The Bricklayers Attacked

The attack on the bricklayers of Abu Ghraib
For the full story by John F. Burns see The New York Times: 7/13/05:p8

There are differing accounts of what happened to the 12 men from Abu Ghrib on the road to Baghdad.

The Police say that the men were involved in a roadside attack and exchanged fire with Americans and Iraqi police. The men were tracked to a Baghdad hospital where they were arrested and taken away in an armored vehicle.The men were brought to Yarmouk Hospital 14 hours after their arrest; eight were dead and four were unconscious; of the four only two survived One of the two survivors of the group, Diya Saleh, says the men were on their way to Baghdad in search of work bricklaying. Whether or not Mr Saleh is being truthful is immaterial at this point. The men were taken with and without injuries out of a hospital, possibly subjected to electrical torture in 110 degree heat and subsequently most of them were killed. A police officer at Yarmouk Hospital substantiated the story and told another. Several Hours after Mr. Saleh was admitted a group of four commandos and a civilian demanded to know where he was. When the officer called the local police for assistance the commandos left. They were presumably there to kill him.

It seems that there are very mysterious forces at work in Iraq. The local police it seems is more discriminating in its tactics than the military commando types. If any people should be sensitive to issues regarding torture it is the Iraqis. That we are exploring the outer limits of what we think are acceptable interrogation techniques in the field and at confinement centers like Gitmo is in direct conflict to our desired aim of turning over Iraq to the Iraqis--if the authorities in Iraq are going to continue to use torture they will never have legitimacy. Similarly the military intelligence bureau should do a study on the quality, quantity and value of information gained in this manner. My hunch is it they would agree with John Warner that the wealth of information has saved lives and been well worth it. However, when you consider the example it sets and the danger it presents to our own troops in the hands of an enemy it isn't. But under the defense secretary rumsfeld any concern for the grunts is purely unintentional.

Oh by the way if rumsfeld's boss wants the Rove story to die he might start by releasing Judith Miller. You can not still the press by firing its rockets.