June 09, 2004

New York Times says Forced Nudity of Iraqi Prisoners Was Pervasive, Not Isolated:

"Military officials have portrayed the sexual humiliation captured in the images as the isolated acts of a rogue night shift. But forced nudity of prisoners was pervasive in the military intelligence unit of Abu Ghraib, so much so that soldiers later said they had not seen 'the whole nudity thing,' as one captain called it, as abusive or out of the ordinary. "



"Iraqis picked up for looting weapons were marched naked through a park into a building after their clothes were burned by American troops in April 2003. They were then freed and chased naked onto the street.

Detainees were paraded naked past other prisoners and guards; some were ordered to do jumping jacks and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the nude, according to a several witnesses. Also, a father and his grown son were stripped, then forced to stand and stare at each other. The International Committee of the Red Cross, visiting in October, found prisoners left naked in their cells for days, modestly trying to shield themselves behind cardboard from meals-ready-to-eat boxes.

Nudity is considered particularly shameful in Muslim culture, a violation of religious principles... Soldiers in Nazi Germany paraded naked prisoners in daylight... Central Intelligence Agency training manuals from the 1960's and 1980's taught the stripping of prisoners as an interrogation tool."

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