US Training of Death Squads in Iraq? - War Is A Crime .org

Subject: [oneheartpeacework] Trained for Torture by Sheila Provencher, 23 Nov 2005Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:55:11 -0000From: "monkatheart" Reply-To: oneheartpeacework-owner@yahoogroups.comTo: oneheartpeacework@yahoogroups.comTrained for TortureBy Sheila Provencher [Christian Peacemaker Team member recently in Iraq]23 November 2005I see them almost every day, roaring through the Baghdad streets -- black-masked youngmen, standing up in the backs of pick-up trucks, with their automatic weapons firing intothe air. Sometimes the insignia on the side of the truck is a wolf, sometimes a lion,sometimes a scorpion. Iraq's commando units.Iraq's new security forces are supposedly the salvation of the country, the answer to the terroristbombs and constant state of insecurity. But when I hear the gunshots approach and watch thepick-up trucks race through traffic, I feel cold and afraid . . . . I have listened too many times tothe stories of the men these security forces have detained and interrogated."They electrocuted me so much that my body was lifted up and thrown down, it was such strongelectricity" said *Isam, a young Iraqi who was picked up by the Scorpion Brigade on the streetsof Baghdad, imprisoned and tortured in several different detention centers for more than twomonths, then finally released without charge. Others have shared the fact of their torture but aretoo afraid to go into detail. Still others will never tell their story, except through the marks lefton their corpses in the pictures their families receive at the morgue.I read the other day that the Iraqi government is downplaying the recent report about torture byIraqi security forces. Like the U.S. government leaders said following the Abu Ghraib abusescandal, the message is that this is a case of a few bad apples, and it will soon be under control.Friends, this is just not true. The torture is widespread, and the only reason that the world hasnot heard more about it is that the torture survivors are terrified to speak out. I have heard toomany personal accounts to believe otherwise. In addition, large international human rightsorganizations documented this torture more than a year ago – see Human Rights Watch's reportof January 2005 at www.hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq0105/From Isam's perspective, here is the reality. I am sorry but I can only share a few excerpts of hisstory, until I have permission to share it in its entirety. The fear of repercussions runs too deep.Here is what I can share:At a Scorpion Brigade detention center: The interrogators made Isam sit on the ground and toldhim to admit to specific crimes – that he had beheaded Iraqi Police, killed Iraqi National Guardsoldiers, and raped women. He denied these charges. They clipped an electric wire to his rightwrist, and connected the other end to his left big toe. They yelled at him, threatened him that31