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Pattern of Abuse: U.S. Army Officer Reveals New Allegations of Detainee Abuse

Web Exclusive | Nation

Pattern of Abuse

A decorated Army officer reveals new allegations of detainee mistreatment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did the military ignore his charges?

By ADAM ZAGORIN

Posted Friday, Sep. 23, 2005
The U.S. Army has launched a criminal investigation into new allegations of serious prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan made by a decorated former Captain in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, an Army spokesman has confirmed to TIME. The claims of the Captain, who has not been named, are in part corroborated by statements of two sergeants who served with him in the 82nd Airborne; the allegations form the basis of a report from Human Rights Watch obtained by TIME and due to be released in the next few days (Since this story first went online, the organization has decided to put out its report; it can be found here). Senate sources tell TIME that the Captain has also reported his charges to three senior Republican senators: Majority Leader Bill Frist, Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner and John McCain, a former torture victim in Vietnam. A Senate Republican staffer familiar with both the Captain and his allegations told TIME he appeared "extremely credible."

** To read the rest of this Time Magazine Web Exclusive, please click on here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1108972,00.html

posted by Annamarie at 12:12 AM