The Voices of Tortured Prisoners at Abu Ghraib

With all eyes still on Dick and his gun and yesterday's hard-hitting interview on Fox, the newly released photos of tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib are receiving little attention here in the United States. Of course, they're being shown all over the Middle East, giving Muslims another reason to believe that the United States is occupying Iraq for the sole purpose of spreading democracy to the Iraqi people.

Salon.com has obtained even more photos and vide from someone who spent time at Abu Ghraib as a uniformed member of the military:

The DVD containing the material includes a June 6, 2004, CID investigation report written by Special Agent James E. Seigmund. That report includes the following summary of the material included: "A review of all the computer media submitted to this office revealed a total of 1,325 images of suspected detainee abuse, 93 video files of suspected detainee abuse, 660 images of adult pornography, 546 images of suspected dead Iraqi detainees, 29 images of soldiers in simulated sexual acts, 20 images of a soldier with a Swastika drawn between his eyes, 37 images of Military Working dogs being used in abuse of detainees and 125 images of questionable acts."

To be more specific, the photos include a naked, handcuffed prisoner in a contorted position; a dead prisoner who had been severely beaten; a prisoner apparently sodomizing himself with an object; and a naked, hooded prisoner standing next to an American officer who is blandly writing a report against a wall. Other photographs depict a bloody cell.


Visit Salon.com to view all of the photos.

If you have access to LinkTV, be sure to check out Lifting the Hood, a documentary about the men who were tortured:

Most of us have seen the sickening images that emerged from Abu Ghraib in early 2004. We've seen 9 US soldiers tried and reprimanded for their part in softening up detainees. We've heard the responses from George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld to the claims of systematic abuse. Dateline's Olivia Rousset speaks to the men beneath the hoods, the men who were forced into humiliating and soul destroying positions and situations in Abu Ghraib. The former detainees give us an insight into life behind bars and they speak of widespread abuse of both men and women. We also hear from the family of a 'ghost detainee', Munadel al Jamaili, who was tortured to death within 24 hours of his arrest.

Lifting the Hood airs on Thursday, February 23, at 5:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm PST.