| Conresswomen sees prisoners with inflected wounds { May 13 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/05/13/so_far_unbecoming_of_what_we_expect/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/05/13/so_far_unbecoming_of_what_we_expect/
'So far unbecoming of what we expect' By Associated Press | May 13, 2004
Members of Congress saw classified images of Iraqi prisoner abuse yesterday. Some of their descriptions of the photos and videos they saw:
A clothed man beating himself against a wall as though to knock himself unconscious. "I saw cruel, sadistic torture," said Representative Jane Harman, Democrat of California.
A prisoner apparently sodomizing himself with a foreign object. "There were certain wounds," said Representative Trent Franks, Republican of Arizona. "I didn't see anyone inflicting wounds, but it was certainly implied that they were inflicted."
More than seven soldiers standing in a hallway with a clump of people tied together on the floor. "You can't tell me all of this is going on with seven or eight Army privates," said Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida.
Dogs snarling at prisoners and women being forced to disrobe. "I don't know how the hell these people got into our Army," said Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado.
People in body bags and a person with a disfigured face, although apparently no images of violence being done to those people. "It's hard to believe that these injuries or pictures that you see would have occurred without violence," said Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska.
"People were, I believe, forced to smash heads against doors until their heads broke open. There were people who were forced to have sex with each other," said Representative Gary Ackerman, Democrat of New York.
US soldiers engaged in "pornographic" acts with each other. "It certainly was so far unbecoming of what we expect from American soldiers. It's so terribly disappointing," said Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota.
A dead prisoner and others with several cuts on their bodies. "We have no clue if that was inside the prison or in a battleground. There is no context to a lot of these pictures," said Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio.
© Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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