Chilling new evidence of the torture and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers emerged on Saturday night in a secret report accusing the United States army leadership of failings at the highest levels.
Detainees were subjected to ‘sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses’, according to a military investigation suggesting that last week’s photographs of US soldiers humiliating their naked captives may only have been the tip of the iceberg.
It comes amid reports that six British soldiers may shortly be arrested over claims that they too mistreated detainees. Soldiers from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment are understood to have been questioned in Cyprus after the publication on Saturday of shocking photographs purporting to show a prisoner being beaten, kicked and urinated on while in the regiment’s custody.
Legal experts warned on Saturday night night that British soldiers could face war crimes trials if the allegations are proven, or if they are not exhaustively investigated.
The revelations can only increase already widespread anger at coalition forces’ handling of the volatile situation in Iraq, where on Saturday a foreign security guard was killed and three others wounded by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul.
According to the American report, written for army chiefs by Major General Antonio Taguba, detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were threatened with rape, beaten with a broom handle and a chair, and had the phosphoric liquid from chemical lights poured over them. One detainee is said to have been sodomised with an object, while military working dogs were used to intimidate detainees.
The 53-page report, obtained by New Yorker reporter Seymour Hersh, details how the US army abdicated responsibility for prisoners to military intelligence units and civilian contractors.
Whitehall sources had privately hoped that British forces, with fewer relatively untrained reservists than the Americans, would prove more disciplined. But the publication of photographs in Saturday’s Daily Mirror, apparently showing the violent humiliation of an Iraqi arrested for theft in the British-administered sector, have dealt an appalling blow both to the battle for hearts and minds in Iraq and to army morale.
On Saturday Tony Blair condemned abuse by coalition forces as completely unacceptable, adding: ‘I think anyone would be sickened by any thought that coalition troops had abused Iraqi prisoners.’
General Sir Michael Jackson, the army’s highest-ranking officer, called the alleged incidents ‘shameful’. They are still being investigated by the Royal Military Police — which must first ascertain that the photographs are genuine, not carefully staged fakes. On Saturday night the Ministry of Defence described as ‘speculation’ claims of imminent arrests.
If true, the allegations could mean serious criminal consequences for Britain, which, unlike the United States, has signed up to the new International Criminal Court. It has the power to launch war crimes charges of its own against authorities including the commander-in-chief — the Prime Minister — if necessary.
‘If they don’t investigate it properly, it will go up the chain of command. Everyone is going to be watching this case very closely,’ said John Jones, co-author of International Criminal Practice.
Last week’s torture allegations have drawn international condemnation, with members of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) — widely considered ‘stooges’ for the coalition by Iraqis — joining the chorus of criticism.
Dara Nor al-Din, a former judge, said the alleged acts contradicted basic human rights: ‘We used to criticise Saddam’s regime regarding the beating of detained peo ple, so why should we accept to repeat the same tragedy?’
While Washington has tried to portray the scandal as an isolated incident, The Observer has also heard of complaints that torture was carried out at other US facilities including Camp Cropper, a holding area for detainees close to Baghdad’s airport.
On Saturday night there were growing signs that Britain is preparing to send more troops to Iraq to help replace the 1 300 withdrawn Spanish soldiers. Defence officials suggested a new deployment was likely, while the defence Minister Adam Ingram told the BBC’s Radio that reinforcements ‘clearly had to be considered given the fact that there is a changed situation’.
Senior military sources have told The Observer there has to be a concerted push to get a new UN resolution on Iraq’s future. – Guardian Unlimited Â