While the British army is casting doubt on the authenticity of pictures published yesterday in The Daily Mirror, the New Yorker runs an article with more details from the previously secret American army report by Major General Antonio M. Taguba, which was completed in late February. In addition to the previously reported incidents, the report lists further abuses:
Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees; pouring cold water on naked detainees; beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; threatening male detainees with rape; allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell; sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick, and using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee.
Whether the report in the Mirror turns out to be true or not, some troops would appear to have behaved in an utterly dispicable manner and I hope that the coalition governments ensure the individuals concerned are prosecuted for their war crimes.
