thedrifter
05-28-09, 05:56 AM
Retired 2-star: Abuse photos show torture, rape
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 28, 2009 5:54:44 EDT
LONDON — A retired U.S. general said graphic images of rape and torture are among the photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse that President Barack Obama’s administration does not want released.
Retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who oversaw the U.S. investigation into the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph in an article published Wednesday that he agreed with Obama’s decision not to release the pictures.
“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them,” Taguba was quoted by the Daily Telegraph. “The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”
Two Obama administration officials didn’t immediately respond to e-mail requests for comment Wednesday night.
The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib exploded after photos taken by soldiers appeared in 2004.
According to the Telegraph, the new photos depicted much more serious abuses than previously documented.
One photo reportedly showed an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner and another was said to show a male translator raping a male detainee, the Telegraph reported.
It was not immediately clear from the report who had seen the photos or how they might have been obtained.
The Telegraph said the photos relate to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 at Abu Ghraib and six other prisons.
The newspaper said the images in the photos were backed up by statements from Taguba’s report into prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 28, 2009 5:54:44 EDT
LONDON — A retired U.S. general said graphic images of rape and torture are among the photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse that President Barack Obama’s administration does not want released.
Retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who oversaw the U.S. investigation into the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph in an article published Wednesday that he agreed with Obama’s decision not to release the pictures.
“I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them,” Taguba was quoted by the Daily Telegraph. “The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”
Two Obama administration officials didn’t immediately respond to e-mail requests for comment Wednesday night.
The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib exploded after photos taken by soldiers appeared in 2004.
According to the Telegraph, the new photos depicted much more serious abuses than previously documented.
One photo reportedly showed an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner and another was said to show a male translator raping a male detainee, the Telegraph reported.
It was not immediately clear from the report who had seen the photos or how they might have been obtained.
The Telegraph said the photos relate to 400 cases of alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005 at Abu Ghraib and six other prisons.
The newspaper said the images in the photos were backed up by statements from Taguba’s report into prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
Ellie