Video Shows Iraqi Prisoner Being Kicked by Soldiers, no charges

Videos from Iraq compiled by a Florida National Guardsman and called "Ramadi Madness" appeared to show a soldier kicking a wounded, cuffed prisoner, yet Army investigators found no cause to charge anyone with abuse, according to Army documents released Friday. The videos were described in 1,200 pages of documents that the Army released in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking information on prisoner abuse in Iraq. Previously, the military had been providing the documents to the ACLU, which in turn made them public. Army officials said the documents summarized 13 investigations, none of which resulted in abuse charges. The Army so far has released the results of 129 investigations to the ACLU. Jameel Jaffer, an ACLU attorney, called the Army documents "further evidence that abuse of detainees was widespread in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... It's increasingly difficult to understand why no senior official, civilian or military, has been held accountable." The ACLU, along with Human Rights First, sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this week in connection with some alleged abuses of prisoners. According to documents, the "Ramadi Madness" video was a compilation of recordings taken of the actions of B Company, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the Florida National Guard that was in Iraq in 2003 and early 2004. The company is based in West Palm Beach. The investigation found that "`Ramadi Madness' contained footage of inappropriate rather than criminal behavior," according to a summary of the investigation, dated last Dec. 28. Ramadi is a restive city in Iraq's so-called Sunni Triangle. Investigators said one part of the video showed an Iraqi on the ground, handcuffed and moaning, when a soldier kicked him. The prisoner had been shot through the abdomen because he raised a gun toward soldiers in a raid, investigators said. [more] and [more] and [more] and [more] and [more]

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