Rolling Stone MUST READ! Child sodomy at Abu Ghraib

[NightOwwl]

From the July 29 article "The Secret File of Abu Ghraib:

The new classified military documents offer a chilling picture of what happened at Abu Ghraib -- including detailed reports that U.S. troops and translators sodomized and raped Iraqi prisoners.

In one sworn statement, Kasim Mehaddi Hilas, detainee number 151108, said he witnessed a translator referred to only as Abu Hamid raping a teenage boy. "I saw Abu Hamid, who was wearing the military uniform, putting his dick in the little kid's ass," Hilas testified. "The kid was hurting very bad." A female soldier took pictures of the rape, Hilas said.

Link:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story?id=6388256&pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single7&rnd=1091216021626&has-player=true&version=6.0.11.780

[NightOwwl]

1. Kick

I don't want this to sink.

:kick:

[many a good man]

2. It ain't news if there aren't any pictures

...but supposedly there is a soundtrack coming out soon.

[NightOwwl]

5. OK, but

I don't think we've even seen mention of it in the mainstream media. Rolling Stone is not just for potheads anymore, it's got a huge circulation and this article will be read by thousands. Getting the story out and raising public awareness is a start.

[many a good man]

6. Timing

It is news and the pictures are going to come out. The question is who has them and what are they waiting for...

[NightOwwl]

8. Sounds like you know something...

can you share?

This is a sincere, not sarcastic question.

[many a good man]

13. Sy Hersh said

in a speech recently that there are movies of this on the CD that was shown to Congress. He said the most frightening thing on the video were the childrens' screams.

Apparently the perpetrators were Iraqi military acting under the watch of the US, who taped everything.

Given the short attention spans of average Americans, it would hurt * the most if it were released closer to election day...

[Ms. Clio]

11. The Washington Post supposedly has had photos for some time

And it looks like they are going to sit on them forever. But there have to be other copies of photos and videos circulating "in the wild," so to speak--in fact, I am puzzled that some of them haven't already been posted on the Web, by now.

[scottxyz]

31. Well, since the Repubs are known for sitting on anti-Dem stories...

...until a distraction is needed from a Dem success, maybe the Dems are learning to play this news-cycle game too.

So maybe the soundtrack (pics too?) will come out, say, end of August?

Billmon has a great post today about how the Dems learning from the Repubs (and now the Repubs are crying "it's not fair!"):
http://billmon.org/archives/001617.html

[Doug Decker]

3. I honestly thought it couldn't get worse...

how wrong I was.

This will probably never get to CNNMSRNCFAUX, but it doesn't matter, because the rest of the world will know what has happened here.

I feel sad for America's future.

[Pachamama]

4. The OCTOBER SURPRISE - The Photos of Abu Gharaib.....

Game OVER!

:grr:

:kick:

[iamtechus]

7. German TV report available.

This is old news in europe. The url has links to a number of info sources including a video (in german).

http://www.traprockpeace.org/iraqi_child_prisoners.htm

[NightOwwl]

10. American people are still in the dark about this.

Let's hope this will be changing soon.

[wicket]

9. kick

[OneBlueSky]

12. and Bush thinks they hate us "for our freedoms?" . . .

they hate us for, among other things, our barbarism . . . first, in attacking their country unprovoked, and then in treating their people worse than animals . . . I doubt that the US will ever be forgiven by the Iraqis . . . or by many others in the region (and throughout the world, for that matter) . . .

[NightOwwl]

14. From Rolling Stone in September...

to Sy Hersch in the New Yorker early October...

to front page news in every major newspaper and magazine one week before the election.

[Pachamama]

26. Don't forget Esquire Magazine's Sept issue w/ Ron Reagan Jr.

Great references to this topic too...

[indigobusiness]

15. The Story That Will Not Die

"The disaffecion inside the Pentagon is extremeley accute," Hersh says. He tells the story of an officer telling Rumsfeld how bad things are, and Rummy turning to a ranking general yes-man who reassured him that things are just fine. Says Hersh, "The Secretary of Defense is simply incapable of hearing what he doesn't want to hear."

http://scoop.agonist.org/story/2004/7/14/201747/670

Seymour Hersh says the US government has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
"The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking," the reporter told an ACLU convention last week. Hersh says there was "a massive amount of criminal wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there, and higher.""


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/politics/16abus.html

July 16, 2004
CAPITOL HILL
Congress's Inquiry Into Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners Bogs Down
By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON, July 15 - The Congressional investigation into the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison has virtually ground to halt, as a senior Senate Republican said Thursday that no new hearings would be held on the matter until this fall at the earliest.

[Keirsey]

20. long ago..

Maybe we ought to email/write the WP and NYT to remind them about their respective patriotic bravery in publishing The Pentagon Papers.

[indigobusiness]

21. Not a bad idea.

I'd be interested in hearing Daniel Ellsberg's opinion on this, as well.

[soundfury]

16. Kick

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. Just a bit of innocent fratboy fun. Support our troops!!

Don't worry, the military is investigating the military and we can certainly trust them. Why, just look how good a job they did after that unfortunate incident at My-Lai when our current Secretary of State tried to protect our innocent troops after they killed all those commie terrorists. Why, Lt. Calley had to spend 3 1/2 years of house arrest for doing his patriotic duty and wiping out those 500+ terrorists posing as women and kids. And, the other 24 who were indicted, were rightfully acquited.

Besides, those uncivilized Iraqis respect us more if we show them how decisive we are when we kill them, torture them, degrade them.

Our courageous troops are just doing their duty when they rape little boys and stick things up their butts....of course, if the prisoners are helpless it's takes even more bravery.

Ain't ya' proud to be an Amerkun?

[soundfury]

18. How do I nominate this for the front page?

[Ms. Clio]

19. See the bottom left corner of the OP

and click on "Nominate Topic for Homepage."

[NightOwwl]

22. Kick for the afternoon crowd

This is mainstream media, folks. Any thoughts on where it goes from here?

:kick:

[Ms. Clio]

23. late night kick

[NightOwwl]

24. Kick for the night owls

Bush/Cheney are going down. Let's make sure their trip goes all the way to hell.

Keep this kicked, please.

[The Night Owl]

47. You rang?

Reporting in!

[Pachamama]

25. What makes this story lose some credibility is in the "translation"....

I'm not doubting the credibility of the actions and things that have occurred over in Iraq and elsewhere with the torture of people in our custody, but the quote of "putting his dick in the little kid's ass," Just doesn't seem like something a muslim man would say or for that matter that the word's would be translated to that....more likely would be "put his penis in the little child's rectum"...

I mean, was that the "translator's" definition and translation? Or the Rolling Stone Magazine's Reporter's journalistic license? Either way, it just doesn't ring right and then it can bring the credibility of the whole story down....

Like I said, its not that I'm questioning the authenticity of events, but this part just didn't ring right to me....Anybody else?

[Ms. Clio]

27. I'm sure that the Iraqis have slang words for all the naughty bits

Just like other people do. For me, the language sounds much more authentic than if the witness had used more clinical terms.

[SammyBlue]

28. Please, dear G-d. please make this a lie

Please tell me this isn't true. Please tell me this is a Rolling Stone writer's sick fantasy.

I don't believe I could stomach my military molesting and raping children in my name. Dear G-d, please make this not true.

[NightOwwl]

29. I'm sorry SammyBlue

but it does appear to be true. Sey Hersh, who writes for the New Yorker, has been speaking about these incidents. It was briefly mentioned in the Washington Times (I can no longer find link), then forgotten. I was surprised to see this article in Rolling Stone, because it is a fairly mainstream publication.

Here is a transcript of Sy Hersh's speech:
http://www.pastpeak.com/archives/2004/07/post_1.htm

[nosmokes]

30. kick

:kick:

[nosmokes]

32. kick

:kick:

[Bonobo]

33. Kick!

:grr:

:kick:

[JSJ]

34. SUPPORT THE TROOPS!

Come on, now- you're always suppose to support the troops. Ask any politician and he'll tell ya.

[SunDrop23]

35. Kick

[NightOwwl]

37. Thanks for all the kicks!

I guess with the convention, and the *cough* terror alert, Abu Ghraib has been put on the back burner.

I'm wondering if there are there some bloggers we should notify now that it's not just Sy Hersh reporting on this anymore. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks all.

[BattyDem]

36. I'm very happy this story won't die ...

and I'm thankful that Rolling Stone has published it because people need to know what's being done in our name.

But ... I am really pissed off that the major newspapers (Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, etc.) and the television news outlets have pretty much ignored it. Why does Rolling Stone have to be the first "mainstream" publication to break this story? If that's not proof of our "whore" media, I don't know what is! :grr:

[NightOwwl]

38. Here's the link again...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story?id=6388256&pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single7&rnd=1091216021626&has-player=true&version=6.0.11.780

[LibertyorDeath]

39. These people are Truly Evil Personified

Abuses in the Abu Ghraib children's wing
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1938443


Testimony from Abu Ghraib prisoner who witnessed boy being raped (WaPo)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2024905

Denmark pressed to seek probe into reports of Iraqi child torture
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=676934


Norway reacts to (US) torture of children
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=668288


Are we really torturing children in Iraq?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1963465

Pentagon Torture Program? Seymour Hersh continues to expose...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1614440

HumanRightsFirst PR : Two Dozen US Secret Detention Facilities Worldwide
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=113&topic_id=10692


A Timeline of CIA Atrocities

http://home.att.net/~Resurgence/CIAtimeline.html

[JSJ]

40. top

[Renew Deal]

41. It's amazing where news goes when the traditional news

sources don't do their jobs. But don't worry. Sy Hersh has all this info and he will drop it soon.

[nosmokes]

42. kick before bed

:kick:

[truthspeaker]

43. kick! this story is spreading

first report in US media.

[Ms. Clio]

44. kick

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

45. Another kick.

This story needs to stay alive.

[DaveSZ]

46. When is Sy Hersh's article in the New Yorker coming out?

I think only the most fascist Busheviks would stand for child rape.

[The Night Owl]

48. Send the Rolling Stone article to [e-mail]

Send the Rolling Stone article about atrocities at Abu Ghraib
to the following malignant Bush bot...

[e-mail]

The above address is owned by Don Blankenship, who runs the
following website...

http://www.rivervet.com/

On one very graphic page of Blankenship's disgraceful website,
he tries to suggest that sexual humiliation was the worst that
happened at Abu Ghraib prison. We need to set him straight.

[The Night Owl]

49. One more kick.

This stuff is important.