Ex-army officers attack ‘chaos’ of Iraqi regime
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad Published:Â 29 September 2005
It was meant to be a moment of reconciliation between the old regime and the new, a gathering of nearly 1,000 former Iraqi army officers and tribal leaders in Baghdad to voice their concerns over today’s Iraq. But it did not go as planned.
General after general rose to his feet and raised his voice to shout at the way Iraq was being run and to express his fear of escalating war. “They were fools to break up our great army and form an army of thieves and criminals,” said one senior officer. “They are traitors,” added another.
The sense of hatred felt by these influential men, mostly Sunni Arabs, towards the new order installed by the US since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 is palpable and it bodes ill for Iraq. The country is entering a critical political period that will see a deeply divisive referendum on the constitution on 15 October, the trial of Saddam four days later and an election for the National Assembly on 15 December. The Sunnis fear the constitution means the break up of Iraq and their own marginalisation.
The Independent, UK: [more] 09/29/05
September 29th, 2005 at 11:46 am
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Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Photos By LARRY NEUMEISTER,Associated Press Writer Thurs 29 Sep 05
Pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison must be released despite government claims that they could damage America’s image, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven they “do not need pretexts for their barbarism.”
The American Civil Liberties Union sought the release of 87 photographs and four videotapes as part of an October 2003 lawsuit demanding information on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic.
Brutal images of the abuse at the prison have already been widely distributed, but the lawsuit covers additional photos not yet seen by the public.
Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, had maintained in court papers that releasing the photographs would aid al-Qaida recruitment, weaken the Afghan and Iraqi governments and incite riots against U.S. troops.
Hellerstein said in his 50-page opinion that he respected Myers’ arguments but noted, “My task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case, the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government,” Hellerstein said.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which argued the case for the government, did not immediately comment on the ruling.
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