PRISONER ABUSE -- COVER-UP IN AFGHANISTAN

PRISONER ABUSE -- COVER-UP IN AFGHANISTAN: Investigators have launched
a probe into allegations that Afghan detainees were abused while in
U.S. custody
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-detain21sep21,1,5680056.story?coll=la-home-headlines)
. The investigation will focus on "murder and torture involving an
18-year-old Afghan army recruit who died while in U.S. custody last year"
and "the alleged torture of seven other Afghan soldiers." The reported
abuse was as brutal as the more publicized atrocities at Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq. Detainees were subject to "repeated beatings, immersion in
cold water, electric shocks, being hung upside down and toenails being
torn off." Disturbingly, "Pentagon officials said they could find no
reports passed up the chain of command as required when a death occurs in
U.S. custody, raising questions about possible efforts by American
troops in Afghanistan to cover up the incident." The absence of
documentation relating to the abuse in Afghanistan appears to undermine early
findings by the Army inspector general that all abuse incidents were
properly reported through the chain of command. Read the full report
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-detain21sep21,1,5680056.story?coll=la-home-headlines)
in the Los Angeles Times.