ARCHIE LEVINE's LOOK AT WINNING IRAQI HEARTS AND MINDS

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Do you support even these troops?
How to win the hearts and minds of a recently liberated people...

(updated February 10th, 2005)

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"Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?"
--Guy Womack, Charles Graner's court-martial attorney.

"...War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, I was just following orders."
-- George Bush in his address to the nation, March 17, 2003.
Appearently referring only to Iraqi's attempting this defense,
not American Soldiers.

The View From the Top: Torture as Policy?

A Path Paved with Bad Intentions, by Joshua L. Dratel, AlterNet, February 7, 2005
The message that the torture memos convey is unmistakable: these policy makers do not like our system of justice, with its checks and balances, that they have been sworn to uphold.
The Ethics of War: Is the US Military Guilty of War Crimes in Iraq?, by Jeremy Iggers, Star Tribune, February 6, 2005
Dearth of Human Rights, Wealth of Human Tragedy, by Marc Krug, Intervention Magazine, February 1, 2005
First Saddam Hussein, then George Bush, now US created Prime Minister Alyad Allawi ordered Iraqi prisoners tortured. What is the difference between Iraq and America?
Security Nominee Gave Advice to the C.I.A. on Torture Laws, by David Johnston, Neil A. Lewis and Douglas Jehl, New York Times, January 29, 2005
Federal Judge: Abuses "Reasonably Foreseeable" (Abu Ghraib Result of Bush / Gonzales Decision to Ignore Geneva Conventions), by Jennifer Van Bergen, CounterPunch, January 18, 2005
Higher Officials Unlikely to Be Tried, by Jonathan Peterson, LA Times, January 16th, 2005
The Torture Memo By Judge Jay S. Bybee That Haunted Alberto Gonzales's Confirmation Hearings, by John W. Dean, FindLaw, Jan. 14, 2005
Soldier serves as scapegoat in Iraq prison scandal while higher-ups duck responsibility, by Peter Maguire, New York Newsday, January 13, 2005
US 'erodes' global human rights: A leading human rights group has criticised the US over the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, BBC, January 13, 2005
White House Fought New Curbs on Interrogations, Officials Say, by Douglas Jehl and David Johnston, New York Times, January 13, 2005
At the urging of the White House, Congressional leaders scrapped a legislative measure last month that would have imposed new restrictions on the use of extreme interrogation measures by American intelligence officers, Congressional officials say.
The Torture Myth, by Anne Applebaum, Washington Post, January 12, 2005
Will the U.S. Senate Endorse Torture?, by Ivan Eland, Independent Institute, January 10, 2005
SCHUMER'S GONZALES PRAISE SICKENS, by Bill Gallagher, Niagara Falls Reporter, Jan. 11 2005
Targeting Congress on Torture: Making the Bush team responsible for international crimes against detainees, by Nat Hentoff, Village Voice, January 7th, 2005
Washington failed to reject torture in 'war on terror': U.S. skirting Geneva Conventions in Iraq Daily Star, October 27, 2004
U.S. Action Bars Right of Some Captured in Iraq, by Douglas Jehl, New York Times, October 26, 2004
The CIA's Disappeared, Washington Post, October 26, 2004
Mr. Kerry on Prisoners, Washington Post, October 20, 2004
Last week we questioned whether there was a difference between President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry on the crucial question of U.S. policy for handling prisoners captured abroad.
Rewarding Bad Behavior: Months after Abu Ghraib, senior officers implicated are in line for promotions, and the House is pushing to legitimize torture. By Deborah Pearlstein, The American Prospect, 10.19.04
Should we outsource torture? By Nat Hentoff, Cheboygan Daily Tribune, October 18, 2004
Prisoners who disappear, by Reed Brody, International Herald Tribune, October 12, 2004
"In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has violated the most basic legal norms in its treatment of security detainees."
Blood on Our Hands: Despite a last-minute hesitation by the Bush administration, the House may still take up provisions that would allow U.S. officials to ship terror suspects to countries that permit torture. LA Times, October 6, 2004
Bush's Crimes: Impeach the president? Yes. A well-documented case ties him to Abu Ghraib. By Bob Norman, New Times, September 30, 2004
A new Iraqi scandal, San Francisco Chronicle, September 13, 2004
How Torture Came Down From the Top, by Jackson Diehl, Washington Times, August 27, 2004
No Smoking Gun, by Dahlia Lithwick, New York Times, August 26, 2004
Blame extends to top for faulty war execution: While reports this week score mid-tier officers for Abu Ghraib abuses, they also reprove higher-ups for handling of insurgency. By Peter Grier and Faye Bowers, Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 2004
U.S.: Prison Abuse Panel Doesn’t Go Far Enough: Independent 9/11-style Commission Needed, Human Rights Watch, August 24, 2004

"The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example."
--Geroge Bush, June 26, 2003

Abuses in Afghanistan

28 U.S. Troops Implicated in Afghan Abuse, Reuters, Oct 14, 2004
U.S. Probing Alleged Abuse of Afghans: Inquiry focuses on an 18-year-old soldier who died while in American custody. He and seven other prisoners were tortured, witnesses say. By Craig Pyes and Mark Mazzetti, LA Times, September 21, 2004
Soldiers of Fortune -- at What Price?, by Jonathan Turley, LA Times, September 16, 2004
"There has never been a national debate on the use of mercenaries or on the rules governing their conduct. And, if some powerful forces in Washington have their way, there never will be."
U.S. Implicated in Taliban Massacre, Project Censored
A documentary entitled Massacre at Mazar released in 2002 by Scottish film producer, Jamie Doran, implicates U.S. troops in the torturing and deaths of approximately 3,000 men from Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Baghdad's Abu Ghraib and other Prison Abuses in Iraq

Painful truths at Abu Ghraib, SMH.com.au [Australia], January 18, 2005
Many Iraqis Say Graner Abuse Sentence Too Lenient, Reuters, Jan 16, 2005
Abu Ghraib abuse firms are rewarded: As prison ringleader awaits sentence, defence contractors win multi-million Pentagon contracts, by Peter Beaumont, The Observer [UK], January 16, 2005
Atrocities in Plain Sight, by Andrew Sullivan, New York Times, January 13, 2005
Soldiers Testify on Orders to Soften Prisoners in Iraq, by Kate Nernike, New York Times, January 13, 2005
Inmate calls Graner 'primary torturer' at Abu Ghraib, By Gail Gibson, Newsday, January 12, 2005
Iraqi Victim Says U.S. Torture Worse Than Saddam, Reuters, Jan 11, 2005
Iraqi abuse was like act of "cheerleaders" By Adam Tanner for Reuters, Jan 11, 2005
Mixed Reaction Among Iraqis Following US Sergeant's Sentencing for Prisoner Abuse, by Greg LaMotte, Voice of America, 22 October 2004
U.S. Soldier Sentenced to 8 Years for Prison Abuse, by Terry Friel, Reuters, Oct 21, 2004
Witness says CIA oversaw abuse at Abu Ghraib, by Terry Friel, Reuters, October 21, 2004
4-Star Plans After Abu Ghraib: Top administration figures are angling to promote Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who ran detention facilities in Iraq, officials say. By John Hendren, LA Times, October 15, 2004
Remember Abu Ghraib? Washington Post, October 15, 2004
US soldier faces Iraq abuse trial: A woman soldier accused of abusing soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is to face a court martial in January, the US army has said. BBC News, September 27, 2004
Torture and Rape Rampant in Iraq Prisons, by Lisa Ashkenaz Croke, The New Standard, September 24, 2004
Abu Ghraib: The Hidden Story, by Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, October 7, 2004
Widespread Torture of Iraqi Prisoners Feared as Reports Emerge of Prisoner Abuse By U.S. In Mosul, Democracy Now, September 20th, 2004
Refusing to Whitewash Abu Ghraib, by Jackson Diehl, Washington Post, September 13, 2004
New Book Says Bush Officials Were Told of Detainee Abuse, by John H. Cushman Jr., New York Times, September 12, 2004
US soldier jailed for Iraq abuses: A US court martial in Baghdad has sentenced a soldier to eight months in jail for maltreating and conspiring to maltreat Iraqi detainees. BBC News, September 11th, 2004
No Accountability on Abu Ghraib, New York Times, September 10, 2004
A Failed Investigation, Washington Post, September 10, 2004
"...congressional hearings yesterday confirmed two glaring gaps in the Bush administration's response to hundreds of cases of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Army Says C.I.A. Hid More Iraqis Than It Claimed, by Eric Schmitt, and Douglas Jehl, New York Times, September 10, 2004
Beyond The Roots Of Abu Ghraib, by Steve Andreasen, Washington Post, September 7, 2004
Reports in, US must act on Abu Ghraib, by Daniel Schorr, Christian Science Monitor, September 3, 2004
Military Must Squarely Face New 'My Lai': Abu Ghraib scandal is a test of values for the U.S. officer corps, By Andrew J. Bacevich, LA Times, August 31, 2004
England pretrial hearing ends, more charges recommended, By Allen G. Breed, ASSOCIATED PRESS August 31, 2004
Rumsfeld Denies Abuses Occurred at Interrogations, by Eric Schmitt, New York Times, August 28, 2004
EDITORIAL: Path of Arrogance in Iraq, LA Times, August 27, 2004
Abu Ghraib abuses: America's problem, The Guardian, August 27, 2004
Holding the Pentagon Accountable: For Abu Ghraib, New York Times, August 26, 2004
General Says U.S. Forces Tortured Iraqis in Jail, Reuters, Aug 25, 2004
Judge in Abu Ghraib Case Might Offer Deal to Senior Officers, by Richard Bernstein, New York Times, August 24, 2004
Rumsfeld awaits Abu Ghraib report, BBC, 24 August, 2004
Defense Leaders Faulted by Panel in Prison Abuse, by Eric Schmitt, New York Times, August 24, 2004
Judge in Abu Ghraib abuse hearing refuses to bar laptop evidence, move trial out of Iraq , by Associated Press, 8/23/2004
Soldier seeks to suppress Iraq abuse photos, by Philip Blenkinsop, Reuters, August 23, 2004
Afghanistan probe implicated Abu Ghraib interrogators, by Elise Ackerman, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Aug. 20, 2004
Abu Ghraib Probe Points to Top Brass, by Josh White and Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, August 20, 2004
Pentagon Widens Blame for Abu Ghraib Abuse, NPR, August 19. 2004
Abu Ghraib lawyers want Cheney on stand: Hearing for England adjourns indefinitely, CNN, August 7, 2004
Abuse 'shocked' MP commander, by Jay Price, News Observer, August 7, 2004
Witness: Abu Ghraib abuse went on 'all the time': Hearing continues for accused U.S. soldier, CNN, August 5, 2004
Abuse suspect flouted orders: Boss says trysts hurt soldier's work called drag on soldier's work, by Jay Price, New Observer, August 5th, 2004
Witness testifies about soldier's trysts:, Behavior was harming her work, he says, by Elise Ackerman, KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS, August 5, 2004
Iraq: In Prison Abuse Hearing, U.S. Guards Accused Of Doing It 'Just For Fun', by Jeffrey Donovan, Radio Free Europe, August 4, 2004
Hearing Set for U.S. Soldier in Iraq Abuse Photos, by Jim Loney, Reuters, Aug 1, 2004
Iraq's Child Prisoners, By Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald, August 1st, 2004
A Sunday Herald investigation has discovered that coalition forces are holding more than 100 children in jails such as Abu Ghraib. Witnesses claim that the detainees – some as young as 10 – are also being subjected to rape and torture
Revealed: coalition forces imprison Iraqi children, By Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald, August 1st, 2004
The death of Iraqi prisoner No. 0310337 by Associated Press, July 31, 2004
The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos, More from the Washington Post, June 11th, 2004
Memo said Bush could OK torture of prisoners, By NEIL A. LEWIS and ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, June 8. 2004
Photos of Iraqis Being Abused by US Personnel TheMemoryHole.org, updated 21 May 2004
Brutal interrogation in Iraq: Five detainees' deaths probed, by Miles Moffeit, Denver Post Staff Writer, May 19, 2004
Report: 70%-90% held in error in Iraq, by Alexander G. Higgins, AP, May 11, 2004. "It was unclear what the Red Cross meant by "mistake." However, many Iraqis over the past year have claimed they were arrested by American forces because of misunderstandings, bogus claims by personal enemies, mistaken identity or simply for having been at the wrong place at the wrong time."
TORTURE AT ABU GHRAIB American soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go? By SEYMOUR M. HERSH, The New Yorker, Issue of 2004-05-10

Gitmo: Chronology of Guantanamo Bay detainees

Guantanamo under law, Boston Globe, February 1, 2005
THE BUSH administration created the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as its version of Devil's Island, where jailers' edicts would prevail in place of civil law. A federal district judge took a sledgehammer to this imprisonment yesterday by declaring that the rights of 11 inmates were being abridged in violation of the US Constitution.
Saying nothing is torture in itself, by Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, January 30, 2005
Torture Chicks Gone Wild, by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, January 30, 2005
US expected to free remaining Guantanamo Brits, The Scotsman, January 12, 2005
U.S. military details 8 Guantanamo abuse cases But human rights monitors say more unreleased information exists, Associated Press, November 5, 2004
To Bush, courts don't matter, by Robyn E. Blumner, St. Petersburg Times, October 31, 2004
Guantanamo Stonewall, LA Times, October 30, 2004
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 600 foreign terror suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base were entitled to lawyers and the chance to challenge their imprisonment. But in the months since, Pentagon and Justice Department officials have simply acted as if the high court's decision didn't exist, blocking efforts by detainees to meet with their lawyers and insisting on onerous conditions for those meetings.
Broad Use of Harsh Tactics Is Described at Cuba Base, by Neil A. Lewis, new York Times, October 17, 2004
The Spies Who Weren't: Much has been made about the military's treatment of foreign detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba -- and rightly so., Washington Post, October 6, 2004; Page A26
Letter from Guantanamo: British Detainee Says He Was Subjected to Torture, Witnessed U.S. Soldiers Commit Murder, Democracy Now, October 5th, 2004
The real truth about Camp Delta: America's prison camp at Guantánamo Bay holds detainees in extreme conditions. But David Rose, in this extract from his remarkable new book, says the intelligence gathered has failed to stop any terror attacks. The Observer, October 3, 2004
Guantanamo has 'failed to prevent terror attacks', by Martin Bright, The Observer, October 3, 2004
Two Years Too Late, Washington Post, September 13, 2004
Improperly classified detainee to be released: No compensation expected for Guantanamo prisoner, MSNBC News Services, September 8, 2004
Guantanamo Farce, LA Times, September 2nd, 2004
US abuse could be war crime: Red Cross says Tipton Three may have case, by Vikram Dodd and Tania Branigan for The Guardian, August 5, 2004
New abuse claims intensify calls for formal Guantanamo Bay investigation, Alexandra Kirk, The World Today, 5 August , 2004
3 Former British Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Allege Abuse by US Guards, VOA News, 04 Aug 2004
Shocking prisoner abuses are revealed, by Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Nigel Morris, The Independent, 04 August 2004
Human Rights Watch Criticizes Guantanamo Bay Tribunals, VOA News, 27 Jul 2004
Swede reignites Guantanamo Bay torture fears, ABC News, July 14th, 2004

Occupation is Hard...Omlettes and Broken Eggs, and all that....

America's Death Squads: They're murdering innocents in Iraq, by Justin Raimondo, AntiWar.com, January 10, 2005
Targeting Civilians in Fallujah: "Please, Dude, Can I Take Them Out?" By Jeffrey St. Clair, Counterpunch, October 6, 2004
Two More U.S. Soldiers Charged with Murder in Iraq, Reuters, Mon Sep 27, 2004
Cover-Up of Iraq Bridge Incident Admitted, Cover-Up of Iraq Bridge Incident Admitted, by Robert Weller, AP, July 31, 2004
Commanders Get Immunity in Iraq Case , by Robert Weller, AP, July 30, 2004
US Forces Make Iraqis Strip and Walk Naked in Public, 25 April 2003

Passing Information to America's Enemies

At court-martial, experts debate value of data, by Ray Rivera, Seattle Times, September 1st, 2004

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Do you support even these troops?How to win the hearts and minds of a recently liberated people...

"Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?" --Guy Womack, Charles Graner's court-martial attorney.

"...War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, I was just following orders."-- George Bush in his address to the nation, March 17, 2003.Appearently referring only to Iraqi's attempting this defense, not American Soldiers.