E&P: Dutch Troops Abused Iraq Prisoners

[Hissyspit]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003409567

Newspaper: Dutch Troops Abused Iraq Prisoners

Published: November 17, 2006 11:45 AM ET

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Dutch military interrogators abused dozens of Iraqi prisoners in 2003, dousing them with water to keep them awake and exposing them to high-pitched noises and strong lights, a Dutch newspaper reported Friday.

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Responding to the allegations in the report, which cited no sources, Defense Ministry spokesman Joop Veen was quoted as telling the newspaper that "things happened that did not go according to instructions."

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The alleged prisoner abuse happened when Dutch troops were stationed in Iraq's southern Muthana province. The Netherlands had about 1,400 troops stationed there until their withdrawal last year. There are now 15 Dutch soldiers still serving in Baghdad training Iraqi forces.

According to De Volkskrant, the interrogations were carried out by members of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service in November 2003 in buildings of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Samawah, 230 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Prisoners were forced to wear darkened goggles, which were at times removed as bright lights were shone in their eyes, De Volkskrant reported. They also were kept awake for extended periods by being soaked with water and exposed to high-pitched sounds.

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[atreides1]

1. It's too bad

But I guess it's much easier to torture unarmed prisoners then it is to defend Muslims in Bosnia.


In the UN safe area of Srebrenica, 6-8,000 Bosnian Moslems were murdered in July 1995 by the Bosnian Serbs, making it the largest civilian massacre in Europe since the Holocaust. The United Nations leaders, those of their peace-keeping forces, and the Dutch government had known for some time that the enclave was not defensible and had not taken adequate protective measures. Although aware that Serbs were executing Bosnian Moslems, the Dutch UN forces fled the area. Before that, Dutch soldiers helped separate the Bosnian men from the women. No UN or Dutch political or military leaders have ever been held accountable for their failure to prevent these crimes.