New UN Report Shows the US Combo of Torture and Impunity Thrives in Iraqi Prisons

Iraqi authorities widely use torture to interrogate prisoners and extract confessions without fear of consequence. Sadly, the US doesn't have the credibility to confront these crimes.

Part of the deadly serious problem with the Obama administration's position on (not) holding accountable CIA torturers, their lawyers and the Bush administration officials who authorized and ordered all of these crimes is this: It sends a message to other governments that if Washington does it, we can too. Especially governments completely created by the US government.

No governments on the planet are more controlled by the US right now than the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A new UN human rights report examining Iraq shows that torture of prisoners by Iraqi authorities is widespread and accountability is nonexistent. "The lack of accountability of the perpetrators of such human rights abuses reinforces the culture of impunity," the UN bluntly states. The 30-page report by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, which examined conditions in Iraq from July to December 2008, was just released Wednesday.

At times, the report reads as though it could have been written about the US torture program at Guantanamo and other US-run prisons and the total lack of accountability. In Iraq, the UN cites "the use of torture as an interrogation method" and "prolonged periods of detention without charge or access to legal counsel and the use of torture or physical abuse against detainees to extract confessions."

UN investigators said it was of "particular concern" that a senior Iraqi police official complained that the Iraqi government's pending ratification of the Convention against Torture would "not be helpful," stating, "How are we going to get confessions? We have to force the criminals to confess and how are we going to do that now?" It sounds like that Iraqi police official has been listening to Dick Cheney.

The UN says "there are no documented cases to this day where an official of the Minister of Defence has been held accountable for human rights abuses." That is exactly the situation within the US Department of Defense (and Justice and CIA and White House for that matter). "This laxity in the prosecution is contrary to the international obligations undertaken by Iraq and to the provisions of the Convention against Torture."

Iraq hasn't even ratified the convention, but the US has--so what does that say about US conduct?

Some of the worst abuses in Iraqi prisons are said to take place in the northern autonomous Kurdish region, which has long been an area of major US influence (going back to the Saddam era). Among the findings of the UN:

claims of beatings during interrogation, torture by electric shocks, forced confessions, secret detention facilities, and a lack of medical attention. Abuse is often committed by masked men or while detainees are blindfolded. In general, detainees fear the interrogators and investigative personnel more than prison guards.

As of December 2008, there were 41,271 people being held in prisons throughout Iraq, 15,058 of them in the custody of the US-controlled "Multi-National Forces." The UN found that "many" of the prisoners "have been deprived of their liberty for months or even years in overcrowded cells" and expressed concerns "about violations of the minimum rules of due process as many did not have access to defence counsel, or were not formally charged with a crime or appeared before a judge."

While the report primarily focused on Iraqi run prisons, it notes that in US-run prisons "detainees have remained in custody for prolonged periods without judicial review of their cases." And remember, the US is in the process of turning over more prisoners to Iraqi custody.

It is well known that after Bush launched the so-called "War on Terror," the US torture system was exported from Guantanamo to Afghanistan and Iraq. Apparently the disdain for accountability and international law was as well when the US was setting up the new Iraqi government. Wasn't Saddams torture and disdain for international law one of the justifications for the invasion (after the WMD myth was exposed)? This UN report should serve as a sobering reminder of why it is so important to hold those who created, ordered, justified and implemented the US torture program responsible for their crimes. Sadly, the US at present has zero credibility in confronting these crimes by the Iraqi authorities.

For more information, see: http://uniraq.org/

For more of Jeremy Scahill's work, go to RebelReports.com

Comments

[horhay]

Great post, Jeremy and thanks for all your recent articles. They've been very informative and thought-provoking. The Blackwater book was outstanding and I think it took a lot of courage to investigate and publish it when you did.

It is indeed our obligation to investigate all of the detainee abuse. Torture should never have been tolerated in the first place. But since it has happened, I want to believe that it won't happen again. We can't move forward until we have dealt with the injustice and shame that has been done in our name.

[Dimitra Ekmektsis]

Hey, you're Robert Larson's friend from KUCI! I heard so much about you and your book. I'll get it as soon as I come up for air, I promise!

Maybe, subconsciously, I didn't purchase it yet, because I was afraid it would give me nightmares. Who knows? But that was before I read all these articles about torture. Those were the days...

Keep up the great work!
D-

[Annoula]

GREAT POST, Jeremy! [As usual!]
Aside from, sending a message to other governments that "if Washington does it, we can too..." as you so wisely wrote, there is another unintended, albeit predictable, consequence resulting from the "torturegate":

Iran, Syria and N. Korea are now emboldened and validated by the hypocrisy displayed by the country that once grouped them under "the axis of evil"...

From the BBC:

Iran remains the "most active state sponsor of terrorism" in the world, a report by the US state department says
Iran rejected the report, saying the US was guilty of double standards.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the US had no right to accuse others in light of its actions at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

Now...can ANYONE dare to argue with Mr. Mottaki's remarks?
We've lost our moral authority! We are no better than any of them!

[timberdoodle]

There are accounts of local law enforcement officials in the U.S. who were convicted of torture because they water boarded a prisoner and the sheriff was sentenced to ten years.

If this is no longer a crime then it should be recognized all law enforcement officers can use this form of enhanced interrogation with all their suspects. The rate of convictions will certainly be easier to obtain and a lot quicker plus it will help bring more profit to the private prison facilities. It's a win win for America.

[andycan]

WHO TORTURES WHO?

Who tortures who? Torture is a "sophisticated", but really stone-age method of showing who's boss.
Imperialists torture. That's why we shouldn't buy dog-eat-dog Darwinian models of relations between nations. We have the Ten commandments, Kant's categorical imperative, the UN Human Rights Charter to go by. Let's hope Obama will manage to change sadistic US ways and gradually generate a more humane image of the US in the world.

[Torus34]

Re: torture of prisoners.

A question remains. Did we learn from the Iraqis, was the reverse true or were both governments simply alike in willingness to torture?

[lafrance]

Jeremy, You do not know what is taking place inside the administration in regards to torture. You have to stop just taking everything on surface.
For one, this is the DOJ's job and they are in the middle of investigating. And you cannot make blanket statements of guilt or what you are going to do without complete information.
Obama is not that irresponsible. He is going to give vague answers until the investigation is done and the AG does what he thinks should be.
Common sense says someone like the president is in no position to behave rash or just say whatever.
It's time for you to use some common sense as well.

[Snuffleupagus]

Stop taking everything on the surface and just make up your own fantasy world where torture is dealt with? Is that really your advice?

The DOJ is not in the middle of investigating, but they are in the middle of defending SEVERAL different Bush cases in the courts on torture. Please read this link and understand that the DOJ is actively working...­.......for the wrong side.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/28/secrecy/index.html

Common sense says Democrats are covering for Republicans as usual. More reality for you.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/09/obama-adopts-bush-state-secrets-stance/

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/07/obama-doj-wiretapping-suit/

[camper65]

I wonder just how their "torture" compares to Saddam's?

[ffny]

Pres. Obama Re TORTURE ...Don't walk away from punishing those responsible, you want to move forward, but if we don't have closure then are we not just covering it up and what about the old saying that goes

Those that do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it

[eagledavey]

Translation: the US is evil. Blah blah. Btw, the Greeks were famous for their mercenary armies. They marched with the Persians and decided many a battle. That would be like the Green Berets taking money to go to work for AQ. So, no...Blackwater is far from the most powerful mercenary force in history. Also, 911 really happened.

[viper234]

And Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. So what's your point?

[Garioch]

The Greek mercenary armies marched with the Persians? What are you on about? Did you once read a slim tome on Greek civilisation and a couple of lines from it stuck in your head as you skimmed through it without bothering to actually read about the society as a whole and thus gain any understanding of the whole system?
Apart from that are you attempting to say that a Greek mercenary force is more powerful than a modern armed force, this is just lazy lazy thinking. Get some discipline about you man.

[eagledavey]

The Greek mercenaries worked for the Persians. Thats a fact. There were Greek mercenaries who fought against Alexander. That is also a fact. The Greeks were the best soldiers of their day and the Persians were the wealthiest. Maybe you are the one who needs to do some reading and comprehension.

[citizensrus]

You are defending torture by bringing up the ancient Greece?

[horhay]

Green berets working for AQ? No you've got it in reverse. Al Qaeda has done work for the CIA on more than a few occasions. Examples include the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, CIA training camps in Chechnya, and the Kosovo Liberation Army as recently as 2000.

[viper234]

The evidence as well as the ramifications of America's actions -- from its preemptive war in Iraq founded on lies, to its torture program is mounting. Yes, the US once denounced Saddam Hussein for using torture againist his own people. The US even promised to put him on trial for war crimes. Hussein was executed for his crimes. But now that America's newly installed government in Iraq is using America's torture program, the US is well, silent. The US has no moral authority in the world and if the US tries to exert such, it will be soundly rejected and rightfully so.

[Badfickle]

What? But that doesn't happen on 24.

[liecatcher]

As you say JEREMY:

... "Sadly, the US doesn't have the credibility to confront these crimes."

Or the desire. The military industrial complex is still in charge. American troops are being special

trained in "crowd control" in case we the people rise up and complain about our present and future.

MAIN STREET is trying to survive without homes, jobs, and drowning in debt.

For how long can we the people watch as WALL STREET continues its plunder?

[eagledavey]

Funny, I havent seen any crowd control training in my years in the military...where do you get your info from? Comic books?

[horhay]

Are you still in the military? Because the First Brigade was reassigned to the U.S. on October 1, 2008.

"This new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities. They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios..."(Army Times)

[Norge]

Torture was a large part of the VietNam war also. America and its' phy. have used very large numbers of research dollars to develope systematic torture methods. After torture, victims were liquidated in VietNam. The Phoenix Project, http://www.serendipity.Ii/cia/operation_phoenix.htn was some of the training ground for present day policies, or so it appears.

Tragic for the American Empire to have stooped so low. Though in the later times of all empires, debatchery and internal decay precedes the final demise.

[robadeaux]

Torture has always been a part of the human condition. I love reading the "Jesuit Relations"... the first person accounts of the European incursion into North America 1530-1760...
It is revealing how the priests are so accepting of the torture the aboriginals practiced on each other. For instance the Hurons slow roasting and eating an Iriquois captive or especially the Iriquois (any one of the five tribal groups of the Iriquois confederation) cooking up any of the many captives of their enemies, who happened to be any tribe not in the Iriquois confederation...and on the priests themselves. Those priests who survived the torture (the ones who were not burned and eaten...) left fascinating accounts of the horror. Of course (with the exception of the eating) that sort of thing was going on in Europe at the same time, so, they were not really upset with the torture, only the missed opportunity of baptising the victims first...

[jsgaetano]

Well, the Mormons are hard at work posthumously baptizing everyone they can.

So, at least it all turned out for the best. According to Mitt Romney and the GOP, anyway.

[Annoula]

Somehow, I don't seem to capture the relevance of your comments nor their connection with Jeremy's post.
Are you trying to say that because the Jesuit priests accepted the torture practices of the aboriginals in the 1500, we should simply live happily with the fact that the US has been systematically ABUSING HUMAN RIGHTS and lying about it because there have been historically other cases of torture????
FYI: Those priests were probably greatly outnumbered by the natives and scared to death of getting the same treatment, that's why they allowed the "barbecue" to proceed...
In fact, accoring to your account some got it!
So...what should we do in 2009, get some ketchup and barbecue sauce and join the party???

[GreatNews27]

Sadly, the U.S. has neither the desire or the inclination to stop the torture in it's own prisons much less in Iraq. We Americans seem, for some reason, to just love inflicting pain and suffering upon others. Must be those American 'values' I keep hearing so much about.

[robadeaux]

I know that is an editorial "we". I do not include myself or my children in that group (or almost everyone I know) of Americans. But such is our culture of violence...