titantoo
01-19-2005, 10:43 PM
January 20, 2005
MISTREATMENT 3 British Soldiers Court-Martialed on Charges of Iraq Prisoner Abuse Similar to U.S. Cases
By ALAN COWELL
LONDON, Jan. 19 - Since their forces joined the American-led invasion of Iraq almost two years ago, British commanders and politicians have liked to depict their troops as less combative, less abrasive and less trigger-happy in dealing with local populations than their American counterparts.
But that image dissolved Wednesday as lurid photographs and accusations of abuse strikingly similar to those that emerged last April in the United States filled the front pages of newspapers here, showing British soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners in 2003. The photographs are part of the evidence against three soldiers facing a court-martial at a British base in Germany.
"These pictures will inevitably open old wounds and be part of drawing parallels with Abu Ghraib," said Menzies Campbell, the deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, who oppose the Iraq war.
The parallels are hard to avoid, from the sexualized nature of some of the alleged abuse, to the photographs, to the responses from political leaders.
Faced by widespread outrage at the images, whose authenticity has not been challenged, Prime Minister Tony Blair sought Wednesday to contain the potential political damage only months before a national election widely forecast for May.
In Parliament, he described the photographs showing Iraqis apparently forced to simulate homosexual acts as "shocking and appalling - there are simply no other words to describe them."
But he cited two factors, the court-martial itself and the relative rarity of reported abuse, to defend Britain's reputation. "The vast majority of those 65,000 British soldiers who have served in Iraq have done so with distinction, with courage and with great honor to this country," Mr. Blair said.
"I think and hope that people in Iraq do understand that the very fact that we are taking this action and prosecuting people who we believe may have been guilty of offenses indicates that we do not tolerate this type of activity in any shape or form at all," he said.
Similarly, after photographs of abuse by American soldiers were made public, President Bush expressed his disgust, arguing that the actions of a handful of soldiers should not taint the tens of thousands who serve honorably.
Last week, Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the Abu Ghraib abuse.
In Britain on Wednesday, both government and opposition closed ranks in insisting that, as the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, put it, the photographs "in no way reflect the true character of Britain's armed forces."
Publication of the photographs inspired concern that the 9,000 British troops, the biggest contingent among America's allies, could become targets of attack by Iraqis just days before the Jan. 30 election there.
"Over all, the British image is still better than the Americans," said Ahmed Versi, editor of the London-based Muslim News. "I think the British troops in the south have an advantage because the southern areas suffered a lot under Saddam Hussein, so the people there will take this in their stride. They are looking forward to a time when there will be no occupation."
Most of the British troops are in southern Iraq, and since the occupation started, the south has generally been far less violent than the so-called Sunni Triangle around Baghdad. For all that, though, Mr. Versi and others said, the publication of the photographs will give "a very bad image." Indeed, said Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper Al Quds al Arabi, "it will be an uphill struggle to repair the damage."
According to testimony at the court-martial in Osnabrück, Germany, the abuse took place in May 2003. At the time, British troops, who had occupied Basra several weeks earlier, reported extensive looting of a depot containing relief supplies like food and powdered milk.
A lawyer defending one of three accused soldiers said Wednesday in Osnabrück that an officer, Maj. Dan Taylor, had given an order for looters to be rounded up and "worked hard" to punish them for stealing.
The three soldiers on trial in Germany are Lance Cpl. Mark Cooley, 25; Cpl. Daniel Kenyon, 33; and Lance Cpl. Darren Larkin, 30. Only Corporal Larkin has admitted one charge of assault. Other charges against the three men - which they have denied - include forcing two men to strip naked and simulate sexual acts and using a fork-lift truck to hoist a prisoner aloft.
The photographs show the men seeming to prepare to punch and kick bound prisoners. The abuse became known when a soldier handed in film from his camera for processing on his return to Britain and was reported to the civilian police.
The worst abuse in the Abu Ghraib case took place in late 2003, and also involved detainees being placed in sexually humiliating positions, some of which were photographed.
MISTREATMENT 3 British Soldiers Court-Martialed on Charges of Iraq Prisoner Abuse Similar to U.S. Cases
By ALAN COWELL
LONDON, Jan. 19 - Since their forces joined the American-led invasion of Iraq almost two years ago, British commanders and politicians have liked to depict their troops as less combative, less abrasive and less trigger-happy in dealing with local populations than their American counterparts.
But that image dissolved Wednesday as lurid photographs and accusations of abuse strikingly similar to those that emerged last April in the United States filled the front pages of newspapers here, showing British soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners in 2003. The photographs are part of the evidence against three soldiers facing a court-martial at a British base in Germany.
"These pictures will inevitably open old wounds and be part of drawing parallels with Abu Ghraib," said Menzies Campbell, the deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, who oppose the Iraq war.
The parallels are hard to avoid, from the sexualized nature of some of the alleged abuse, to the photographs, to the responses from political leaders.
Faced by widespread outrage at the images, whose authenticity has not been challenged, Prime Minister Tony Blair sought Wednesday to contain the potential political damage only months before a national election widely forecast for May.
In Parliament, he described the photographs showing Iraqis apparently forced to simulate homosexual acts as "shocking and appalling - there are simply no other words to describe them."
But he cited two factors, the court-martial itself and the relative rarity of reported abuse, to defend Britain's reputation. "The vast majority of those 65,000 British soldiers who have served in Iraq have done so with distinction, with courage and with great honor to this country," Mr. Blair said.
"I think and hope that people in Iraq do understand that the very fact that we are taking this action and prosecuting people who we believe may have been guilty of offenses indicates that we do not tolerate this type of activity in any shape or form at all," he said.
Similarly, after photographs of abuse by American soldiers were made public, President Bush expressed his disgust, arguing that the actions of a handful of soldiers should not taint the tens of thousands who serve honorably.
Last week, Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the Abu Ghraib abuse.
In Britain on Wednesday, both government and opposition closed ranks in insisting that, as the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, put it, the photographs "in no way reflect the true character of Britain's armed forces."
Publication of the photographs inspired concern that the 9,000 British troops, the biggest contingent among America's allies, could become targets of attack by Iraqis just days before the Jan. 30 election there.
"Over all, the British image is still better than the Americans," said Ahmed Versi, editor of the London-based Muslim News. "I think the British troops in the south have an advantage because the southern areas suffered a lot under Saddam Hussein, so the people there will take this in their stride. They are looking forward to a time when there will be no occupation."
Most of the British troops are in southern Iraq, and since the occupation started, the south has generally been far less violent than the so-called Sunni Triangle around Baghdad. For all that, though, Mr. Versi and others said, the publication of the photographs will give "a very bad image." Indeed, said Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper Al Quds al Arabi, "it will be an uphill struggle to repair the damage."
According to testimony at the court-martial in Osnabrück, Germany, the abuse took place in May 2003. At the time, British troops, who had occupied Basra several weeks earlier, reported extensive looting of a depot containing relief supplies like food and powdered milk.
A lawyer defending one of three accused soldiers said Wednesday in Osnabrück that an officer, Maj. Dan Taylor, had given an order for looters to be rounded up and "worked hard" to punish them for stealing.
The three soldiers on trial in Germany are Lance Cpl. Mark Cooley, 25; Cpl. Daniel Kenyon, 33; and Lance Cpl. Darren Larkin, 30. Only Corporal Larkin has admitted one charge of assault. Other charges against the three men - which they have denied - include forcing two men to strip naked and simulate sexual acts and using a fork-lift truck to hoist a prisoner aloft.
The photographs show the men seeming to prepare to punch and kick bound prisoners. The abuse became known when a soldier handed in film from his camera for processing on his return to Britain and was reported to the civilian police.
The worst abuse in the Abu Ghraib case took place in late 2003, and also involved detainees being placed in sexually humiliating positions, some of which were photographed.