Unspeakable Abuse at Gitmo -- We Need the Names of These "Medical Personnel"

Scott Horton has a fantastic read up at Harper's about a Gitmo guard who has now come forward to blow the whistle. Army Private Brandon Neely speaks of the unspeakable at the hands of "medical personnel."

Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, an isolation regime that was put in place for child-detainees, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed. It makes for fascinating reading.

Child detainees? Yes. But we knew this of course, even though our government has denied it for years. We knew, did we not?

Now for something far more sinister. The medical staff engaged in this, including doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, all violated their oath and should have their medical licenses revoked. I want names. Why? Well let me ask you. Do you want to take your child to a doctor who has spent the last several years engaged in the torture of other children? Would you take your elderly mother to see a doctor who was involved in torturing people to death, as we now know?

I don't want these people in our community and in a position to abuse the most weak among us: the sick, the elderly, and children. Unless you think that someone can walk away from this type of evil and not become a monster? I don't. I do not believe people can engage in this type of brutality, that goes entirely against everything their profession stands for (or should), and walk away mentally and ethically in tact. I don't want these people "practicing" medicine "on" our citizens.

Here is another snip from Horton's piece. I suggest you read the whole thing, including Neely's account. I also suggest that you have a stiff drink before you do:

Third, the Nelly account shows that health professionals are right in the thick of the torture and abuse of the prisoners--suggesting a systematic collapse of professional ethics driven by the Pentagon itself. He describes body searches undertaken for no legitimate security purpose, simply to sexually invade and humiliate the prisoners. This was a standardized Bush Administration tactic-the importance of which became apparent to me when I participated in some Capitol Hill negotiations with White House representatives relating to legislation creating criminal law accountability for contractors.

The Bush White House vehemently objected to provisions of the law dealing with rape by instrumentality. When House negotiators pressed to know why, they were met first with silence and then an embarrassed acknowledgment that a key part of the Bush program included invasion of the bodies of prisoners in a way that might be deemed rape by instrumentality under existing federal and state criminal statutes. While these techniques have long been known, the role of health care professionals in implementing them is shocking.

Comments

[brandnewstuff]

Just like the Medical Professional when the Nazi where ding sceinfitc experiments on human beings- Yes Known what Professional are willing to abuse there medical Liscenes again AMA assocations and International Laws- Yes IT damn well matters--

Just like Geneva and those Lame Professionals- just following orders-

If My facts correct and I will check arfter writing this William Miller was a prosecutor for those trials- we ran as Vice Presidnet with Barry Goldwater-

Send Bush and Co to prsion and YANNK Med Liscences and Law Liscense people like this who do not honor the USA and our treaties do not have the honor to do business as Professionals

[bruster55]

Thank you Larisa, I agree that the medical professionals that engaged in these acts should be stripped of their medical credentials.
Furthermore they also should be criminally charged.

[WorkingClass]

Take the ax to the root Larissa. The names you want are George Bush and Dick Cheney.

[gorgonopsid]

War=Atrocity. These actions should surprise no one. When one group of human beings is given total control of another group by the exercise of force, the result is always torture and humiliation of the prisoners. Many of the people who claim shock and outrage at our government's treatment of detainees now were O. K. with invading Iraq and the terrifying, hideous steamroller of death and misery it initiated for that country's non-combatant citizens. WAR=ATROCITY. If you support War, you are saying "yes" to death, dismemberment, mutilation, rape, torture, famine, disease, all the plagues that have laid waste to human freedom, health and happiness. Anyone out there think I'm exaggerating?

[kclaf]

So, according to Neely, and other reports, this is how to quote our previous president: "We do not torture". Nice to know we do not torture. Thanks Bush and your horrific administration from hell we have had to endure for 8 years. Such a bunch of liars and so much worse. I do hope they are investigated and prosecuted - fully.

[janmarbol]

as disgusting as this is, it doesn't surprise me one bit- many indecent right winged doctors (esp. those who were military or ex-mil) in Argentina helped w/torture - and of course, same w/Germany... the only thing that surprises me is that we still have the g*ddamn nerve in this country to call it the "land of the free and the brave"!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

INVESTIGATE!

[GREYDOG]

Rule of Law!

[Cranbot]

Josef Mengele was a doctor too. If medical personnel were indeed involved and not just soldiers and CIA under orders this tilts the story entirely. First, do no harm indeed.

I had the reaction of rape by instruments and the Bush administration's fight against it being illegal as a reflection of fraternity hazing by the upper crust Republicans. They've all been through it, I sometimes think this is how they recruit and blackmail men to toe their line.

[indianabob]

I agree completely that we need to find these medical folks and prosecute them. This was a real world example of what was found in the Milgram and Stanford studies.

[DeWayne]

If 'one' person died as result of and with assistance with medical staff, they need lose more than their medical license, this is already covered by law since they would be guilty of pre-meditated murder.

[fbr79]

There have been 3 deaths in Gitmo since its inception and they were all suicides.

[Chumleysmom]

No, we were TOLD by the Bush Administration that they were suicides.

[fbr79]

(Continuation)
He admits to hurting one of the inmates and heard about medical personnel forcing an inmate to drink a can of ensure, he did not witness waterboarding, deliberate positional torture, or force feeding (besides the can of ensure). He witnessed rectal exams (which also go on in prisons in the US) but fingers, not objects as described by the article. There is clear anger, and violence in the acts SPC Neely describes, but Mr. Horton's analysis of Neely's testimony is filled with distortions of what the actual testimony contained such as a general contempt for Islam by the military, the use of instruments in examining inmates and an official push for breaking the Geneva Convention.

[fbr79]

Not to take anything away from the accusations that SPC (Not Private) Neely made, but IRFstyle squads are normally seen in any detention facility not only in the military, but also in their civilian counterparts. You can see how an IRF squad would operate in any of these shows on TV that shows life in the penal system that plague television nowadays. Unlike what was suggested in the article, it is was not designed as a loophole for torture, but as a protection for detention officers from violent inmates.
Furthermore, as it has been discussed a million times, the Geneva Convention does not cover unlawful enemy combatants (members of non-state actor groups). None of these individuals detained in Gitmo were soldiers of an Army, so legally the Geneva Convention does not apply to them.

Of course human rights abuses need to be invetigated and coupable parts punished, but reporting these abuses must be done in an accurate way. The law student interviewing Neely, was pushing for Geneva Convention training (which all soldiers receive), peper spray (not used according to Neely), SOPs (not designed at the time). Neely described the medical personnel giving inmates examinations and treating combat wounds.

[LeftRight]

Okay, you bring up the Geneva Conventions. I can accept that one, HOWEVER, since they are not Prisoners Of War under the Geneva Conventions, that means that they are suspected criminals in the United States Justice System. Since that one ALSO calls torture illegal, AND allows for only a limited time between arrest and charging with a crime.....

And before you come back with the lie about "American rights" I would like to point out that these people are one or the other, NOT neither! You cannot have it both ways!

[RoloTomassi]

"Furthermore, as it has been discussed a million times, the Geneva Convention does not cover unlawful enemy combatants (members of non-state actor groups)."

That is BushCo propaganda that is absolutely NOT TRUE; as coming reports will likely show, the entirety of the effort to "legalize" torture and the classification by the made-up term "enemy combatant" was as illegal as the acts they sanctioned.

Give it up; you are spouting criminally-founded nonsense.

[NCRDIBULL]

so far this is third party hearsay , and from a disgruntled ex soldier who's background may need looking into ...That is why the LIb MSM isn't buying it ... For a glimpse of what torture is look at the article up and to the right about the Khmer rouge

[skialethia]

SO WHAT! If this country does this it will be much more difficult to negotiate the release and humane treatment of Americans!!! This is absolutely immoral and inhumane! This needs to be prosecuted and Cheney should be no. 1 on the list!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

In short:
a) I don't believe the accusation.
b) I don't believe in the accuser.
c) If the Lib MSM doesn't run with a story, it must be false.
d) I don't believe, even if true, what we did (assume true, remember) was as bad as the Khmer Rouge.

BTW, What makes you believe in the Khmer Rouge?

Kudos for packing in so much so briefly.

[jhNY]

Unspeakable degrading acts committed by US public servants, medical professionals, and military personnel are pretty much an uncontested fact in the real world, which fails to occupy the DC Beltway, evidently designed to be reality-proof. All these acts were paid for by US citizens and go unpunished to date because insufficent noise has been made among them. So, so far, as we are citizens of a representive democracy, we are also guilty of these WAR CRIMES, most especially so long as the perpetrators are not brought to trial.

And no one else in the world is very much surprised-- just us. And they're right. The "Hollywood liberals" have been turning out fascist entertainments featuring lawless torturers working their dark magic on foreigners and narco-terrorists for years.

Only we thought it was entertainment; the rest of the world thought it was a window on our actual doings. Turns out art was mirroring life after all, although occasionally getting ahead of itself. Eventually, life caught up and surpassed the imaginations of thescreenwriters, thanks to work as described in this article gleefully taken up by ther Bush cabal, its enthusiasts and enablers.