Pictures
of leering U.S. soldiers humiliating, taunting and torturing naked
Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison have become ingrained in
the minds of people around the world.
Soldiers
interviewed by United Methodist News Service said they are scarred by
the photos and want the world to know there are many “good” pictures and
good deeds being done every day in Iraq that are not publicized.
A UMNS photo courtesy of Maj. Holly Meeker
Maj. Holly Meeker spent 11 months in Baghdad. Here she poses with her mother, journalist Frances Meeker.
Maj.
Holly Meeker, company commander of the 372 Mobile Public Affairs
Detachment out of Nashville, Tenn., poses with her mother, journalist
Frances Meeker. Holly spent 11 months in Baghdad, Iraq. "When Holly
received her Army commission from Vanderbilt University ROTC, I told her
the Army would never be able to send her anywhere in the world where I
would not visit," says Frances. A UMNS photo courtesy of Maj. Holly
Meeker. Photo number 04-193, 6/4/04 Accompanies story #234
“I
felt extreme pity for those Iraqi prisoners as well as their family
members,” said Maj. Holly Meeker, commander of the 372 Mobile Public
Affairs Detachment out of Nashville, Tenn. “I know this type of behavior
is not condoned or encouraged by any leaders that I have ever come in
contact with.”
She said she speaks for every soldier when she says the pictures and stories were “shocking and upsetting.”
In
the final hours of the 2004 United Methodist General Conference,
delegates approved a resolution supporting calls for a full
investigation into the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. The delegates
also urged that the prisoners be treated in accordance with the
international Geneva Convention.
Specialist
Matthew Carl Wisdom, son of the Rev. Dick Wisdom, senior pastor at
Christ United Methodist Church, Rockford, Ill., reported the prison
abuse to military investigators and later testified at an April hearing.
Seven members of the 372 Military Police Company face charges of
cruelty toward prisoners, assault, conspiracy, dereliction of duty and
indecent acts.
Meeker,
a member of East End United Methodist Church in Nashville, recently
returned home after a tour of duty in Iraq. Her job included escorting
military and public media to places where coalition forces are helping
the Iraqi people rebuild their country.
“We have worked really hard, and a lot of good things are going on every day,” she said.“We hate (that) something like this has tarnished what we have done.”
Stationed
at the Tallil Air Base, Iraq, United Methodist Army Chaplain (1st Lt.)
Robert Crawford said he and his soldiers are outraged and disappointed
by the prison scandal.
“Here
in the area of An Nasiriyah, we have experienced less violence than
sites north — Baghdad, Najaf, Mosul — or east of us in Basra,” he said.
“Since I arrived, and I am pretty sure since this former Iraqi airbase
has been occupied, we have had one mortar attack. The shells came in the
wake of the Abu Ghraib photos, and they fell away from our living and
working areas. I think the locals simply needed to demonstrate they were
doing something for the cause, but their real intent was to hurt no
one.”
The troops have shared their feelings of outrage with the people living in the area, Crawford said.
“Most
understood there are always a few bad apples, but we are all disturbed
by the photos and stories. Soldiers are horrified by the lack of
discipline exhibited by the guards at Abu Ghraib. They seem to
understand, but it doesn’t sit well with any of us.”
United Methodist Air Force Chaplain Jack Stanley
United Methodist Air Force Chaplain Jack Stanley
United Methodist Air Force Chaplain Jack Stanley, stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, agreed that the photos are “horrendous,” but he said they have been taken out of context.
“I
think, though the pictures are horrendous, they don’t tell the whole
story,” he said. “You don’t know what these Iraqis who they are
humiliating have just done, which is most likely some type of killing of
us, or what kind of information they may have that could provide for
not just the well-being of us but for thousands and thousands of
Iraqis.”
A
success story is under way in Northern Iraq that is not being reported,
he said. “They have already had an election, which is amazing.”
A
complete report on improvements that have been made to Iraq since the
American administration took over can be found on the Web site,
Countdown to Sovereignty, http://iraqcoalition.org/Countdown/index.html.
“The
troops who have done this abuse will receive justice, (and) the
innocent Iraqis are receiving their liberty,” Stanley said. “That’s the
difference that needs conveyed. And that reflects the United Methodist
Church’s principles of social justice in the best way.”
Abu
Ghraib became notorious during the regime of deposed Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein. Major Tadd Sholtis, an Air Force public affairs officer
working for the Provisional Coalition Authority in Iraq, said he is glad
President George Bush has pledged to demolish the prison.
“There
is no doubt that what happened at Abu Ghraib — whether it was a few
soldiers indulging some perverse sense of fun or something that was
directed in a misguided attempt to collect information to prevent
further violence — was disgusting and absolutely wrong on a purely human
level,” he said.
Soldiers
of the 372nd Military Police Company involved in the scandal have
damaged the coalition’s credibility, Sholtis said, “and there is no
doubt in my mind that more lives will be lost and more millions or
billions of dollars spent because of what happened at Abu Ghraib. I
don’t think it’s a good symbol of our values or goals in Iraq.”
When
asked how the scandal is affecting morale, United Methodist Army
Chaplain (Capt.) Jay West said his troops know this was not the action
of “good soldiers.”
West recently returned to Fort Campbell, Ky., after the 101st Airborne was deployed to Iraq for a year.
“Quite
a few of my troops were assigned to holding areas, or detention areas,
where they were given the responsibility of guarding — and, in some
cases, assisting in interrogating — Iraqi prisoners. Never once did
my soldiers abuse or mistreat the Iraqis.
“The
excuse, ‘We’re not trained for this mission,’ is, in my opinion, a lame
copout, because all soldiers are trained to be professionals.”
United Methodist Army Chaplain (Capt.) Karen Meeker of Fort Bragg, N.C.,said her
unit’s mission was to “win the hearts and minds of the people” in
Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by
communicating the intentions of the United States and coalition forces
through radio broadcasts, TV programming, leaflets, and personal
contact.
“In
one event like the prison (abuse), a lot of that work was undermined by
the immoral acts of a handful of soldiers,” said Meeker (no relation to
Maj. Holly Meeker).
The
prison abuse was unfortunate but not surprising, Holly Meeker said. She
noted that a lot of the military police have lost comrades and are in
danger every day. She says she can understand the anger they might feel.
“But
that type of behavior is still against the Geneva Convention, and that
is still no excuse for all the things that they did,” she said. “You
just can’t do that. That is what sets us apart from people like Saddam
and his regime because that is the way he operated.”
West said the prison abuse scandal highlights the need for chaplains.
“We
are the ethical voice of the command, and without us, things like Abu
Ghraib … occur,” he said. “We’re not a guarantee against such
misconduct, but we can serve as a preventive.”
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer.
News media contact: Kathy Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Korean News
