Stressed out? Beat the shit out of an Iraqi or two. That seems to be the latest in recreational activities for the "democratizing" forces in occupied Iraq.
A report from Human Rights Watch catalogues new allegations of systematic torture by the 82nd Airborne Division based in Fallujah.
The report, based on interviews with an officer and two NCOs described the rutine physical and mental torture as a
means of intelligence gathering and for stress relief.
The report is another nail in the coffin of the denials that torture is a systematic and stratigic part of the treatment of prisioners by occupation forces.
The acts of torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment they described
include severe beatings (in one incident, a soldier reportedly broke a
detainee's leg with a baseball bat), blows and kicks to the face,
chest, abdomen, and extremities, and repeated kicks to various parts of
the detainees' bodies; the application of chemical substances to
exposed skin and eyes; forced stress positions, such as holding heavy
water jugs with arms outstretched, sometimes to the point of
unconsciousness; sleep deprivation; subjecting detainees to extremes of
hot and cold; the stacking of detainees into human pyramids; and the
withholding of food (beyond crackers) and water.
Residents of Fallujah called them “the Murderous Maniacs”
because of how they treated Iraqis in detention. They were soldiers of the U.S.
Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Battalion, 504th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, stationed at Forward Operating Base Mercury (FOB
Mercury) in Iraq. The soldiers considered this name a badge of honor.
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