American Citizen-WhistleBlower Detained & Tormented In Iraq By US Military (NYT)

US military detained contractor whistleblower in Iraq

Former U.S. Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment
By MICHAEL MOSS
Published: December 18, 2006

..............
Iraq’s Legal System Staggers Beneath the Weight of War (December 17, 2006)American guards arrived at the man’s cell periodically over the next several days, shackled his hands and feet, blindfolded him and took him to a padded room for interrogation, the detainee said. After an hour or two, he was returned to his cell, fatigued but unable to sleep.

The fluorescent lights in his cell were never turned off, he said. At most hours, heavy metal or country music blared in the corridor. He said he was rousted at random times without explanation and made to stand in his cell. Even lying down, he said, he was kept from covering his face to block out the light, noise and cold. And when he was released after 97 days he was exhausted, depressed and scared.

Detainee 200343 was among thousands of people who have been held and released by the American military in Iraq, and his account of his ordeal has provided one of the few detailed views of the Pentagon’s detention operations since the abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib. Yet in many respects his case is unusual.

The detainee was Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran from Chicago who went to Iraq as a security contractor. He wound up as a whistle-blower, passing information to the F.B.I. about suspicious activities at the Iraqi security firm where he worked, including what he said was possible illegal weapons trading.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/world/middleeast/18justice.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I didn't get a sense of 'retaliation' from the info in the article. More like one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Even if retaliation was not a primary factor in their detainment, the treatment Vance and Ertel received is both shameful and unexcusable.

I understand the need to detain and interrogate those who are, or appear to be, involved with furnishing weapons to our enemies. However, there is NO reason to treat detainees, American or otherwise, inhumanely. Pentagon spokesman First Lt. Lea Ann Fracasso stated the both men HAD been treated fairly and humanely; I daresay her conclusions would be different were she on the receiving end of such treatment by HER OWN PEOPLE.

I also understand that mistakes happen. Innocent people sometimes get caught in the net too. When we realize that such has happened, our honor as Americans and as human beings demands those people be immediately released. I find it very disturbing that Mr Ertel was held in the same inhumane conditions for 18 days (that's two and a half weeks!) after investigation cleared him of of any wrongdoing.

If there IS any retribution at play here, I believe it rears its ugly head AFTER Mr Vance is detained and questioned. A phone call or two would have confirmed his story, but 96 days later he still getting what sleep he could on a concrete slab in a 9 by 9 cell.

Intolerable. Unacceptable. I hope Mr Vance sues and wins.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

There is no American safe anywhere.

..."Military Commissions Act" in the debate by saying that he believes in sleep deprivation to get someone to reveal the location of ticking time bomb.

The NY Times article shows how the US government is really using sleep deprivation.

:kick:

glc

impeachment back on the table NOW!

this was on the front page. It should be first page news on every paper in the US. Enough is enough. Fire the $%#@&^%$.

:sarcasm:

But don't you love the training some of the troops are getting? When they come back will they be able to drop having that kind of power over others?

It is weird too that, as I read, there are 140,000 troops in Iraq and 100,000 contractors. So a good percentage of the Americans there are civilians.

Training Americas police officers of tomorrow, today.

"How a government treats others is how it will eventually treat its own."

Yep.

for when we get the full domestic release

This is corrupt on so many levels :scared:

They would never do that to American citizens!!!

:sarcasm:

Fucking bastards.

As if we're special. It's moot anyway because apparantly we're not exempt.

... would never do this to us (even though it's just as bad to treat others as badly).

Contrary to historical evidence, they can't seem to grasp that giving the government that kind of power is dangerous.

And they claim to be patriots which is really confounding.

See how much more selective they've become.

"Bastards" is far too polite. Evil sociopathic S.o.S.C. is more accurate. (Bill Hicks fans will be able to decode the abbreviation)

With that kind of efficiency, we should have the whole war on terror won in a century or two.

Err..I thought our mission in Iraq was to halt illegal weapons trading?

There is a Special Place in Hell for these Sick Fu@#s!

:grr:

* Edited by Admin at request of TexasLawyer because this letter to the editor will be published.

After all these YEARS they are still trying to exculpate their cheer-leading actions in the lead up to the invasion :shrug:

Most American people won't hear, read, or believe this unless it's put into a damn movie! Some entertainment!

>>
On July 20, Mr. Vance wrote in his notes: “Told ‘Leaving Today.’ Took shower and shaved, saw doctor, got civ clothes back and passport.”

On his way out, Mr. Vance said: “They asked me if I was intending to write a book, would I talk to the press, would I be thinking of getting an attorney. I took it as, ‘Shut up, don’t talk about this place,’ and I kept saying, ‘No sir, I want to go home.’ ”
>>

Sounded like a threat to me.

I don't doubt this for a second.

Why didn't the FBI do something? Hello! He went to them for help!

The FBI sat on this for 97 days! Great! Wonderful!

I'm hoping that the NSWBC can help him out soon!

:grr: :grr: :grr:

and those following their orders.

Even WITH the 2006 flip-of-power, we are one NBC terrorist attack (God Forbid) from that being any one of us.

Who's next? There are many, many more stories like this that are yet to be told.