E&P: Revealed: U.S. Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003345862

The true stories of how American troops, killed in Iraq, actually died keep spilling out this week. On Tuesday, we explored the case of Kenny Stanton, Jr., murdered last month by our allies, the Iraqi police, though the military didn’t make that known at the time. Now we learn that one of the first female soldiers killed in Iraq died by her own hand after objecting to interrogation techniques used on prisoners.

She was Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Az., native serving with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal-Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a “non-hostile weapons discharge.”

She was only the third American woman killed in Iraq so her death drew wide press attention. A “non-hostile weapons discharge” leading to death is not unusual in Iraq, often quite accidental, so this one apparently raised few eyebrows. The Arizona Republic, three days after her death, reported that Army officials “said that a number of possible scenarios are being considered, including Peterson's own weapon discharging, the weapon of another soldier discharging or the accidental shooting of Peterson by an Iraqi civilian.”

But in this case, a longtime radio and newspaper reporter named Kevin Elston decided to probe deeper and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the government. When the documents of the official investigation of her death arrived, they contained bombshell revelations. Here’s what the Flagstaff public radio station, KNAU, where Elston now works, reported yesterday:

“Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed….”

[fooj]

1. OMG.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[olshak]

43. Simply put,

this is horrifying.

[twaddler01]

69. My first response...

You've got to be kidding me....

[Land Shark]

98. this link, up since 5-30-06 says Peterson's family thinks its assassination

From paragraph 4 of this link: <http://www.adelaideinstitute.org/Dissenters1/Toben/toben_may7.htm>

"Apparently, Spec. Peterson resisted the orders to brutalize, humiliate and torture incarceration/interrogation apparatus inmates. That's what I infer from the official report, parrotted by the media (of course), which is that this fine soldier died of a "non-combat weapons discharge" to the head. This story has been gently pushed up to a "suicide" story since. Her family believes it was simple assassination, and they contacted me in 2004 because of my connection with the David Kelly assassination (and investigation). Have a look for her case for yourself:

<http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special19/articles/0918iraqcasualty18.html>"

The azcentral link itself shows the family has no comment, but the source above is stating a comment was made directly to the author of the above. Any other sources here?

[saigon68]

2. Can you say "PAT TILLMAN"

[RamboLiberal]

3. You have to wonder if she was executed

so she wouldn't be a whistleblower. I've always wondered if Tillman might not have been as well for his views and his gung-ho attitude. There's a helluva lot of Freeper types in the military. I don't completely buy that Army Rangers didn't know who they were shooting at.

[elehhhhna]

9. but but but "SHE VOLUNTEERED!"

[Katzenjammer]

10. That would be my guess. People who are ready to commit atrocities usually

don't have very active consciences.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. No one else may say it, but here goes:

This administration has shown a complete disregard for legal, ethical or moral limits. Why would anybody be surprised to discover that our own soldiers were executed for not following Draconian orders?

[Tight_rope]

85. I completely agree with you...This thing stinks to high heaven.

:cry:

[midnight]

101. That's what I was going to say.

[EFerrari]

28. Someone with the sand to refuse to torture wouldn't

the next minute off THEMSELVES. That makes no sense emotionally. I agree with you, RL.

[hunter]

80. "non-hostile weapons discharge" = one of our weapons.

Murder or "assisted" suicide, both crimes against humanity are equally heinous.

It really doesn't matter if she was killed by someone else, or killed herself, in either case she is equally the victim of this mal-administration.

I pray for justice.

There will be no place to hide, George W. Bush. The truth will destroy you.

[EFerrari]

82. Doesn't "non hostile weapons discharge" translate to

the equally obfuscating "friendly fire"?

They offed her, imo.

[femrap]

89. MURDER.

She was murdered.

Why people are buying this crap about a young women killing herself is just shit. Fucking shit.

[Land Shark]

109. either way, the horrors of torture caused/led to her death

both scenarios send a very strong message, is all i'm saying...

[Auntie Bush]

96. "There will be no place to hide," Isn't that why he bought

all that land in Uruguay? He sure ain't planning on sticking around here...he'd be lunched in a nano second.

[ThomCat]

36. That was my first thought too.

x(

[MGD]

68. My first thougt as well. Killing becomes easier the more you do it.

or so I have heard.

[partylessinOhio]

4. The soldier's tales once revealed will finish off Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld

and Condo'ho'. Let the soldiers speak.

[adigal]

5. C'mon, stay with the important things - McCain says Kerry

should apologize. And that we don't torture. And that the war is a good thing. And that we need more troops. Who are we to doubt him? (major snark alert)

[MADem]

62. What's this "more troops" nonsense? The generals wuz in hiz office

an' they dint say nuthin' bout needin' more troops...if-n they say so, wha, they'll gitim!!!!!

Oh, and of COURSE that young lady killed herself. And I've just won the NOBEL Prize!!!!

[hobbit709]

6. Put the whole administration

in orange jumpsuits, shackle them together and ship them to The Hague.

[geardaddy]

53. The Hague is too good for them.

Sure, they can be tried at the Hague, but then they should be "rendered" somewhere where they won't see the light of day again ever.

[AndyTiedye]

63. The Hague is the Right Place for Them

They will receive fair trials, and be humanely treated in prison.
To restore justice and the rule of law is more important
than giving them a dose of their own medicine.

[geardaddy]

72. You're right, but...

Sometimes the vengeful side of me comes out.

[MadMaddie]

84. Remember the Hague meted out Justice to the Nazi's by

penalties of Hanging.....so this is a fitting justice....

[NBachers]

90. The Clock Strikes Twelve

Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls!

[Zhade]

97. Agreed. We're far better than them. We're not psychotic.

NT!

[Tight_rope]

86. They are not good enough for The Hague...I say sink that ship!

[elehhhhna]

7. Women. Sheesh.

:sarcasm:

[Sabriel]

8. K&R for a mysterious, tragic story

Let's hope someone can dig deep and find out what happened. And I'm so sorry that this incident sends a message to others like Alyssa.

[Richard D]

11. What kind . . .

. . . of horrors does a person have to see to be so wounded as to kill themselves to blot out the memory?

[jobycom]

16. Jesus, no kidding. Reminds me of Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness"

Bad people become monsters, good people cannot handle the evil. Contrast this to the stories of atrocities committed by our troops when they got bored, and their constant conditioning to think of the people over there as objects in their way finally took hold.

There is no Hell hot enough for Bush or his enablers.

[civildisoBDence]

58. Amen. Reminds me also of "Apocalypse Now".

When reality mirrors two works like those, we sure are living in interesting times.

Newsprism

[OnyxCollie]

75. Apocalypse Now was based on Heart of Darkness.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmaker's Apocalypse is the title of the documentary about Apocalypse Now. It's very good, btw.

[lala_rawraw]

103. the horror, the horror

This is the modernist horror of reality.

[Bhaisahab]

100. here's a picture of this heroine

rest in peace, babe. you rock!

[SPKrazy]

123. Couldn't See The Pic

but this is the horror of our times!

[w4rma]

12. "Suicided"? (nt)

[gratuitous]

13. "All records of those techniques have been destroyed"

But instead of coverage of this story, we get playground taunting that someone called someone else stupid and should apologize because someone else is indeed stupid.

It took Peterson two sessions to decide that this is not the military she signed up for. Whether she died by her own hand or at the hands of the folks who were just fine with what was going on in "the cage," it's apparent that after a very short time in Iraq, about the only people left to do prisoner interrogation were the ones with a taste for torture.

And I'm supposed to support these sadists? I rather think not.

[calimary]

33. Yes. Isn't THAT convenient.

But we gotta press on with the war on terr. And we HAVE to stay the course. Even though we never said that.

[okieinpain]

35. very well said. thank you. n/t

[ThomCat]

37. Exactly. Isn't that an admission that they destroyed evidence?

x(

[Supersedeas]

15. The RECORDS have been destroyed and this is no National News!!!!

[Disturbed]

17. Who ordered those records to be destroyed?

Will the Military be allowed once again to investigate itself?

[Tigress DEM]

71. Good question.

Well, who else?

[DrunkenMaster]

18. such a sad story

This young woman...my heart goes out to her and her family. She is a victim of this criminal war just as much as the tortured Iraqis.

[The Stranger]

19. Meanwhile, the lying, whoring, torturing, hate-mongering GOP attacks Kerry.

How did we ever, ever get to this point?

[SaneInSC]

27. The Citizens don't know the truth

Shows how important a free and independent media is. I'm sure that if the people knew the actual facts, this wouldn't be happening. We may disagree on many little things, but in general we used to have a shared vision.."American Dream' or something like that.

A bought and paid for, corrupted media is absolutely essential to their plans; an absolutely independent(de-centralized) and truthful media is essential for a democracy. This one thing could/would change things around.

Evil greedy "Lex Luthor' types have seemingly always been around and then defeated after being found out. Problem is now the citizens by and large, aren't finding these things out and are actually being fed opposite information. Super.

So much work to do.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. Too bad she didn't hang in there --

everything she objected to is now officially legal, which makes it all right.

[Tin Man]

21. massive K&R for an important story

Thanks for posting this.

[JudyM]

22. K&R in her memory. Sounds like she was a tortured soul, herself. nt

[Jacobin]

23. What a horrid choice to have to make

The neo-cons did this to her and are doing this to our troops and god knows what to the Iraqis.

[flyarm]

24. and all we hear from the librul media is Kerry 24/7..this should be

#3 news after Bagdad under siege..and people running out of food and for weeks eating watermelon and bread..and 1000 iraqi's dying weekly...and saudi government saying war is lost..Iraq is lost..

and this...

now who owes an appology??

if i was this ladies family, i would want to rip pissy pants eyeballs out..slowly!!

then i would go at the US media!

this is horrible..

and heart breaking..here was a young lady who just could not do pissy pants and cheney's torturing..

I hate my country now..i really feel such disgust and so dirty...

tears for this soldier..and tears for our wayward , very sick, very pathetic nation..

fly

[AzDar]

25. Oh. Dear. God.... n/t

[Judi Lynn]

26. Very well done story on this moral young woman. She sounds like

a one in a million kind of person. No doubt her honorable, respectful view of life made her "the enemy" to people who were more interested in destroying the Iraqi prisoners, and in long-lasting displays of power.

[oblivious]

29. Good vs evil. And the good die young.

[architect359]

30. This quote from further down the article makes it more tragic...

'Peterson's father, Rich Peterson, has said: “Alyssa volunteered to change assignments with someone who did not want to go to Iraq.”'

...sad sigh...

[Supersedeas]

34. Lesson: N-A-V-Y...never again volunteer yourself (well, she can't)

[lovuian]

31. All the records and all the objectors are dead

This is one sinister regime
In my book she is a Martyr the Army runs into people who WILL NOT do torture

She's a hero in my book
She definitely with the Saints in Heaven

and yes we have saints in even these crazy times

[struggle4progress]

91. Your subject line nails it: bye-bye witness, bye-bye paper.

[THUNDER HANDS]

32. it's probably a lot harder to torture someone

when you can hear then scream and cry out and actually understand what they're saying. If you torture someone and all you hear is jibberish you don't understand, you probably won't feel as bad about it.

[Judi Lynn]

41. No doubt you're right. It appears when some of the soldiers have no grasp

of their language, they almost see them as cartoon figures, as in the case of the guards who have beaten the men hanging from the ceiling, striking their legs until the bones were pulverized, just to hear them yell out God's name, and then mocking them.

It's almost impossible to imagine people could EVER be that stupid and ugly, and unaware of their bonds with other human beings.

This young woman's decency doomed her.

[Bushfire]

38. Sadly more than 3 female American soldiers have passed away at this point

in the war. My state alone has lost at least 2 female soldiers at this point. Kudos for Elston to probe further in this case.

[truthisfreedom]

39. ugh. "records of those techniques have been destroyed." naturally.

[wholetruth00]

40. Can we get this to be a topic on CNN instead of Kerry which is

nothing more than RW-media diversion.

[BlueEyedSon]

42. FYI: This guy calls it an "assassination"

http://www.adelaideinstitute.org/Dissenters1/Toben/toben_may7.htm

[Jcrowley]

45. From link

"One is Spec. 4 Alyssa Peterson, a military intelligence soldier like me, and a former Mormon missionary who, I have reason to believe, acted with high conscience and suffered for it (as she probably knew she would).  Spec. Peterson was involved in the Army's Iraq incarceration/interrogation apparatus in September, 2003.  You'll recall that this is when Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller came from Guantanamo Bay to "Gitmoize" things in Iraq, where the Bush administration wanted to put the screws to the prisoners to crack the then-nascent Iraqi Resistance."

"Apparently, Spec. Peterson resisted the orders to brutalize, humiliate and torture incarceration/interrogation apparatus inmates.  That's what I infer from the official report, parrotted by the media (of course), which is that this fine soldier died of a "non-combat weapons discharge" to the head.  This story has been gently pushed up to a "suicide" story since.  Her family believes it was simple assassination, and they contacted me in 2004 because of my connection with the David Kelly assassination (and investigation). "

[Supersedeas]

49. Do Mormon missionary types comitt suicide often??

[midnight]

112. I think that those people who represent a challange of any

sorts are fitted into that category. It is overused and protects the living.

[marmar]

44. What hell hath BushCo unleashed?

I suspect that the horror stories will only get worse. I just hope that we as a nation are equipped to deal with it.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

46. This is just SO wrong!!!!!!

"She was trained in interrogation techniques at Fort Huachuca in Arizona". What horrors were inflicted upon the prisoners that "She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage"? And then ended up taking her life. How can this not be front page news and investigated to its fullest extent?
:wtf: :grr:

[olshak]

47. Let's all forward this information to Keith Olbermann...

.... I gotta think he would take a nibble at it.

[olshak]

66. E-Mail him at...

[e-mail]

[Jcrowley]

48. Here's another "suicide"

A Journey That Ended in Anguish
Col. Ted Westhusing, a military ethicist who volunteered to go to Iraq, was upset by what he saw. His apparent suicide raises questions.
by T. Christian Miller

December 13, 2005
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- One hot, dusty day in June, Col. Ted Westhusing was found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport, a single gunshot wound to the head.

The Army would conclude that he committed suicide with his service pistol. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq.

The Army closed its case. But the questions surrounding Westhusing's death continue.

Westhusing, 44, was no ordinary officer. He was one of the Army's leading scholars of military ethics, a full professor at West Point who volunteered to serve in Iraq to be able to better teach his students. He had a doctorate in philosophy; his dissertation was an extended meditation on the meaning of honor.

So it was only natural that Westhusing acted when he learned of possible corruption by U.S. contractors in Iraq. A few weeks before he died, Westhusing received an anonymous complaint that a private security company he oversaw had cheated the U.S. government and committed human rights violations. Westhusing confronted the contractor and reported the concerns to superiors, who launched an investigation.

In e-mails to his family, Westhusing seemed especially upset by one conclusion he had reached: that traditional military values such as duty, honor and country had been replaced by profit motives in Iraq, where the U.S. had come to rely heavily on contractors for jobs once done by the military.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9312

[motocicleta]

92. Oh my god.

How rampant is the murder of Americans for calling bullshit on the clearly INHUMAN order of the day over there? How many more of these deaths are hidden in the almost three thousand?

[midnight]

111. OOps - A Leading Scholar IN Ethics!!!!!

He didn't stand a chance.

[donkeyotay]

122. We were going to stand down after they stood up

In January, Westhusing began work on what the Pentagon considered the most important mission in Iraq: training Iraqi forces to take over security duties from U.S. troops.

Westhusing's task was to oversee a private security company, Virginia-based USIS, which had contracts worth $79 million to train a corps of Iraqi police to conduct special operations.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9312

[blondeatlast]

50. Sending a donation to my alma mater (NAU) in the name of

Ms. Peterson and Mr. Elston.

As long as there are journalists who will bother to dig, to risk, and to report the TRUTH, there is hope.

This is just horrifying.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

51. And the Beast (chimp and co.) continues with the charade...

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: for all of the sacrifices and loss of humanity

[blondeatlast]

52. Shout-out to my alma mater's radio station; here's their reporting:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/knau/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=989178

Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to contact Elston; the contact page gives a 404 error.

This is a journalist with some real courage, and a nod to his editors, too.

Well done.

[blondeatlast]

54. Here's a stream of the original broadcast:

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-539077.mp3

[olshak]

55. Thanks for the link

[humbled_opinion]

56. Why is this information just coming out...hmmm

Maybe Bush internal polls look so bad that he is trying a CYA approach for the investigations that will start in Jan !! hahaha

[mom cat]

57. K&R for one very brave woman who stood up against evil. K&R

[KamaAina]

59. Revealed: U.S. Soldier Baxtered After Daring to Cross Bush**co

:grr: :banghead:

[SnowGoose]

60. The *records* may be destroyed, but the *people* are still available.

Subpoena the others who worked in the unit. Put 'em right up on the stand and ask them in plain language, "what exactly was done to the prisoners?" and "Specifically what was it that Specialist Peterson refused to do?" To hell with the records - put the witnesses under oath.

Lemmie see... Democrats take over the House in November, that gives them subpoena power.

[Seldona]

79. Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

I like the way you think. It is INSANE that no one with subpoena power is bothering to ask these questions.

[Nihil]

107. Excuse me? Just *why* do you think that will work?

> To hell with the records - put the witnesses under oath.

You think that the psychopaths who continued to torture innocent
civilians - and participated in their murder in some cases - would
somehow care about an oath?

They are happy to maim strangers but just don't ask them to promise
that they'll tell the truth?

They care about swearing an oath on the same book that says do not
murder, do not bear false witness, do not do any of their current job
description?

Subpoena power doesn't matter a shit when you are dealing with this
sort of psychotic sub-human ...

[Crim_n al]

114. Psychotic sub-humans?

Or normal kids who have been brainwashed into becoming part of the military machine
and following every order they are given?

Remember the Millgram experiment?
It's false comfort to imagine this behaviour is not the norm.

These kids are a long way from home, geographically and sociologically.
They are mostly good kids at heart, but the military becomes their family,
and they are trained to do the right thing by that family.
They are aware that their fellow soldiers are dying in horrible ways every day,
so their former morals are put aside as they join an effort
to keep their fellow soldiers safe.

This is what war is about to the average soldier once they are in the battlezone.
Not fighting for oil or to free Iraqis,
but struggling to survive the next confrontation
and to keep their mates safe.

This is not to excuse what they did.
It's to show that, without strong moral leadership from the top in a war,
this sort of thing is bound to happen.

The murdered and the murderers are all victims here.

[SnowGoose]

119. I understand your point

which, if I'm reading you correctly, is that torturing another living thing (particularly a human being) is so revolting to the sensibilities of a healthy person, that lying under oath could be reasonably assumed to be less abhorrent. So if someone is willing to do that unspeakably terrible thing to another person, they wouldn't hesitate to commit the lesser evil of lying about it to save their bacon.

Fair point.

But sometimes people do come clean - especially if they are harboring guilt about what they did. One of the GI's involved in the rape and murder of that poor 15 year old Iraqi girl earlier this year came forward on his own. As I understand it, that's how the world found out about the horrific event.

More importantly, there were undoubtedly many individuals involved. A good prosecutor will work on them separately, offering leniency in exchange for cooperation. Often, one or more will cave, and then the whole thing begins to unravel.

I hear and share your outrage, Nihil, but among the range of options, this seems to me to be the one most likely to result in uncovering as much truth as we can get to. I think you'd agree that getting to the truth about what went on in that unit is a worthwhile goal. Are there other methods that you can think of (and I ask this with no snarkiness intended ~ it's just the best I can come up with)?

'goose

[Nihil]

121. Yes, it's the best option remaining. I simply have no confidence in it.

I didn't mean to be snarky to you - you are right that it is about the
only chance left in this case - but I see a world of difference between
the GI in the rape/murder case and the people who torture as a job.

The former is more likely to recognise the wrong in their actions and
feel the need to admit their guilt. The latter have suffered no qualms
in carrying out their "work" every day and so the threat of a subpoena
is really not a threat at all. The former is a human who stepped beyond
the boundary of civilised behaviour but still recognises that that
boundary exists. The latter is not a civilised human - they are sub-human.

I would not be surprised if any perception of "weakness" that might
lead one of the torturers to suffer an attack of guilt would be detected
and "punished" (as perhaps in the case mentioned in this thread).
Given that they have overcome any feelings of guilt or remorse already,
I cannot see how a potential court case would have any effect.

[daleo]

61. "the records were destroyed"

Winston Smith's job.

[Raksha]

64. OMG, that is the most tragic thing I've ever heard!

May she rest in peace, this blessed martyr to human decency. It wasn't worth her life...if only she could have just said NO, and NO again, and as many times as necessary. But who knows what kind of pressure they put on her? If all the records have been destroyed we'll never know until/unless an eyewitness comes forward. May justice be done!

Edited to add: I've just read through some of the posts on this thread, and it now appears she was murdered so she couldn't be a whistleblower. That does seem to be the more likely scenario than suicide. I guess she did just say NO after all. May her memory be a blessing to all good people everywhere.

[blondeatlast]

65. Kudos to Mr. Elston, I'm searching for contact info

Flagstaff is a very small, lovely college town, about 50K people plus the students of NAU.

Remember, nobody heard of Woodward and Beernstein either back in the day.

The contact page on the KNAU website isn't coming up (404 error).

[bronxiteforever]

67. Hey CNN and MSNBC here is a real story of real American woman

will you have the guts to cover this while the vice deferment president spews his crap tonight. RIP soldier -we won't forget you although the media may.:patriot:

[Tigress DEM]

70. Can you say, "Possible ASSISTED suicide?"

So much for ANY support by your CO when you try to follow the proper code of conduct when the word has come from on high that the Geneva conventions are quaint and not to be headed when the US Military needs to get rough in order to get a handle on intelligence.

[Imagevision]

73. Bush yesterday; "we don't torture"

[McCamy Taylor]

74. This is appalling! How awful!

[Divine Discontent]

76. ho hummmmmm

are they gonna report on this in big detail or rattle on about kerry's screwup of words that don't effect anything literally? bad question.

this is horrible!


www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[superconnected]

77. Sounds like she was executed.

[0007]

94. ....or blackmailed into suicide

[donkeyotay]

78. Alyssa Peterson couldn't live with what W has turned us into

So many people in so many ways have had to deal with this illegal, immoral war. When will the people who started it be accountable?

RIP.

[Anakin Skywalker]

81. Wouldn't Have Heard of This On the MSM, Holmes!

The only hope is Mr. K.O. himself. (Keith Olbermann).

[SunDrop23]

83. God rest her soul. (nfm)

[lonestarnot]

87. Whether she was offed or she offed herself she's still just as dead

and we will never know the ugly truth about just how ugly the torture got before the "records were destroyed." Dirty bastards and their war of lies!

[truedelphi]

88. The pieces of the puzzle fit

Alyssa's in an area of the military wherein military intelligence personnel are rampant

She objects to doing as she is told - she has to be obliterated. How very nice and neat to make it look like she cowardly took her own life.

Let's see -- who else was obliterated? Some of you here are screamin' about Main
stream media - but when Mary Mapes and Dan Rather went after Bush for his Vietnam era service record - they were offed -at least their carreers were.

And do you know something else about Mapes and Rather? They brought us Abu Gharib - that's right. Mapes went there and released her findings on that prison and hers was the first voice of a reporter on that institution. Not too much later, her career is history.

[Land Shark]

99. Yes, Dan Rather was the lead reporter on 60 Minutes II which aired Abu photos

The show 60 Minutes II is now dead, as well.

[truedelphi]

118. I onlysaw it once (it conflicted with work schedule) but

The night I watched it, the reporting was very critical of Gitmo

[eridani]

93. You mean like Salvador Allende "killed himself"? n/t

[Haole Girl]

95. What a big mess this stupid war is...

...will the truth ever get out? :-(

[lala_rawraw]

102. in the end

She was murdered no matter how it happened. If she took her own life, she was driven to it because she would not torture others. If she was killed, it was still for the same reason. Any way you put it, this brave woman said no to the Nazi-esque regime. Of all the people who said yes, she said no. She is a hero who was murdered no matter how it actually happened. I think this administration has destroyed more souls than anyone can possibly count.

[Giant Robot]

104. While I admit this sounds very fishy

We also don't know much about Specialist Peterson. She may have been depressed and hurting for a while. I mention this because I have a pet theory that war inherently damages people. I mean this as no disrespect to our veterans truly, but I believe seeing war in all its brutality changes people, and more often it damages them in some way. I cannot help but believe that seeing what was done to the Iraqis, or whomever those poor souls were, would have broken the spirit of most people.

In any case this needs to be looked at more closely, at best to see what can be done to prevent future suicide in our military, and at worst to determine what prison sentences these fucks will get.

[MindPilot]

113. I would go even farther...I'd say the military damages people

Having been there & done that, maybe "damage" is not the right word, but it certainly does change people.

[Crim_n al]

105. There is no way she killed herself.

Three of the biggest disincentives to suicide are:
1. Knowing your life is in danger.
2. Having a solid religious faith.
3. Having an important purpose you want to fulfil.

For Alyssa:
1. She was in a war zone.
2. She had been a Mormon missionary.
4. She was a trained interrogator with a peaceful religious background,
so she was sure to want to get word out about what was going on.

Did the army have a motive for killing her?
They were ordered to eliminate all evidence, and she was the most dangerous part of the evidence.

God knows what they were doing to the poor people in their clutches.

[rman]

106. agreed

There are just to many critics of the neocons who turn out not to be able to "handle the pressure" or somesuch.

[BreweryYardRat]

108. Simple way to determine whether it was murder or suicide:

Get a ballistics or coroner's report telling us the angle of the bullet entry wound.

If it's a straight shot from anywhere other than the front, it was either murder or assisted suicide. The article says she shot herself with her service rifle.

I don't think it's possible to fire one of those things into your temple without it entering at an angle, and I'd be amazed if you could manage to reach around behind yourself and keep the rifle on target with the back of your head. If there's anyone here who's military or ex-military, please correct me if I'm wrong.

So, if that's the case, she either got someone to help her or they did kill her.

I suck at phrasing this, since I've just gotten up. Tell me if you don't get what I'm saying.

[Marie26]

110. Killed herself?

I don't think so.

[gully]

115. Here is a photo

http://www.iraqwarheroes.com/peterson.htm



From Rich Peterson 12/22/05:

My deepest gratitude to all who have served. The daily miracles of your service in Iraq and Afghanistan are noticed and appreciated. No other military in the world could accomplish so much, so quickly. My prayers are with you everyday.

Alyssa volunteered to change assignments with someone who did not want to go to Iraq. Being in country just a few weeks, she made a difference to the people she met there. She gave of herself, just as she did in every challenge in life.

Alyssa is my hero, as are so many others who have given all. My tears still come so easily. May each soldier know of our love and appreciation. May each soldier come home soon--a living, breathing hero. May the miracles of freedom ring loudly throughout the world.

Thank you, one and all.

This woman volunteered to replace someone who didn't want to go. How very sad.

[donkeyotay]

116. Sgt. Samuel Provance's account of Abu Ghraib in Sept., 2003

Some excerpts from his statement:

After what had happened at Abu Ghraib became a matter of public knowledge, and there was a demand for action, young soldiers were scapegoated while superiors misrepresented what had happened and tried to misdirect attention away from what was really going on. I considered all of this conduct to be dishonorable and inconsistent with the traditions of
the Army. I was ashamed and embarrassed to be associated with it. When I made clear to my superiors that I was troubled about what had happened, I was told that the honor of my unit and the Army depended on either withholding the truth or outright lies. I cannot accept this. Honor cannot be achieved by lies and scapegoating. Honor depends on the truth. It demands that we live consistently with the values we hold out to the world. My belief in holding to the truth led directly to conflict with my superiors, and ultimately to my demotion.

. . .

At first there were only a couple companies of military intelligence (MI) soldiers (from the 325th Reserve and 519th Airborne) and a handful of computers, but then a group came from Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), Cuba to “make the place better run” (as we were told). There was a conflict between the GTMO soldiers and those who were already at Abu Ghraib, having to do with the way interrogations were being conducted and reported (I do not remember the specifics of the conflict, but in general our people wanted to use the techniques we were trained to use at Ft. Huachuca, and the GTMO people had very different ideas). After this period, the number of civilian contractors who reported in increased significantly. These contractors were principally from CACI and Titan Corporations, and were functioning as interrogators, translators and linguists. The interrogators were principally Americans, but the others were frequently Arab-speaking Middle Easterners, but not Iraqis. In the course of my duties, I would see some of these civilians regularly, others maybe only once or twice. Soldiers from other MI units then
came, as well as even more civilians.

. . .

I befriended SPC (blanked), an analyst who was being retrained to be an
interrogator (many others were being retrained in this same way). (blank) told me detainees were routinely stripped naked in the cells and sometimes during interrogations (she said one man so shamed had actually made a loin cloth out of an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) bag, so they no longer allowed him to have the MRE bag with his food). She said they
also starved them or allowed them to only have certain items of food at a time. She said they played loud music – “Barney I Love You” being the interrogators’ favorite. I was shocked by this and told her I couldn’t understand how she could cope with the nudity. Wasn’t it embarrassing or at least uncomfortable? (blank)said that this was one of the new practices and they got used to it. Moreover, she got a thrill out of being a woman interrogating them, knowing how much it angered and offended them to have a woman in a position of authority and control over men. She said they used dogs to terrify and torment the prisoners. She also said they deprived them of sleep for long periods of time. This was all part of a carefully planned regimen that had been introduced after the arrival of the teams from GTMO.(blank)once invited me to accompany her to the hardsite, where I observed the MP’s were constantly yelling at the detainees. One detainee was being made to repeat his
number over and over again. I also befriended SPC (blank), who was with the first MP units that set up Abu Ghraib after the war. (blank) told me that she had witnessed abuses of Iraqi people and even seen some of them murdered. She said she documented these things in diaries that she sent home to her family in case someone killed her before she made it home to do something about it. She particularly mentioned fearing her chain of command. Her view, that anyone disclosing these incidents of abuse would face swift and severe retaliation, was widespread among soldiers at Abu Ghraib.

. . .

I nevertheless had the impression that civilian contractors were being given access to highly classified information notwithstanding the lack of proper clearance. Moreover, these civilian contractors involved in interrogation frequently behaved as if they were the superiors of the uniformed military interrogators, giving them directions and instructions.
Their presence and activities clearly seemed to undermine or confuse the chain of command at Abu Ghraib and to undermine discipline and morale.
. . .

...I became convinced that a massive effort was under way within the military to cover up what had happened at Abu Ghraib and to scapegoat a handful of MP’s. I was particularly concerned that no higher ups, whether policymakers or officers with responsibility for Abu Ghraib, were being held to account for what happened. I considered this to be highly dishonorable. I remembered reading the speech of a holocaust survivor who was saved when her camp was liberated by American soldiers. One of those soldiers took care of her, married her and took her back to America. She summarized the lesson of her life with these words: “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” After what had happened at Abu Ghraib, I was haunted by
this thought. I felt I owed a duty to those who were suffering abuse, and just as much to my fellow soldiers who were trapped, suffering and degraded by the implementation of these new policies. That duty was to speak, no matter the consequences that I mightsuffer. I decided to do so.

Sgt. Samuel J. Provance, former Abu Ghraib Intel Staffer

http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/06214-usls-provance-statment.pdf

[NorthernSpy]

117. no way am I buying this "suicide" story...

... until a lot of questions get answered.

Nope.


:tinfoilhat:

[Faryn Balyncd]

120. How many Alyssa Peterson's have there been?

And how many Pat Tillmans are there?

How many conscientious and brave young Americans volunteered to risk their lives for our values, only to have to face the brutal reality that we, as a nation, were now on a journey (with our Vice President) to http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/news-speeches/speeches/vp20010916.html">"the dark side"?

We have no idea what per cent of the deaths by "non-hostile discharge" were suicides (nor homicides, for that matter).

But how many of the suicides that have occurred involved conscientious men and women ordered to use "interrogation tactics" that they knew to be torture, or ordered to follow "rules of engagement" that called defined all present in an area to be terrorists?

When our leaders advocate going to http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/news-speeches/speeches/vp20010916.html">"the dark side, if you will", who is responsible when those ordered to do so kill themselves rather than carry out the orders?






Here's the story from the Arizona newspaper that has been posted at http://www.militarycity.com/valor/256698.html">Military City's Honor the Fallen pages, since her death.