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Memo shows reports of Iraqi troops' abuse
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-08 09:27
Senior U.S. military commanders in Iraq have known since early this year of
reports that Iraqi security forces had physically abused detainees, according to
Pentagon documents.
The first widely reported abuse case came to light when U.S. and Iraqi forces
discovered 173 malnourished Iraqi detainees at an Interior Ministry bunker in
Baghdad on Nov. 13. Some inmates reportedly showed signs of torture, and a U.S.
general was so concerned that he took immediate control of the facility.
More than five months earlier, Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, wrote a policy memorandum on the importance of Iraqi security forces being
trained to respect the rule of law and basic human rights.
"Over the past several months I have received reports of serious physical
abuse of detainees by ISF," he wrote on June 22, using the acronym for the Iraqi
security forces.
In the memo, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, he said he forwarded
the reports to Iraqi government officials. He did not elaborate in his memo on
specifics of the reported physical abuses.
"Abuse of detainees by ISF is a violation of Iraqi law and counterproductive
to all of our intended efforts here," Casey wrote.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation is now under way to check conditions at
Iraqi-run detention facilities.
In addition, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has asked military
commanders to clarify the circumstances under which American troops are obliged
to intervene to stop any Iraqi abuses they witness. However, Rumsfeld has not
indicated publicly that he knew of reports of Iraqi abuse dating back to early
this year.
Nine days after the Casey memo, in a satellite video news conference from
Iraq, Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez told reporters at the Pentagon that he had
received about 40 reports of abuse by Iraqi security forces in the previous six
or eight weeks in the northwest section of Iraq in which his troops operate. He
said Iraqi officials had investigated several cases and had "taken appropriate
action" against those found to be responsible.
He said the reported abuses were not life threatening.
"Wherever we see a human rights violation and people doing the wrong thing,
we intervene immediately to stop the misuse of detainees or prisoners,"
Rodriguez said.
His area of responsibility does not include Baghdad.
In recent remarks on the issue of Iraqi abuse of detainees, Rumsfeld has
stressed his interest in clarifying the rules governing the response of American
troops. When Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
reporters Nov. 29 that all U.S. service members are obliged to intervene to stop
inhumane treatment they see, Rumsfeld said, "I don't think you mean they have an
obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it."
No, Pace said, they are supposed to stop it.
Since then, Rumsfeld has asked that these rules be clarified. He alluded to
the matter in a speech on Monday, citing the danger of a host country taking
legal action against U.S. troops who use force to stop detainee abuses.
"And so reporting something that looks amiss is good," Rumsfeld said. "Orally
trying to stop something that looks amiss, to me, sounds very reasonable. And
then the next question is: What level of force should they use to try to stop it
if they see it happening in a country where they don't know the laws."
In his June 22 memo, Casey wrote that U.S. troops are obliged to "take all
reasonable action" in accordance with military rules to stop or prevent any
observed or suspected instances of physical or mental abuse that are "likely to
lead to serious injury or the death of detained persons in Iraqi custody," and
to promptly report it.
A Rumsfeld spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said Wednesday that Rumsfeld wants a
clearer definition of "all reasonable action."
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