Posted on 05/10/2004 1:14:17 PM PDT by knighthawk
There are "strong indications" that a vehicle shown in Daily Mirror photos of alleged abuse of prisoners was not in Iraq, Geoff Hoon has said.
The Defence Secretary told MPs that a Special Investigation Branch inquiry into photos of PoW abuse by UK troops indicated the vehicle was not in Iraq.
The photo showing an inmate in a vehicle is said to come from soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
The Daily Mirror issued a statement in response to the Defence Secretary's comments: "Mr Hoon's comments about the photographs we published were obviously designed to divert attention from the much bigger and more important issue the Mirror has exposed of the abuse of Iraqi detainees by British troops.
"The MoD has had eight days to try and discredit the pictures, and the very serious incident of abuse they illustrate, and the best they can do is now suggest there are 'indications' that this type of van may not have been in Iraq at the time.
"On that specific point, we have testimony from soldiers A and B that this type of van WAS in Iraq at the time. We have also had independent confirmation from both Soldiers C and D to the same effect. We remain absolutely confident that those pictures accurately illustrate a serious abuse of a detainee by members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. And we note that Mr Hoon does not deny the incident happened.
"But Mr Hoon knows, as we all know, that this debate is no longer about one set of photographs depicting one incident. It is about whether British soldiers abused Iraqis in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention. We have now produced a welter of evidence that they did, on numerous occasions. Evidence that Mr Hoon has singularly failed to address.
"The Red Cross and Amnesty International have also both made it clear that abuse took place and that they brought this abuse to the attention of the authorities months ago. It is difficult to imagine more serious charges against British soldiers. But Mr Hoon dismissed those allegations with a complacency bordering on contempt. For that reason we now urgently demand answers from Mr Hoon as to exactly when it happened, how it happened, and what will now be done to those who carried out the abuse.
"The Daily Mirror clearly opened a massive can of worms last week, and it is vital for the reputation of the British Army that this mounting scandal of prisoner abuse by our troops is dealt with quickly and efficiently.
"We stress that we believe 99% of the Armed Forces in this country are outstandingly brave and deserve our unreserved admiration. But there is clearly a rogue group of soldiers who have behaved appallingly towards Iraqi detainees and we will not back down on our investigations until they are brought to book."
Hear, hear, bump.
Must of been the Eifel Tower in the background that tipped them off. Abuse? Those are just the cream of the French officer corps.
This story has been known by the press for much longer than they have had photos. Now that some photos are being revealed to be fakes they have to say that the actual photos aren't the important detail.
U.S. calls for Arab retractions
The day after a WorldNetDaily report revealed that photos circulating in the Middle East that depict GI's raping Iraqi women were fake and had originated from pornography sites, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a statement calling on Arab news outlets to publish retractions.The embassy statement read, "We have done a thorough investigation of the origin of these photos and have conclusive evidence that they originated on a pornographic web site. They are clearly staged photos, done by actors, as the site itself states."
The Al Wafd newspaper published four photographs on the top of its front page that were alleged show American soldiers sexually abusing female prisoners in Iraq. Al Osboa and Al Mussawer published two of the same photos
The U.S. Embassy called the publication of these pornographic photos, with headlines alleging the involvement of U.S. soldiers, a "fundamental violation of journalistic integrity," and stated that their publication needlessly inflamed an already heated atmosphere.
"But Mr Hoon knows, as we all know, that this debate is no longer about one set of photographs depicting one incident." - statement from the Daily Mirror in response to claims that photos they ran may be fakes.
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