seruriermarshal
05-13-2004, 08:28 PM
Beheading, Abuse Upset Marine Ranks
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq - U.S. Marines who battled insurgents in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah last month say they are appalled by images of Iraqi prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers, as well as the videotaped beheading of American captive Nicholas Berg.
The troops sometimes chat at breakfast about the images capturing the brutality of Iraq (news - web sites)'s conflict, when the power is on and the staff sergeant in charge of the chow hall turns the television to the news, or when they return at night to base camp, gritty and dusty from daylong patrolling of the desert east of Fallujah.
"Hey, you heard of that American whose head was cut off?" one Marine shouts to a buddy.
"Man, those pictures, with the prisoners, that stinks," says another.
Though far removed from the outcry over the pictures of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, many troops of the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Regiment feel the same revulsion that people in Baghdad and around the world have expressed.
A month ago, these Marines were on the frontlines in the flashpoint Muslim Sunni stronghold, fighting insurgents in Fallujah's neighborhoods.
At the time, other gruesome images that appeared in the media — those of four U.S. civilian contractors whose bodies were burned, mutilated and dragged through Fallujah streets by a mob — prompted the Marine siege of Fallujah. It was lifted after a deal was struck to have an Iraqi force take over responsibility for the city.
The month of urban warfare killed 10 Marines and hundreds of Iraqis.
Even though only an occasional Stars and Stripes newspaper copy reaches this remote camp, the Marines talk of the prisoner abuse photographs in phone calls home and see them on the Internet. During time off, the most crowded tent in the camp is "Internet Cafe," complete with laptops and phone links.
"I honestly don't know how they could have done it," Sgt. Javier Vega, 21, of Oceanside, Calif., said when he first saw the photos of American soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib penitentiary.
The Defense Department is investigating the abuse, and the courts-martial of three military police guards have been ordered.
The prison, less than an hour's drive from camp on the road toward Baghdad, is in the area of control of the Marine battalion, and the battalion's Charlie company is in charge of some security at the prison.
"Something like this really puts the stain on all of us here, we are trying to help and this gives us all a bad eye," said Master Sgt. Martin Payotelis, 37, also from Oceanside. "It's crushing all the good we're doing here."
Lance Crp. Duke McGuffey, 22, from Nome, Alaska, said the prisoner photos were embarrassing.
"This was so totally uncalled for," McGuffey added. "I honestly believe this was the work of only a few in the army, it shouldn't reflect on the entire armed forces."
Some Marines expressed sympathy for Arab emotions.
"We are here to win hearts and minds, and the army is messing it up for us, making our job harder," said Lance Cpl. Michael Arnot, 21, of Los Lunas, N.M. "But I understand the Arab world, if someone occupied our country and behaved with our prisoners like this, I'd feel mad, too."
But dismay over the prisoner abuse took a back bench when reports of the videotaped beheading in Iraq of Berg, who had been abducted by militants, filtered down to the Marines late Wednesday and Thursday.
"Nothing warrants such a gruesome death," said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, the battalion commander.
"There is a difference between us, what we represent is a positive future for Iraq and what the enemy stand for is agony and mutilation," he added. "The choice now is even more stark for the people of Iraq — do they want to live in a world of terror and beheadings or not."
Sgt. Joseph Sharp, 21, of Peoria, Ill., said the beheading of Berg showed what "horrible tactics the enemy uses."
Father William Devine, a Navy commander attached to the Marines in Iraq, held mass Thursday for Byrne's battalion, praying with the Marines for forgiveness "for all things that are sinful."
"I think the Marines see these photographs and feel simply terrible, that people anywhere could be treated like this," Devine said. "We must never lose our humanity, we can accomplish our mission without denigrating ourselves to such atrocities."
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq - U.S. Marines who battled insurgents in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah last month say they are appalled by images of Iraqi prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers, as well as the videotaped beheading of American captive Nicholas Berg.
The troops sometimes chat at breakfast about the images capturing the brutality of Iraq (news - web sites)'s conflict, when the power is on and the staff sergeant in charge of the chow hall turns the television to the news, or when they return at night to base camp, gritty and dusty from daylong patrolling of the desert east of Fallujah.
"Hey, you heard of that American whose head was cut off?" one Marine shouts to a buddy.
"Man, those pictures, with the prisoners, that stinks," says another.
Though far removed from the outcry over the pictures of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, many troops of the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Regiment feel the same revulsion that people in Baghdad and around the world have expressed.
A month ago, these Marines were on the frontlines in the flashpoint Muslim Sunni stronghold, fighting insurgents in Fallujah's neighborhoods.
At the time, other gruesome images that appeared in the media — those of four U.S. civilian contractors whose bodies were burned, mutilated and dragged through Fallujah streets by a mob — prompted the Marine siege of Fallujah. It was lifted after a deal was struck to have an Iraqi force take over responsibility for the city.
The month of urban warfare killed 10 Marines and hundreds of Iraqis.
Even though only an occasional Stars and Stripes newspaper copy reaches this remote camp, the Marines talk of the prisoner abuse photographs in phone calls home and see them on the Internet. During time off, the most crowded tent in the camp is "Internet Cafe," complete with laptops and phone links.
"I honestly don't know how they could have done it," Sgt. Javier Vega, 21, of Oceanside, Calif., said when he first saw the photos of American soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib penitentiary.
The Defense Department is investigating the abuse, and the courts-martial of three military police guards have been ordered.
The prison, less than an hour's drive from camp on the road toward Baghdad, is in the area of control of the Marine battalion, and the battalion's Charlie company is in charge of some security at the prison.
"Something like this really puts the stain on all of us here, we are trying to help and this gives us all a bad eye," said Master Sgt. Martin Payotelis, 37, also from Oceanside. "It's crushing all the good we're doing here."
Lance Crp. Duke McGuffey, 22, from Nome, Alaska, said the prisoner photos were embarrassing.
"This was so totally uncalled for," McGuffey added. "I honestly believe this was the work of only a few in the army, it shouldn't reflect on the entire armed forces."
Some Marines expressed sympathy for Arab emotions.
"We are here to win hearts and minds, and the army is messing it up for us, making our job harder," said Lance Cpl. Michael Arnot, 21, of Los Lunas, N.M. "But I understand the Arab world, if someone occupied our country and behaved with our prisoners like this, I'd feel mad, too."
But dismay over the prisoner abuse took a back bench when reports of the videotaped beheading in Iraq of Berg, who had been abducted by militants, filtered down to the Marines late Wednesday and Thursday.
"Nothing warrants such a gruesome death," said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, the battalion commander.
"There is a difference between us, what we represent is a positive future for Iraq and what the enemy stand for is agony and mutilation," he added. "The choice now is even more stark for the people of Iraq — do they want to live in a world of terror and beheadings or not."
Sgt. Joseph Sharp, 21, of Peoria, Ill., said the beheading of Berg showed what "horrible tactics the enemy uses."
Father William Devine, a Navy commander attached to the Marines in Iraq, held mass Thursday for Byrne's battalion, praying with the Marines for forgiveness "for all things that are sinful."
"I think the Marines see these photographs and feel simply terrible, that people anywhere could be treated like this," Devine said. "We must never lose our humanity, we can accomplish our mission without denigrating ourselves to such atrocities."