Abu Ghraib: Shameful? Yes. Planned? Yes.

As the Administration and its minions continue to bemoan their disgust at the abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, they lie. The Bush administration has done everything within its power to operate with impunity:
- Claiming of exemption for releasing documents;

- Postponing testimony of Condoleezza RIce before the 9-11 Commission;

- The U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act (and revsions to hundreds of other laws); to

- Strongarming exemption for war crimes; U.S. Seeks Exemption from War Crimes Court (Lobe, OneWorld.net, 6/9/2003)

U.S. Seeks War Crimes Exemption for Liberia Peacekeepers (Deen, IPS, 8/01/03)

- Claiming exemption from the Geneva Convention. (The prisoners in Guantanamo)

This administration has wanted a free hand to operate without consequences. Further, Abu Ghraib is not an isolated case. There are incidents in Afghanistan ( Afghan Prisoners Beaten to Death at US Military Interrogation Base, Campbell, Guardian/UK, 3/07/2003; US forces accused of looting, torture and death in Afghanistan, Sengupta, Independent/UK, 3/08/2004). There are also other claims of abuse both in Iraq and Guantanamo.

Tokyo War Crimes indictment against George W. Bush International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan (CRG, 3/01/04)

B. Torture of Prisoners at Baghram and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean

Prisoners were shackled and tortured , at the prison camp at Baghram airport Prosecution document 62 OCS NEWS 17TH January ,2003 , exclusively under the control of US forces; blindfolded , beaten ,illuminated with strong halogen lights for 24 hours , continuously deprived of sleep ; left standing and kneeling for hours on end ; brutalities , inhumane treatment and insults were inflicted on these prisoners; detained for interrogation in a cluster of metal shipping containers guarded by wires with no access to the outside world and during interrogation with no exposure to daylight ; the Defendant as Commander-in -Chief of United States Military forces was responsible for the treatment of prisoners and detainees in the custody of the United States .National Security Officials in Washington according to the Washington post , defended the use of violence and torture against detainees and POW saying that -"if you don't violate someone's human rights some of the time , you probably aren't doing your job…." Prisoners and detainees at Diego Garcia also received similar treatment.

D. Transporting of Prisoners in Containers

The prosecution has in its indictment referred to the serious war crime of transporting hundreds of prisoners who were captured ;the Taliban and foreign fighters who had surrendered at Kunduz in Cargo containers, and the death of these prisoners from suffocation due to lack of access to air and water .The prosecution submits that one hundred to two hundred men were placed in each container , which was about 40 feet long .The prisoners were transported to Sheberghan Prison, without air or water and majority of them suffocated to death. During transportation of these prisoners , rifle shots were fired at the containers by soldiers , for creation of ventilation holes which killed some of the prisoners The documents relied on by the Prosecution is Prosecution document Ex. P-1 Jamie Doran ' s report in the film "Afghan Massacre :the Convoy of death " and the article of Newsweek Prosecution document -K -61 . However, whereas the incident is established beyond doubt , there are contradictions as to who took the decision to transport prisoners in this manner ; whether this was an on the spot decision of commander of the Northern Alliance , or a pre-planned conspiracy involving US forces ; in view of the lacuna in the evidence which requires further proof ,if it is to be attributed to the Defendant , there is difficulty in attributing criminal responsibility to the Defendant in respect of this extremely serious incident leading to the mass murder of Taliban soldiers and foreign fighters from Pakistan and other countries without conclusive evidence.

.An officer of the Northern alliance has been quoted by the prosecution as stating in Prosecution document P - 1 on prisoners of war:

" We took charge of transferring detainees .In Qala Zeini we got hold of 25 containers on the way to Sheberghan prison and put 200 or so prisoners into each container ."

The subsequent evidence relied on by the proseuction from Prosecution document -K 61 ( as told to a correspondent of Newsweek ) is by a person under an assumed name of Mohammed ,who states that he drove one of the Containers ,in compliance with the request of a soldier under General Dostum ; the prisoners in the containers struck at the wall of the container and shouted for water stating that they were dying ; the driver made holes with a hammer in the container; when a soldier under General Dostum heard the sound ; he pretended that he was merely sealing holes.

Mr Mohammed Ikram , a well known Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while deposing on instructions given to him by his client , on the treatment of Prisoners of war ;mentioned that there was gross internal interference by the Intelligence agencies of the United States in Pakistan, including in matters of internal investigation ; and that his client was unable to remain present to depose on aspects of treatment of prisoners of war by US troops , before the Tribunal, in view of delay in the issue of his travel documents ; as a consequence, vital evidence on war crimes against detainees and POW was not made available, which would have been conclusive on the transfer of prisoners in containers and other issues.

Mr Mohammed Ikram Chaudhary , Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan , gave details of the instructions given to him by his client on the treatment of detainees by the United States Occupation forces, even though he stated that his client had not been involved in hostilities ; and informed the Tribunal of the interference of the Intelligence Agencies of Pakistan in the criminal investigation and administration in Pakistan , violation of Pakistan's sovereignty ; deposing that he had filed a suit for damages against the government of the United States , against the illegal detention and torture of his client , Mr. Mohammed Sagheer, resident of Pattan in the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan , by US forces in Afghanistan ; his ill treatment , torture, denial of adequate nutrition , medical assistance within Afghanistan , and illegal transportation to Cuba in shackles and hooded and subsequent incarceration at the US military base Guantanamo Bay ; .Mr Mohammed Ikram Chaudhary , advocate , produced before the Tribunal, the legal notice sent on behalf of his client to the Government of the United States . The Tribunal in view of the difficulties faced by Mohammed Sagheer in attending the trial a travel documents were not issued to him on time by the Government of Pakistan, could not address questions on the incidents directly relating to the affected individual ; though the fact of detention and treatment of Mohammed Sagheer is part of the same pattern .

The Prosecution in respect of serious incident of transporting prisoners in containers , has submitted, that both the Northern alliance and the Taliban militia had used "Containers" to inflict mass murder , on prisoners taken from each other in the past ; and this had happened at Mazaar-e-Sharif on both sides; even before the military attack by United States military forces . In this context the evidence of the Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women , Prosecution witness D, on the brutalities committed by both political groups , trained to misuse religion and carry out violent attacks , by outside powers, to devastate Afghanistan , is relevant and requires investigation even within Afghanistan . In view of the lack of conclusive evidence of the involvement of military forces of the United States , it is not possible to arrive at a conclusive finding , to hold the Defendant guilty of this serious episode of transportation of prisoners in sealed containers ; as a consequence of which hundreds , some claim thousands , lost their lives due to suffocation and the firing of rifle shots to create holes for ventilation when the prisoners were inside the containers ; the incident needs further investigation and inquiry by obtaining direct evidence of survivors .

F.Killing of uncoscious and seriously wounded prisoners at Dashte-e-Leili

At Dasht-e-Leili , seriously injured and unconscious 500-600 Taliban prisoners and foreign fighters were killed by shooting , their hands were bound ; the evidence in Prosecution document Ex–1 not been contradicted ; it is established that there were 30 to 40 US soldiers present who observed the shooting and execution of these prisoners ; this evidence conclusively proves that the Defendant as Commander-in-Chief of US forces , was guilty for the execution of prisoners of war at Dashte-e-Leili who had surrendered and were seriously injured and that US soldier were present when the shooting took place ; against all rules and norms of warfare of the Geneva Convention (III ) of 1949 and the Additional Protocol I of 1977

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