Eight detainees have died in American military custody in Afghanistan, more than previously reported, the Pentagon said on Monday, while a human rights group assailed a U.S. "culture of impunity" on prisoner abuse.
New York-based Human Rights Watch complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that in most instances, the Pentagon has launched criminal probes into detainee deaths in Afghanistan only after cases get media attention, and that these probes have proceeded slowly and in excessive secrecy.
articleNew York-based Human Rights Watch complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that in most instances, the Pentagon has launched criminal probes into detainee deaths in Afghanistan only after cases get media attention, and that these probes have proceeded slowly and in excessive secrecy.
Yeah, what else is new? And Derr Rumsfiend is well aware of the situation. If he had his "druthers", Human Rights Watch would never know about those unfortunates.
"We investigate all deaths of detainees regardless of the circumstances," said Air Force Lt. Col. John Skinner, a Pentagon spokesman. "Deaths may have occurred as a result of injuries sustained prior to detention by U.S. forces, natural causes such as pre-existing medical conditions or other reasons."
"Our standard has always been and remains to treat detainees humanely. Anything less is not tolerated," Skinner said.
"Our standard has always been and remains to treat detainees humanely. Anything less is not tolerated," Skinner said.
So we've noticed.
Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman, said yesterday that Army records showed the September 2002 death involved an Afghan known as "M. Sayari," but that she had no other information about what happened. The Army document blamed an Army captain and three other officers for the death, but their names were deleted from the copy released to the ACLU.
Hart said the decision not to prosecute was made by the U.S. Army's Special Forces Command. A spokesman there declined to comment, and passed the question to the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, whose spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steven Mavica, said he had no information about the case.
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command is still probing four of the other deaths, including the alleged beating and torture of a 19-year-old Afghan recruit, Jamal Naseer, by U.S. Special Forces at the Gardez prison. The Army checked into reports that someone there had died and closed the case after finding no corroborating evidence, according to a spokesman; it then opened the investigation after investigators working for an independent American group called the Crimes of War Project published details from an official Afghanistan government inquiry the Army evidently did not seek to obtain.
WaPo articleHart said the decision not to prosecute was made by the U.S. Army's Special Forces Command. A spokesman there declined to comment, and passed the question to the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, whose spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steven Mavica, said he had no information about the case.
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command is still probing four of the other deaths, including the alleged beating and torture of a 19-year-old Afghan recruit, Jamal Naseer, by U.S. Special Forces at the Gardez prison. The Army checked into reports that someone there had died and closed the case after finding no corroborating evidence, according to a spokesman; it then opened the investigation after investigators working for an independent American group called the Crimes of War Project published details from an official Afghanistan government inquiry the Army evidently did not seek to obtain.
Hey, don't ask, don't tell. It's the military way. We may not be Masters of the Universe, but we certainly are Masters of Unaccountability.
[Executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, Brad] Evans also said in his letter that his group's investigation indicates that the military detention system in Afghanistan "continues to operate outside the rule of law."
Hey Brad, maybe you should write a letter to Alberto Gonzales.
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