(Australian) Defence chiefs come clean on abuse

[UpInArms]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855502334.html

The Federal Government's claim that no Australian personnel knew of abuses of Iraqi prisoners until January was demolished during an extraordinary Senate hearing yesterday amid accusations of a cover-up by the Government and military leaders.

While the Defence Minister, Robert Hill, denied senators the opportunity to question the military lawyer at the centre of the uproar, Major George O'Kane, Defence chiefs, departmental officials and the minister revealed sensational new details about what the Australian military knew of abuse complaints, and when, during a marathon grilling before an estimates committee.

The revelations, which contradicted recent public statements by some of the most senior figures in the Government and the military, include:

 Major O'Kane made five visits to Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad between last August and January 4, some specifically to investigate concerns about abuse of prisoners. Six other Australian military lawyers were also revealed to have visited the jail, where the worst of the abuses by the US military occurred.

<snip>

 Defence officials in Canberra were told on December 4 that Major O'Kane went to Abu Ghraib "in response to concerns raised by the about conditions at the prison".

...more...

[Matilda]

1. But Howard still maintains that neither Hicks nor Habib were beaten

or tortured in any way in Gitmo.

Bush told him, so it must be true.

Abu Ghraib won't hurt him directly as badly as it hurts Bush or
Blair, but it makes it harder for him to justify the war, or the
detention of Hicks and Habib. He certainly can't use Iraq as an
election issue.

It's slowly beginning to unravel for Howard.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Howard commits Aussie troops to humiliation of Iraqi prisoners

Prime Minister John Howard today offered to support US and UK mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners with Aussie troops. Mr Howard ruled out Australian participation in any actual torture, but said their expert knowledge would provide invaluable assistance to other Coalition forces degrading Iraqis.

“While Britain and the US will continue to fulfil the core roles of beating, urinating and the forming of naked human pyramids our special ops will lend valuable support with traditional Australian tactics such as sledging, towel flicking and racial abuse,” the Prime Minister said.

Howard praised the highly specialised training Australian troops received at the Defence Force Academy in the fields of bullying and victimisation. “The initiation rituals at ADFA are some of the most brutal in the world,” he said, “So the boys who were abused in training are champing at the bit to become abusers themselves. If any of those Iraqis are gay, I think they’ll find our boys particularly deft.”

Australian troops are to be joined by several members of the Australian Federal Police, whose job it will be to train Iraqis to humiliate each other. “Our dream is that one day Iraqis will be hooded and attached to electrodes by their own people and it will be other Iraqis posing for cheesy photos while they suffer,” said AFP chief Mick Keelty. “But achieving that level of inhumanity may take years, even generations.”

Opposition Leader Mark Latham has condemned the announcement and demanded that all Australian bullies be returned by Christmas. “This is not our fight,” he said. “We have geeks and misfits of our own to be harrassed back home.”

“I deplore the bashing or intimidating of anybody,” he said. “Unless they overcharge you for their cab fare.”

http://www.chaser.com.au/show_story.asp?ID=926&ED=86&NAME=austroops

[the Kelly Gang]

2. Howard has a long history of lying..just before the beginning of

the Iraq invasion he said he still hadn't decided if our troops were going in as well..but the SAS had already been in for 3 days attacking isolated command posts.