Bush Campaign Lies
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Bush Campaign Lie #48: Because We Acted in Iraq, Torture Chambers Are Closed
Bush continues to have the gall to make this claim in numerous campaign speeches in spite of recent reports of U.S. soldiers and U.S. based mercenaries torturing Iraqi prisoners.
In a campaign speech at Niles Senior High School in Niles, Michigan, Bush said:
Because we acted, torture rooms are closed, rape rooms no longer exist, mass graves are no longer a possibility in Iraq.While it's true that Saddam Hussein is no longer directing such activities, Major General Antonio Taguba has researched allegations of abuse at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq, and discovered all of the following activities:
Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees; pouring cold water on naked detainees; beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; threatening male detainees with rape; allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell; sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick, and using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee.The facts about this story are still emerging, but the Washington Post is now reporting that there have been a total of 35 cases of alleged abuse of prisoners probed since 2002. This news, together with the fact that the Abu Ghraib torture seems to have been directed from a fairly high level, suggests that while the Abu Ghraib incidents may be the most extreme cases of abuse, such atrocities are unlikely to be isolated to that one facility.
