Tran Trong Duyet is hardly someone with a great deal of credibility: he is the former head of the notorious Hoa Lo prison — better known as the Hanoi Hilton. While Duyet has come out for McCain, he has accused him of lying about the torture that he endured. Now, all he needs is a 527 designation and we will be set for November with new Swift Junk ads out of Hanoi.
Category: Military
The respected Massachusetts-based group Physicians for Human Rights has published a report finding that 11 former detainees showed clear signed of torture in medical examinations following their release from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Afghanistan.. The detainees were released for lack of evidence of terrorism.
Continue reading “Medical Report Finds Evidence of Torture of Detainees Later Found to be Innocent”
In yet another story alleging an intentional falsehood from the Bush Administration given to the public and Congress, the Washington Post is reporting that Bush Administration officials began laying the foundations for a torture program using waterboarding long before there was any request or inquiry from field interrogators — a direct contradiction of what the Administration has been saying for years.
The Army Times has an incredible insight into the trauma of serving in Iraq for our soldiers in its story of 1st Sgt. Jeff McKinney and his tragic death. The increase in suicides is an often overlooked measure of the cost of this ill-conceived invasion.
Continue reading “A Soldier’s Suicide Story”
The Marine Corps has announced that David Motari — the Marine Lance Corporal made infamous by his video tossing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq — will be expelled from the Corps. Another Marine involved in the incident — Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion — will receive nonjudicial punishment.
Continue reading “Semper Fido: David Motari Expelled From Marine Corps Over Puppy Tossing Video”
What does it take to get a defense contract in the Bush Administration? After awarding a $300 million contract to a 22-year-old man, Efriam E. Diveroli, who sold defective arms to our Afghan allies, it has now been reported that the Defense Department has awarded an $80 million contract to indicted Saudi financier Gaith Pharaon. The level of sheer incompetence in such contracts is staggering.
Continue reading “U.S. Military Awards $80 Million Contract to Indicted Saudi Financier”
In a shocking development, a Jaffa military court has reportedly blocked the demotion of three Israeli soldiers for abusing two Palestinian detainees this year. While the prosecutors and defense had agred to a demotion to privates for the staff sergeants, the court found that such punishment was unwarranted and ordered that they only be demoted to sergeant after serving five and a half months for their crimes.
A U.S. Marine had a curious way to show Iraqis that we are not crusaders in the country to claim their country for Jesus: he passed out Christian coins at a checkpoint. Iraqis complained and the Marine has been pulled for duty in Falluja.
Continue reading “Checkpoint Jesus: Marine in Iraq Removed From Duty Due to Religious Proselytizing”
The Ninth Circuit has handed down an important decision on gay rights and the military. The three-judge panel did not strike down the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy but it did reinstate the lawsuit of Major Margaret Witt, a decorated Air Force nurse. The ruling forces the government to prove that the policy advances an important government interest. Continue reading “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell . . . But Do Explain: Court Reinstates Lawsuit by Lesbian Dismissed by Military”
A week ago, Iraqi militiamen made a shocking discovery: a Quran (Koran) used for target practice, riddled with bullets, and the words “F*** yeah” scrawled inside. U.S. officials are scrambling to make amends in fear of a major backlash across Iraq.
Continue reading “Iraqi Outcry After Quran Used for Target Practice by U.S. Troops”
The Bush Administration is continuing to claim that it can torture prisoners in violation of international law despite the so-called “torture bill” and pledge of the President to comply with international rules. Congress, which has protected the president from any criminal investigation, is again professing shock and outrage in the longest institutional imitation of Claude Rains in history. Continue reading “Bush Administration Re-Asserts Right to Torture”
Soldier Jeremy Hall is the atheist in the foxhole that everyone says does not exist. Perhaps for that reason, some people seem quite upset to find him there – debunking the idea that belief in God is a prerequisite for being a good soldier. Hale, 23, is now suing Defense Secretary Roberts Gates over what he claims is harassment and discrimination over his non-religious views. Continue reading “Atheist in the Foxhole: Soldier Sues Gates for Discrimination”
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), a member of the House Armed Services Committee comes out in an article in the Los Angeles Times in favor of the Feres Doctrine — a controversial rule that has effectively stripped military personnel of their ability to sue for even the most gross negligent acts by military doctors and managers. The article reports growing demands for the long-awaited termination of the doctrine. Continue reading “Duncan Hunter Comes Out In Favor of Infamous Feres Doctrine”
According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, German citizen Gholam Ghaus Z., 41, had been held since January in Afghanistan after he tried to buy a shaver in a U.S. military supermarket. The four-months of confinement that followed has not been justified by the U.S. government and has become a matter of tensions between the two countries. This follows the case of German Turk Murat Kurnaz who spent almost five years in US military camps in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay despite a lack of evidence of terrorism, in the view of the Germans. The Bush Administration, however, is holding the line it appears at keeping our shavers out of the hands of Al Qaeda to avoid an escalation to nose clippers and that quintessentially American product, the Thigh Master. Continue reading “Getting the Schtick Kicked Out of You: German Citizen Allegedly Held for Months by U.S. in Afghanistan After Trying to Buy Electric Shaver in Military Store”
There is a controversy brewing over at Wikipedia. Someone at the office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence appears to have edited out an article about Major Alan Rogers, who died serving this country in Iraq. The Pentagon editor apparently objected to the recognition of the fact that Rogers was not only a hero, but gay. Continue reading “Pentagon Accused of Editing Out Wikipedia Reference to Solider’s Sexual Orientation”