U.S. Soldier Killed Herself -- After Refusing to Take Part in Torture

With each new revelation on U.S. torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo (and who, knows, probably elsewhere), I am reminded of the chilling story of Alyssa Peterson, who I have written about numerous times in the past three years but now with especially sad relevance. Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003.

Of course, we now know from the torture memos and the U.S. Senate committee probe and various new press reports, that the "Gitmo-izing" of Iraq was happening just at the time Alyssa got swept up in it.

Alyssa Peterson was one of the first female soldiers killed in Iraq. A cover-up, naturally, followed.

Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Ariz., native, served with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a "non-hostile weapons discharge."

A "non-hostile weapons discharge" leading to death is not unusual in Iraq, often quite accidental, so this one apparently raised few eyebrows. The Arizona Republic, three days after her death, reported that Army officials "said that a number of possible scenarios are being considered, including Peterson's own weapon discharging, the weapon of another soldier discharging, or the accidental shooting of Peterson by an Iraqi civilian." And that might have ended it right there.

But in this case, a longtime radio and newspaper reporter named Kevin Elston, not satisfied with the public story, decided to probe deeper in 2005, "just on a hunch," he told me in late 2006 (there's a chapter about it in my book on Iraq and the media, So Wrong for So Long). He made "hundreds of phone calls" to the military and couldn't get anywhere, so he filed a Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] request. When the documents of the official investigation of her death arrived, they contained bombshell revelations. Here's what the Flagstaff public radio station, KNAU, where Elston worked, reported:

"Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed."

The official probe of her death would later note that earlier she had been "reprimanded" for showing "empathy" for the prisoners. One of the most moving parts of the report, in fact, is this: "She said that she did not know how to be two people; she ... could not be one person in the cage and another outside the wire."

She was then assigned to the base gate, where she monitored Iraqi guards, and sent to suicide prevention training. "But on the night of September 15th, 2003, Army investigators concluded she shot and killed herself with her service rifle," the documents disclose.

The official report revealed that a notebook she had written in was found next to her body, but blacked out its contents.

The Army talked to some of Peterson's colleagues. Asked to summarize their comments, Elston told me: "The reactions to the suicide were that she was having a difficult time separating her personal feelings from her professional duties. That was the consistent point in the testimonies, that she objected to the interrogation techniques, without describing what those techniques were."

Elston said that the documents also refer to a suicide note found on her body, which suggested that she found it ironic that suicide prevention training had taught her how to commit suicide. He filed another FOIA request for a copy of the actual note. It did not emerge.

Peterson, a devout Mormon, had graduated from Flagstaff High School and earned a psychology degree from Northern Arizona University on a military scholarship. She was trained in interrogation techniques at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, and was sent to the Middle East in 2003.

A report in The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff -- three years after Alyssa's death -- revealed that Spc. Peterson's mother, Bobbi Peterson, reached at her home in northern Arizona, said that neither she nor her husband Richard had received any official documents that contained information outlined in Elston's report.

In other words: Like the press and the public, even the parents had been kept in the dark.

Tomorrow I will write about Kayla Williams, a woman who served with Alyssa, who told me me that she talked to her about her problems shortly before she killed herself. Kayla also was forced to take part in torture interrogations, where she saw detainees punched. Another favorite technique: strip the prisoners and then remove their blindfolds so that the first thing they saw was Kayla Williams. She also opted out, but survived, and is haunted years later.

Here's what Williams told Soledad O'Brien of CNN : "I was asked to assist. And what I saw was that individuals who were doing interrogations had slipped over a line and were really doing things that were inappropriate. There were prisoners that were burned with lit cigarettes."

All of this only gains relevance in light of the current debate over whether those who were "just following orders" in torture routines should be held accountable today.

Continued:
Part II: Soldier Who Killed Herself -- After Refusing to Take Part in Torture

Greg Mitchell's latest book is "Why Obama Won." His previous book on Iraq and the media was "So Wrong for So Long." He is editor of Editor & Publisher.

Comments

[Delaware22]

I want to see, hear and read it all. The actions of a few (and not the suckers who went to jail for Abu Ghraib) have tarnished our country's reputation. Let's put all the dirty cards on the table. It's the only way our country can get back to what makes us a moral leader in this world, blind justice. President Obama has faultered in this matter. For the first time since his election, I'm disappointed in his judgement...open all the doors and windows and let the sun shine in, President Obama; only then can we make a fresh start. Also, after reading several accounts of this young woman's death, are we sure it was suicide?

[KISSman]

It's mind-boggling how much as a country we lost our way during the Bush years. No wonder the world hated us.

And Republicans are complete and total enablers. If you stood up and questioned what our country was doing during the last 8 years, you were called 'unpatriotic' and grouped together and deemed the 'blame America crowd'. And to this day, they still support and protect the Bush administration and every illegality that happened during those years.

Well, clearly sometimes we get it wrong -- way wrong. We're no better than our enemies when we do some of the things we did to these prisoners. We're supposed to be above that -- that's our history. If we want to be the beacon of light in this world, we best act like it.

Luckily, there is a flicker of light again and Obama best not stand in the way of the prosecutions that need to take place.

[AGarcia]

And NO NATIONAL COVERAGE... instead we get CUTE animals doing stupid things!

Digg this article. This needs more attention.

[Josh-E]

Alyssa Peterson was my schoolyard friend at Sechrist Elementary in Flagstaff. I recognized her immediately upon seeing her picture. Even 22 years later, I remember Alyssa as a kind person, a fun kid and a good friend. I am so hurt by her loss and the circumstances surrounding her death.

[SouthernJewel]

May she rest in peace.

I supported our soldiers, but never supported this war.

What is being revealed one by one are my reasons that I stated back in 2003.

I knew in my heart of hearts, that those that committed the acts of torture were not "bad apples" as was stated by Cheny/Bush/more.

Her family deserves to know the truth.
America deserves to know the truth.

America does not torture. We DO NOT Torture and bless her heart, this soldier stood by international law, Geneva Convention.

[temetnosce]

southernjewel,

sadly, we do, we have, and we did torture. it's common american cruelty. in this case it was "officially" required by the highest levels of american leadership as opposed to tacitly required as is typical.

what do you think being a "american" has meant for generations to the rest of the world? to those without power in this country? salvation? what do you think their impressions of americans has been? impressive?

please...

[CranialRectalLoopback]

But we're SAFE from the TERRORISTS. You see, the 2nd Amendment is necessary SO WE CAN PROTECT OURSELVES. But apparently the 2nd Amendment won't protect us from the TERRORISTS. But TORTURE will protect us.

[cornelison]

The people "at the top" in the last admin. are responsible for this. They've ruined lives on both sides. We need to know the truth. Americans CAN handle the truth.

[Riani]

Sorry to be slightly off topic, but this story reminds me of a book recently out, 'The Lonely Soldier - The private war of women serving in Iraq', by Helen Benedict. The book deals with the rape of female soldiers by their own comrades, and although unrelated to the torture angle in this story, makes one ask serious questions about the emotional and psychological state of mind of soldiers in Iraq.

[John Paul]

may she rest in peace

[ChelseaC]

No words are adequate to express how I feel. This is so very sad--I'm sad and angry.

[mnmike44]

I was literally choked with the emotions of rage and sadness as I read your article. As a father of a veteran myself the thought of any child conflicted with such guilt is unthinkable. I dedicated the most recent post on my blog to the memory of this young woman and left a link to your story. Keeping speaking truth to power.

mweber44 at: http://apoliticalcommentary.blogspot.com/

[AngieMom57]

Why isn't this story being discussed by our POTUS and Gibbs?

Mainstreet Media fails again.

[StellaWafers]

mutineers- even fallen ones, are the real heroes....
how sad indeed.

[MsLuscious]

im sure theres more to this story than we know......frankly, i DONT wanna know www.Shop-Luscious.com

[TigersEye]

Many of my family were in the service: My grandfather was a pilot during WWII, my father in Korea and my brother was in the Air Force. People join the military to serve their country, ideally in the time of any conflict to "protect" the US. Your average serviceman/woman is not going to go overseas with the idea that their job will be to torture the "enemy". That is asking those who volunteer to enlist to sell their souls for zero gain. How can any decent person with some amount of empathy do this without paying a huge price? And why is it asked of them in the first place? Whether this young woman killed herself because she was put in this kind of position, or whether the military killed her in some kind of cover up - either answer is absolutely unacceptable and I hope there will be accountability.

[Pammie]

*********** Keith !! please have her family on your program. PLEASE !! *****************

pammie

[atrivera15]

This is exactly why the republicans are finally paying a price for their deeds. It's to bad the democrats didn't have enough guts to implement some real oversight. Their heads should bow in shame.