Konovalov
10-21-05, 10:27 AM
Probe into film of troops burning Taliban fighters
October 21, 2005 - 11:26AM
Freelance journalist Stephen Dupont made the film while embedded with the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/10/21/dupont_narrowweb__200x287.jpg
The United States expressed concern today about film of US soldiers burning the bodies of two suspected Taliban militants which comes as a new blow to the image of the US military.
"From our point of view, these are very serious allegations, and if true, very troublesome," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
He said that an investigation would be held "and if there is, in fact, wrongdoing that was found, then those who are responsible for that wrongdoing will be held to account."
The United States is still struggling to overcome damage its reputation by the sexual humiliation of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and allegations of mistreatment of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay 'war on terror' camp in Cuba.
The New York Times and Washington Post said senior US officials were worried about the impact of the new video shown by the Australian SBS network's Dateline program on the US image in Muslim world.
"The Department of Defence has said that it is the policy of the United States to treat all remains consistent with the Geneva Convention and with the utmost respect," McCormack said.
"Our military personnel receive clear instructions to this effect," he said.
McCormack said however that the alleged actions of a few US soldiers should not in any way hinder the work of the US military and the values that it represented.
A report broadcast on SBS yesterday showed footage of the bodies being burnt, which is deeply offensive to Muslims and contravenes the Geneva Convention.
The US military in Afghanistan had launched a criminal investigation and would take "corrective action" should it prove to be true, Major General Jason Kamiya said in a statement.
"This command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration of their religious and cultural beliefs," he said.
Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was "deeply shocked" and had ordered an independent inquiry, ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said.
The soldiers said they burned the bodies for health reasons after they had been left out in the open for more than 24 hours, according to the Dateline program.
The suspected militants had died during an ambush of a US patrol near the village of Gonbaz in southern Afghanistan, the report said.
One American and one Afghan army soldier were also killed in the clash ahead of Afghanistan's elections last month.
Afterwards the US troops used the incident to broadcast inflammatory messages, it said.
"Attention Taliban, you are all cowardly dogs," one message reportedly said.
"You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be."
The Australian photojournalist who took the footage, Stephen Dupont, told SBS the troops apparently wanted to enrage the Taliban so that they would attack.
A US-led coalition of about 20,000 troops has been in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001 and has been battling loyalists who have vowed to overthrow the new Afghan government.
The Taliban were removed from power in a US-led campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States organised by Al-Qaeda from bases in Afghanistan.
Rights groups have heavily criticised the US military for abusing militants detained in Afghanistan, at least eight of whom have died in custody.
Two US soldiers were this year sentenced to up to three months in jail for the abuse of Afghan detainees held at Bagram air base near Kabul, that lead to their deaths.
After the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq last year, much attention has since been focused on Afghanistan and the Guantanamo detention camp.
Fifteen people died in Afghanistan in widespread protests after Newsweek magazine reported accusations in May that the Koran holy book had been thrown into a toilet by a US guard at Guantanamo.
Though Newsweek later retracted the article, the US authorities later said that there had been five incidents at the camp, including one where a guard had "accidentally" urinated on a Koran.
The US administration insisted that the cases were isolated and that abuse was not tolerated.
AFP
I doubt that these kind of images will endear the US soldiers to the Afghani people. It certainly didn't help the Soviets during the 80's. I hope that this is nothing more than a few soldiers taking it upon themselves regarding these actions which are in breach of the Geneva convention not to mention immoral.
October 21, 2005 - 11:26AM
Freelance journalist Stephen Dupont made the film while embedded with the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/10/21/dupont_narrowweb__200x287.jpg
The United States expressed concern today about film of US soldiers burning the bodies of two suspected Taliban militants which comes as a new blow to the image of the US military.
"From our point of view, these are very serious allegations, and if true, very troublesome," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
He said that an investigation would be held "and if there is, in fact, wrongdoing that was found, then those who are responsible for that wrongdoing will be held to account."
The United States is still struggling to overcome damage its reputation by the sexual humiliation of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and allegations of mistreatment of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay 'war on terror' camp in Cuba.
The New York Times and Washington Post said senior US officials were worried about the impact of the new video shown by the Australian SBS network's Dateline program on the US image in Muslim world.
"The Department of Defence has said that it is the policy of the United States to treat all remains consistent with the Geneva Convention and with the utmost respect," McCormack said.
"Our military personnel receive clear instructions to this effect," he said.
McCormack said however that the alleged actions of a few US soldiers should not in any way hinder the work of the US military and the values that it represented.
A report broadcast on SBS yesterday showed footage of the bodies being burnt, which is deeply offensive to Muslims and contravenes the Geneva Convention.
The US military in Afghanistan had launched a criminal investigation and would take "corrective action" should it prove to be true, Major General Jason Kamiya said in a statement.
"This command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration of their religious and cultural beliefs," he said.
Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was "deeply shocked" and had ordered an independent inquiry, ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said.
The soldiers said they burned the bodies for health reasons after they had been left out in the open for more than 24 hours, according to the Dateline program.
The suspected militants had died during an ambush of a US patrol near the village of Gonbaz in southern Afghanistan, the report said.
One American and one Afghan army soldier were also killed in the clash ahead of Afghanistan's elections last month.
Afterwards the US troops used the incident to broadcast inflammatory messages, it said.
"Attention Taliban, you are all cowardly dogs," one message reportedly said.
"You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be."
The Australian photojournalist who took the footage, Stephen Dupont, told SBS the troops apparently wanted to enrage the Taliban so that they would attack.
A US-led coalition of about 20,000 troops has been in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001 and has been battling loyalists who have vowed to overthrow the new Afghan government.
The Taliban were removed from power in a US-led campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States organised by Al-Qaeda from bases in Afghanistan.
Rights groups have heavily criticised the US military for abusing militants detained in Afghanistan, at least eight of whom have died in custody.
Two US soldiers were this year sentenced to up to three months in jail for the abuse of Afghan detainees held at Bagram air base near Kabul, that lead to their deaths.
After the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq last year, much attention has since been focused on Afghanistan and the Guantanamo detention camp.
Fifteen people died in Afghanistan in widespread protests after Newsweek magazine reported accusations in May that the Koran holy book had been thrown into a toilet by a US guard at Guantanamo.
Though Newsweek later retracted the article, the US authorities later said that there had been five incidents at the camp, including one where a guard had "accidentally" urinated on a Koran.
The US administration insisted that the cases were isolated and that abuse was not tolerated.
AFP
I doubt that these kind of images will endear the US soldiers to the Afghani people. It certainly didn't help the Soviets during the 80's. I hope that this is nothing more than a few soldiers taking it upon themselves regarding these actions which are in breach of the Geneva convention not to mention immoral.