Skipped autopsies in Iraq revealed

By Miles Moffeit
Denver Post Staff Writer

Autopsies were not performed on at least five Iraqi prisoners who died of mysterious causes at Abu Ghraib prison and other detention camps, according to Pentagon records.

And the lack of forensic investigations may conflict with international standards, including the Geneva Conventions, for the handling of war-detainee deaths.

Among the cases is a prisoner who died, the records show, after "gasping for air." Another detainee who had "prior head injuries" fell out of a hospital bed and struck his head on the floor. One prisoner began having "chest pains and collapsed."

Synopses of the death investigations, which do not disclose whether the prisoners were interrogated, are enclosed in documents obtained by The Denver Post from a high-level Pentagon source this week.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~6439~2162097,00.html

... "truth" is often whatever the brass says it is. An autopsy would be contrary to the culture -- it's "insubordinate" when the command structure has already predetermined the "truth."

<snip>

The five deaths in which autopsies were not performed are among at least 27 detainee fatalities under internal Pentagon review, records show.

Four of the prisoners died last year - two at Abu Ghraib. The fifth death occurred this year at the Camp Cropper detention facility near Baghdad, records show.

The earliest known death involving no forensic investigation occurred Aug. 3 at Camp Cropper, but no details were provided. "Since no forensic examination of the body was conducted, no greater clarity as to the cause of death is expected," the report notes.

FULL COVER UP MODE HERE FOLKS

,...and involves the whole chain of command.

Monstrous. Just freakin' monstrous!

Get those neocon bastards out of power!!!! The bringing hell upon all of us!!!!

:argh:

on Nick Berg. Seems that the Pentagon, don't need no stinking autopsies. The pictures are damning enough, heh Rummie?

autopsies on Spiegel TV, in which he says that they are not allowed to perform autopsies nor talk about what they see and that a lot of death certificates issued by the the army are obviously given wrong causes of death.

Definitively a must watch, unfortunately I can't find it any more but here is an article resuming the piece.

http://www.politrix.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=948

as the cause of death?

That "gasping for air" description would definitely fall into that category. Wonder if they are analyzing the marks left on anyone's neck.

Nah... that would be too obvious.