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Two former officers cite abuse, prejudice in Iraq war
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By: MARILYN H. KARFELD, Senior Staff Reporter
Two retired US military officers criticized the treatment of Muslim prisoners in Iraq and at the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at a forum this week at Case Western Reserve University.
The two, Janis Karpinski and James Yee, also detailed how the military targeted them unjustly for their alleged misconduct, although they were never prosecuted.
Former Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the military police in charge of 17 detention facilities in Iraq, including the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, was demoted to colonel following the media's 2004 disclosure of prisoner abuse during interrogations there.
She described herself as a scapegoat, responsible only for administration of the prisons. She was not in charge of interrogation of prisoners, which was done by military intelligence. The abusive soldiers were operating on orders issued by their superiors, she said, and could not have come up with such tactics on their own.
Karpinski, who served for over 25 years in the regular army and the Army Reserves, attributes her punishment to the disdain her superior commanders had for the Reserves, the National Guard, the military police, and above all, for women.
The picture she painted of American-run prisons in Iraq is one of inadequate resources, inept planning and strategic mistakes. The army provided her with no logistical, financial, transportation or engineering support, making it extremely difficult to administer the prisons, she said.
Retired Capt. James Yee, a decorated West Point graduate who converted to Islam, was the former Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo prison camp in 2002-2003. He advocated for Muslim prisoners, instituting policies to enable them to practice their religion.
"I became the US military poster boy for Islamic issues, so the military could say we have a Muslim chaplain sensitive to prisoners' needs,” said Yee, who is Chinese-American.
When returning home on leave in 2003 to visit his family, he was apprehended at the Jacksonville naval airport, strip searched, and shackled at the wrist, ankles and waist. Charged with mutiny and sedition as well as aiding and abetting the enemy, Yee was threatened with the death penalty by naval officials.
Chained and forced to wear blackened goggles and industrial earmuffs, Yee was transported to a Charleston, South Carolina, naval brig, where the military has incarcerated US citizens suspected of being enemy combatants. He was held there in isolation for 76 days.
Although he was never officially charged with espionage, the army accused him of mishandling classified documents, a lesser offense. Yee claimed the army never showed that he even had any classified documents.
As suddenly released as he was arrested, Yee said he is still waiting for an apology from the military. All the charges against him were dropped, and he was restored to duty as a chaplain. Later, he got an honorable discharge and even another medal.
Karpinski and Yee, who both also spoke this week to the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, are on tours promoting books they've written about their military experiences. They denounced the army's prejudice toward Muslims, saying the inhumane prison facilities and torture to elicit information are contrary to American values.
Conditions at US prisons in Iraq were "out of the dark ages,” said Karpinski, "with standards that would not be acceptable here.” In temperatures up to 120 degrees, prisoners were housed without electricity and running water; the only shade was often provided by canvas tents.
Abusing prisoners to get intelligence is not only morally wrong, it doesn't produce reliable information, she said. "If we get down on their level, we become what we were trying to stop. The fact that what we did was not as bad (as torture during the Saddam regime) can't justify it.”
Conditions in the prison camps were far worse than what Americans saw in the news media, Yee said. "When we do this, we sacrifice everything America stands for.” The 660 prisoners at Guantanamo, all Muslim, complained to Yee that they were abused and mistreated. There were riots, hunger strikes and even suicide attempts in protest, he said.
The military's secret weapon at Gitmo - the nickname for Guantanamo - was to use Islam against the prisoners to break them, Yee said. For instance, prisoners were forced to stand in the center of what he called a satanic circle and made to bow down, screaming "Satan is your God.”
Female interrogators would disrobe, grab the genitals of the male prisoners, and force them to touch the women, a strong Islamic prohibition. The Koran was desecrated, Yee said. Guards would search cells and shake the Koran violently to see if anything was hidden inside. In the process, pages would be torn or bent.
Yee interceded on behalf of prisoners. For instance, he authored a policy to maintain more respect for the Koran, allowing prisoners to show guards themselves that the holy book contained no contraband.
Karpinski in part blamed the army's attitude toward women for her treatment. Although the military now professes tolerance and acceptance of women, "we discovered in Iraq among regular Army people that things hadn't changed much,” she said.
For instance, women were afraid to go to the latrine in the middle of the night for fear of sexual assault and harassment. Outside camp was even worse. Women stopped drinking on convoy, despite the intense heat, to avoid having to urinate in public.
"If women complained, they were told war is going on,” she said.
As the first female to command troops in a war zone, Karpinski said she was good for the army's public relations. "I allowed them to check off a lot of boxes.” At the same time, she was a convenient scapegoat. "Discrimination is not only accepted, it's endorsed.”
She described the army's attitude toward her as, "We have to stop her. If we let her succeed, others will follow in her footsteps.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
The two, Janis Karpinski and James Yee, also detailed how the military targeted them unjustly for their alleged misconduct, although they were never prosecuted.
Former Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the military police in charge of 17 detention facilities in Iraq, including the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, was demoted to colonel following the media's 2004 disclosure of prisoner abuse during interrogations there.
She described herself as a scapegoat, responsible only for administration of the prisons. She was not in charge of interrogation of prisoners, which was done by military intelligence. The abusive soldiers were operating on orders issued by their superiors, she said, and could not have come up with such tactics on their own.
Karpinski, who served for over 25 years in the regular army and the Army Reserves, attributes her punishment to the disdain her superior commanders had for the Reserves, the National Guard, the military police, and above all, for women.
The picture she painted of American-run prisons in Iraq is one of inadequate resources, inept planning and strategic mistakes. The army provided her with no logistical, financial, transportation or engineering support, making it extremely difficult to administer the prisons, she said.
Retired Capt. James Yee, a decorated West Point graduate who converted to Islam, was the former Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo prison camp in 2002-2003. He advocated for Muslim prisoners, instituting policies to enable them to practice their religion.
"I became the US military poster boy for Islamic issues, so the military could say we have a Muslim chaplain sensitive to prisoners' needs,” said Yee, who is Chinese-American.
When returning home on leave in 2003 to visit his family, he was apprehended at the Jacksonville naval airport, strip searched, and shackled at the wrist, ankles and waist. Charged with mutiny and sedition as well as aiding and abetting the enemy, Yee was threatened with the death penalty by naval officials.
Chained and forced to wear blackened goggles and industrial earmuffs, Yee was transported to a Charleston, South Carolina, naval brig, where the military has incarcerated US citizens suspected of being enemy combatants. He was held there in isolation for 76 days.
Although he was never officially charged with espionage, the army accused him of mishandling classified documents, a lesser offense. Yee claimed the army never showed that he even had any classified documents.
As suddenly released as he was arrested, Yee said he is still waiting for an apology from the military. All the charges against him were dropped, and he was restored to duty as a chaplain. Later, he got an honorable discharge and even another medal.
Karpinski and Yee, who both also spoke this week to the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, are on tours promoting books they've written about their military experiences. They denounced the army's prejudice toward Muslims, saying the inhumane prison facilities and torture to elicit information are contrary to American values.
Conditions at US prisons in Iraq were "out of the dark ages,” said Karpinski, "with standards that would not be acceptable here.” In temperatures up to 120 degrees, prisoners were housed without electricity and running water; the only shade was often provided by canvas tents.
Abusing prisoners to get intelligence is not only morally wrong, it doesn't produce reliable information, she said. "If we get down on their level, we become what we were trying to stop. The fact that what we did was not as bad (as torture during the Saddam regime) can't justify it.”
Conditions in the prison camps were far worse than what Americans saw in the news media, Yee said. "When we do this, we sacrifice everything America stands for.” The 660 prisoners at Guantanamo, all Muslim, complained to Yee that they were abused and mistreated. There were riots, hunger strikes and even suicide attempts in protest, he said.
The military's secret weapon at Gitmo - the nickname for Guantanamo - was to use Islam against the prisoners to break them, Yee said. For instance, prisoners were forced to stand in the center of what he called a satanic circle and made to bow down, screaming "Satan is your God.”
Female interrogators would disrobe, grab the genitals of the male prisoners, and force them to touch the women, a strong Islamic prohibition. The Koran was desecrated, Yee said. Guards would search cells and shake the Koran violently to see if anything was hidden inside. In the process, pages would be torn or bent.
Yee interceded on behalf of prisoners. For instance, he authored a policy to maintain more respect for the Koran, allowing prisoners to show guards themselves that the holy book contained no contraband.
Karpinski in part blamed the army's attitude toward women for her treatment. Although the military now professes tolerance and acceptance of women, "we discovered in Iraq among regular Army people that things hadn't changed much,” she said.
For instance, women were afraid to go to the latrine in the middle of the night for fear of sexual assault and harassment. Outside camp was even worse. Women stopped drinking on convoy, despite the intense heat, to avoid having to urinate in public.
"If women complained, they were told war is going on,” she said.
As the first female to command troops in a war zone, Karpinski said she was good for the army's public relations. "I allowed them to check off a lot of boxes.” At the same time, she was a convenient scapegoat. "Discrimination is not only accepted, it's endorsed.”
She described the army's attitude toward her as, "We have to stop her. If we let her succeed, others will follow in her footsteps.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
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