New "abuse" photos

The US military has launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy Seals special forces in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.

Some of the photos have date stamps suggesting they were taken in May 2003, which could make them the earliest evidence of possible abuse of prisoners in Iraq.

Aljazeera article

Just seven bad apples, folks. That's all there was.

An Associated Press reporter found more than 40 of the pictures among hundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing website by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty.

Iraq war porn.

These and other photos found by the AP appear to show the immediate aftermath of raids on civilian homes. One man is lying on his back with a boot on his chest.

A mug shot shows a man with an automatic weapon pointed at his head and a gloved thumb jabbed into his throat. In many photos faces have been blacked out.

[...]

In several of the photos, grinning men wearing US flags on their uniforms, and one with a tattoo of a Seal trident, take turns sitting or lying atop what appear to be three hooded and handcuffed men in the bed of a pickup truck.

A reporter found the photos, which have since been removed from public view, while researching the prosecution of a group of Seals who allegedly beat prisoners and photographed one of them in degrading positions.

I imagine they will turn up sooner or later. But only after all the "trials" and "justice" is meted out to the troops involved. Along with whatever horrors were shown to the congressfolk who said the public hadn't seen the worst of the Abu Ghraib images.

The navy goes to great lengths to protect the identities and whereabouts of its 2400 Seals - which stands for Navy, Sea, Air, Land - many of whom have classified counterterrorist missions around the globe.

"Some of these photos clearly depict faces and names of Naval Special Warfare personnel, which could put them or their families at risk," Bender said.

[...]

Though they have alarmed Seal commanders, the photographs found by AP do not necessarily show anything illegal, according to experts in the laws of war who reviewed photos at AP's request.

[...]

The photos were turned over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which instructed the Seal command to determine whether they show any serious crimes, Bender said on Friday.

I give up.