The New York Times has an extensive story about the way Americans treated prisoners in Afghanistan. If you have any questions as to why they hate us, read this piece. It is extremely disturbing -- that is, if you are human.
The Times bases this article on the Army's own report:
The story of Mr. Dilawar's brutal death at the Bagram Collection Point - and that of another detainee, Habibullah, who died there six days earlier in December 2002 - emerge from a nearly 2,000-page confidential file of the Army's criminal investigation into the case, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.A narrative counterpart to Abu Gharib. That's just great. And, before Scott McClellan starts yelling at the NY Times, telling them to retract and re-write, he needs to be reminded: this is a report from the U.S. Army.
Like a narrative counterpart to the digital images from Abu Ghraib, the Bagram file depicts young, poorly trained soldiers in repeated incidents of abuse. The harsh treatment, which has resulted in criminal charges against seven soldiers, went well beyond the two deaths.
There are many disturbing anecdotes in the article, but this one struck me as the probably the worst:
Some of the same M.P.'s took a particular interest in an emotionally disturbed Afghan detainee who was known to eat his feces and mutilate himself with concertina wire. The soldiers kneed the man repeatedly in the legs and, at one point, chained him with his arms straight up in the air, Specialist Callaway told investigators. They also nicknamed him "Timmy," after a disabled child in the animated television series "South Park." One of the guards who beat the prisoner also taught him to screech like the cartoon character, Specialist Callaway said.Doesn't that make you feel proud?
