| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 2:13 pm Post subject: Hersh: Children sodomized at Abu Ghraib, on tape |
| Subject: Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse ...
> >
> >Salon.com - War 'o4
> >http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html
> >
> >Hersh: Children sodomized at Abu Ghraib, on tape
> >
> >After Donald Rumsfeld testified on the Hill about Abu Ghraib in May,
there
> >was talk of more photos and video in the Pentagon's custody more
horrific
> >than
> >anything made public so far. "If these are released to the public,
obviously
> >it's going to make matters worse," Rumsfeld said. Since then, the
Washington
> >Post has disclosed some new details and images of abuse at the
prison.
But if
> >Seymour Hersh is right, it all gets much worse.
> >
> >Hersh gave a speech last week to the ACLU making the charge that
children
> >were sodomized in front of women in the prison, and the Pentagon has
tape
> >of it.
> >The speech was first reported in a New York Sun story last week,
which
was in
> >turn posted on Jim Romenesko's media blog, and now EdCone.com and
other
blogs
> >are linking to the video. We transcribed the critical section here
(it
starts
> >at about 1:31:00 into the ACLU video.) At the start of the
transcript
here,
> >you can see how Hersh was struggling over what he should say:
> >
> >"Debating about it, ummm ... Some of the worst things that happened
you
don't
> >know about, okay? Videos, um, there are women there. Some of you may
have
> >read that they were passing letters out, communications out to their
men.
> >This is
> >at Abu Ghraib ... The women were passing messages out saying 'Please
come
and
> >kill me, because of what's happened' and basically what happened is
that
> >those women who were arrested with young boys, children in cases
that
have
> >been
> >recorded. The boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling. And the
worst
> >above
> >all of that is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking that your
government
has.
> >They are in total terror. It's going to come out."
> >
> >"It's impossible to say to yourself how did we get there? Who are
we? Who
are
> >these people that sent us there? When I did My Lai I was very
troubled
like
> >anybody in his right mind would be about what happened. I ended up
in
> >something
> >I wrote saying in the end I said that the people who did the killing
were
as
> >much victims as the people they killed because of the scars they
had, I
can
> >tell you some of the personal stories by some of the people who were
in
these
> >units witnessed this. I can also tell you written complaints were
made to
the
> >highest officers and so we're dealing with a enormous massive amount
of
> >criminal
> >wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there and
higher,
> >and we have to get to it and we will. We will. You know there's
enough
out
> >there, they can't (Applause). .... So it's going to be an
interesting
> >election
> >year."
> >
> >Notes from a similar speech Hersh gave in Chicago in June were
posted on
Brad
> >DeLong's blog. Rick Pearlstein, who watched the speech, wrote:
"[Hersh]
said
> >that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork
to
tell
> >him this stuff. He said he had seen all the Abu Ghraib pictures. He
said,
> >'You
> >haven't begun to see evil...' then trailed off. He said, 'horrible
things
> >done
> >to children of women prisoners, as the cameras run.' He looked
frightened."
> >
> >So, there are several questions here: Has Hersh actually seen the
video
he
> >described to the ACLU, and why hasn't he written about it yet? Will
he be
> >forced
> >to elaborate in more public venues now that these two speeches are
getting so
> >much attention, at least in the blogosphere? And who else has seen
the
video,
> >if it exists -- will journalists see and report on it? did senators
see
these
> >images when they had their closed-door sessions with the Abu Ghraib
evidence?
> >-- and what is being done about it? | |  | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
