occasion he found team members putting their full weight on a detainees sternum above the heart, he said.
"I stepped out to get a bottle of water for the detainee and came back and (redacted) had the detainee on his knees bent over with his head on the ground, and his arms restrained behind his back with (redacted) knee on his head and (redacted) jerking the detainees arms towards the ceiling," he said in a sworn statement.
The sergeant said he asked to be relieved from the position, and upon returning to his battalion's base at Balad, Iraq asked his company commander to investigate the abuses he witnessed.
Instead, the company commander accused him of lying, and threatened to have him examined by a psychiatrist if he did not withdraw the request in 30 seconds, he said.
When he refused withdraw the request, the company commander confiscated his weapon, withdrew his security clearance, placed him under 24 hour surveillance, and had him examined by the psychiatrist, the sergeant told investigators.
When approached by investigators, the company commander refused to provide a sworn statement, and asked for a lawyer. A first sergeant who was present, however, denied the allegations of unlawful command influence.
In a related development a video made public Monday showed US soldiers apparently abusing at least one wounded prisoner in Iraq and showing disrespect to dead Iraqis as well as Iraqi civilians.
The nearly 27-minute video, dubbed "Ramadi Madness," was made early last year by members of the Florida National Guard who served in Iraq as part of the 124th Infantry Regiment and was investigated by the US military as part of its probe of alleged abuses committed by American troops in Iraq.
Results of the army's investigation of events contained in the video were unveiled by the Pentagon on Friday, with documents showing the military had decided not to bring any charges against the soldiers because they had displayed "inappropriate rather than criminal behavior."
The video itself was not released at the time. But it was obtained by The Palm Beach Post and displayed on its Web site on Monday.
One of the scenes displays a wounded Iraqi detainee held at gunpoint by a US soldier. The Iraqi man is moaning from obvious pain while the soldier looks at the camera and says: "This (expletive) shot at me." He then proceeds to kick the wounded man.
(if that's inappropriate, what the hell is criminal??????)Another detainee is shown shirtless, with "b2-2" scrawled on his back in black marker.
The video shows another captured Iraqi being treated for a head wound while a voice off-screen tells him to "smile for the camera."
In another scene, the camera focused on a line of detainees, their hands tied with plastic handcuffs behind their backs, as an off-screen voice says: "Bad guy, bad guy, bad guy."
The film also shows soldiers of the same unit trying to examine an idled truck during the night. They discover that its Iraqi driver has been shot and killed. One of the soldier moves the driver's hand and says: "Hold on, I'm going to make him say 'Hi.'"
The video contains grisly footage of burned and dismembered bodies on the pavement following a massive explosion. A soldier points to some remains and pokes them with his foot. Some voices, apparently belonging to soldiers who cannot be seen, exclaim, "Oh, that's part of his skull."
US troops are also shown riding through an Iraqi village honking their horn and shouting at Iraqis, "Get out of the way, we're trying to drive here!"
Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the new documents underscore the need for an independent special counsel and congressional hearings to investigate the abuses.
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