Talking Points re: Detainee Abuse

The problem is not a matter of “just a few” soldiers. The problem is systemic.
Testimony by hundreds of Iraqis, given to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), Iraqi human rights groups, the Red Cross/Red Crescent, Amnesty International, and the U.S. Army’s own 2004 Taguba report, indicate that detainee abuse is widespread. Abuse ranges from the physical, psychological and sexual abuse used to “loosen up” detainees for interrogation, to widespread bullying and beating. Of the 72 cases formally documented by CPT, 24 detainees are known to have been released. Of these 24, 10 (nearly 50%) reported abuse such as hitting, stomping, water deprivation, psychological abuse, and prolonged handcuffing, kneeling, and exposure to sunlight. Two reported extreme abuse: one case of electrocution and one case in which soldiers pried off the detainee’s healthy toenail.

Abuse occurs at multiple locations.
Much abuse reportedly occurs at temporary facilities in military bases, by soldiers not trained to work with prisoners. Detainees may spend up to two weeks in holding facilities before going to Abu Ghraib or Bucca prison camps. Released detainees have testified that the conditions in the holding facilities were worse than in the prisons.

Many of the detainees are innocent.
By definition, a security detainee is someone suspected of threatening the security of the state or occupying power. They can be held for months without charges and without the right to legal process (Article 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 1949). But in order to capture one suspected person, Multinational Forces sometimes will detain an entire household or even village. According to a U.S. official in Iraq in March 2004, “thousands of Iraqis in prison should be home right now.”

The problem of mass detentions continues. Reports following the November 2004 assault on Fallujah suggest that the detainee population doubled in only one month.

Detainee abuse is only one of many problems with the detention system:

• House Raids: Many detainees are taken in violent midnight house raids that terrify and sometimes injure entire families, destroy property, and detain multiple innocent persons along with the guilty.
• Confiscation of Property: CPT and other human rights organizations have documented innumerable cases in which soldiers confiscated money and property without giving receipts, as is required by U.S. military procedures. Families have lost homes and entire savings because of unjust confiscation.
• Lack of Information: Although the list of detainees is now published online in Arabic, there is a minimum two-week gap in which detainees are undocumented. Most families do not know the list is published, and have great difficulty locating their loved ones or even determining whether they are dead or alive. Many “ghost detainees,” as well as persons detained before May 1, 2003, have never been accounted for.

Abuses threaten security.
Soldiers themselves pointed out to CPT workers the direct link between poor treatment of Iraqis and increased anger that fuels resistance attacks. Therefore, the short-term practices meant to increase security actually threaten the long-term security of soldiers and of Iraqi civilians who are caught in the crossfire.

Public Relations have been severely damaged.
The abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers greatly damaged the relationships between the U.S. and the people of Iraq. Iraqis on the streets had been talking about rumored sexual abuse of detainees for months before the April 2004 scandal. The reported scandal, rather than shocking Iraqis, confirmed their worst suspicions and fears.

U.S. officials in Iraq and U.S. Congresspersons were alerted of reports of abuse in January 2004.
In early January 2004, CPT released a comprehensive report that highlighted all of the concerns and patterns listed above. The report (available here) was sent to then-Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, General Ricardo Sanchez, and several members of Congress, including Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. CPT members met with then-Coalition Provisional Authority and military officials Col. Ralph Sabatino, Col. Marc Warren, Ambassador Richard Jones, and other more junior officials. While several shared CPT’s concerns and pledged to make improvements (the Arabic list available online, a visitor’s center at Abu Ghraib, speedier process for release), others stated that certain practices were standard and would continue (violent house raids, using hoods and handcuffs on detainees, keeping some names off the public list).