“A Non-Hostile Weapons Discharge”
Frontpaged by request from peggy. Another troubling death, another coverup, another mystery.
US Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques (from Editor and Publisher, reprinted at Truthout and elsewhere)
[…] a longtime radio and newspaper reporter named Kevin Elston, unsatisfied with the public story, decided to probe deeper in 2005, “just on a hunch,” he told E&P today. He made “hundreds of phone calls” to the military and couldn’t get anywhere, so he filed a Freedom of Information Act request. When the documents of the official investigation of her death arrived, they contained bombshell revelations. Here’s what the Flagstaff public radio station, KNAU, where Elston now works, reported yesterday:“Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed….”
She was was then assigned to the base gate, where she monitored Iraqi guards, and sent to suicide prevention training. “But on the night of September 15th, 2003, Army investigators concluded she shot and killed herself with her service rifle,” the documents disclose.
The Army talked to some of Peterson’s colleagues. Asked to summarize their comments, Elston told E&P: “The reactions to the suicide were that she was having a difficult time separating her personal feelings from her professional duties. That was the consistent point in the testimonies, that she objected to the interrogation techniques, without describing what those techniques were.”
Elston said that the documents also refer to a suicide note found on her body, revealing that she found it ironic that suicide prevention training had taught her how to commit suicide. He has now filed another FOIA request for a copy of the actual note.
She had taken Arab-language classes at the Defence Institute in Monterey (just a hop and a skip from me) in preparation for her posting. She could speak Arabic. Maybe the people who were being interrogated seemed human to her, since (unlike almost all US personnel deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan) she could speak their language.
She objected to the techniques but did not say what they were. Perhaps — unlike some in similar situations who collected photos and made CDROMS to trade with buddies — she found them too shocking or too horrid to describe. Perhaps she was restrained by some lingering sense of “security” or protecting US intelligence. Whatever. She’s dead. She’s not going to testify now, except by the unsatisfactory details of her death.
peggy:
Thanks, De, for putting this up. After reading the article, I reached one of the conclusions that you also reached - that Peterson’s knowledge of Arabic enabled her to understand that the people she was assigned to interrogate were human. I don’t think it was just that they “seemed” human to her. I think it was that she *knew* they were as fully human as her, with their own complex thoughts and feelings, expressed through their own language.
This is exactly why the US military has had such difficulty getting fluent Arabic speakers to help them in their war against Iraq. Only if you know a people’s language really well can you know those people, and see their difference from you as something positive, a doorway into whole new worlds of learning and wisdom, if you take the trouble to open that door. Then you will not want to kill them, because their lives may be more precious to you than your own. This is one thing that most Americans do not comprehend, as most Americans are monolingual, and proudly so. Arrogantly so, I should say.
Also, the article notes that Peterson was “a devout Mormon”. How does this fit? I have been told that US intelligence agencies favor Mormons, because they are so incorruptible, or something. But Mormons have disturbing beliefs, certainly patriarchal and originally racist (or used to be racist - evidently they now accept African-Americans and Maori into their fold. Don’t know about others). So what is going on? I think that Peterson must have had a strong conscience, and was strong in her beliefs.
But why did she kill herself? Maybe because she could not live with herself after seeing the horrors in which she had colluded? Maybe she suddenly realized that a big part of what she believed in, the goodness of America, was monstrous and false?
And finally, are there Mormon men in Iraq now? Are Mormon men among the interrogators, the killers, the torturers and rapists? If so, has any of them had any misgivings about what they are expected to do? Does being a woman, an intelligent woman of conscience, make a person unable dehumanize others? Or is the language-knowlege a necessary ingredient? Is it a sufficient ingredient? To the last question, I think the answer is no. And being a woman is not sufficient either. But maybe it is necessary, because a woman living under patriarchy sees some things that very few men can see.
2 November 2006, 5:00 amJeremy:
This is a fascinating, though tragic revelation. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Recently I realized that suicide is often (but not always) a result of misplaced frustration and aggression. What I mean is that many people who commit suicide are frustrated with the way things are around them - the immorality of the system, the repression into which they are born - and this selfsame repression redirects the anger born of that frustration inward. So that people who are frustrated and angry with things that are going on outside of them, internalize that struggle and end up killing themselves. I’ve seen it time and again in my friends and my self. We want to see a change, but we’re taught that we’re powerless. So we sit in a corner becoming ever more depressed wondering “What can I do?” I hope I don’t come across as belittling these people - I just want to point out, and i hope some of them realize this, that that bullet might be better used on somebody else (metaphorically speaking of course…).
2 November 2006, 11:03 amDaldude:
This story’s all the more pointed to me as the soldier in question was from Flagstaff, AZ (where I lived for a better part of 10 years), and went to the same college as me (NAU), and she lived in the Netherlands for awhile, as I did (though for very different reasons). Aside from the massive loss of life and other tragedies stemming from war, there is a little-considered but terrible price - paid in the currency of the soul and psyche - for the things being done for the cause of “victory” and “security”. Neither of these ethereal goals will ever be achieved, of course, but even if they were, it won’t secure us from ourselves, and the monsters created within.
Perhaps most disturbing, is that the problem’s obviously widespread enough to justify a “suicide prevention class”. Any decent therapist would would try to address the source rather than just the symptoms, but given that the source here was actually “policy” (which doesn’t even work, mind you), that’s gonna be a problem. Of course, instead of reexamining the activities that cause these psychological issues, the military created some half-assed training class - which in Alyssa’s case, only served to educate her on how most to efficiently end her life. But hey, from the government’s perspective, problem solved - much more economical and expedient than years of VA-funded counseling (not to mention eliminating the risk of her ever talking to the media). One day (hopefully), all of these young (and not so young) men and women are going to return home. God only knows what demons they’ll bring back with them, and how that will affect them and their loved ones (or even total strangers, if they end up externalizing their trauma in some random public place).
Are we feeling safe yet?
2 November 2006, 2:33 pmJames M:
I have a cousin who recently visited some relatives of hers who are refugees from Iraq living in Jordan. It turns out that of her three male cousins there, two of them had been wrongly detained by the U.S. military, and both of them had been tortured in one way or another. One of them said he’d had his testicles wired with electrodes, just like at Abu Ghraib.
Sadly, I wasn’t surprised by that … what was interesting, though, was that some of the soldiers were seen crying while committing these acts of torture.
It all reminds me of this piece of writing, and these lines contained therein:
“When you take away the humanity of another, you kill your own humanity. You attack your own soul because it is standing in the way.”
2 November 2006, 2:45 pmTimothy R. Anderson:
More proof that, alas, war is a RACKET.
Please consider adding your name to the petition
at http://www.warisaracket.org
Not one more dead American soldier for the ” sovereign ” nation called IraQ . Not … one … more. Period.
Tim Anderson, grandson of a farmer.
2 November 2006, 3:28 pmNovember 2, 2006
jimi 45:
Well-put, Peggy.
A lot of the old-timers I grew up with at Fort Bragg called Asians (particularly Vietnamese) “onamentals” as opposed to “orientals” because it pushed their “otherness” one step further in the Buberian I-Thou relationship, from that of quasi-human to object–an ornaments, something that decorates the countryside but which lacks personhood.
Translators I know are able to maintain a modicum of distance between themselves and interrogation subjects, but I suspect that thier rate of PTSD is fairly high, even when they engage in no violence, due to their inability to truly disengage from I-Thou relationships (unless they’re truly sociopathic) where others in their units have been afforded that luxury.
Flakey soldiers off themselves frequently enough, but I guarantee there’s more to this than the Military and the criminal Bush administration wants us to know. (As if I need to explain that to anyone here.)
2 November 2006, 6:31 pmAudrey:
Peggy – a lot of Mormons are recruited into the military as translators because they’ve already got the language training from working as missionaries around the world. I don’t know if that was the case in this instance, but I think it’s a fair guess that those who pick up their skills in that manner are less likely to be able to distance themselves from the local population.
Even going through the regular Army linguist training, it would be difficult to dehumanize folks speaking the language you’re learning. It’s been a long time since I was in the program, so it’s possible things have changed, but our teachers were native speakers of the languages we were learning. We became pretty close with them, and the program emphasized cultural appreciation as well as language training. Once a week we used to shed our uniforms after class, put on peasant clothes, and transform ourselves into a Russian folk music ensemble, balalaikas and all. Some of my classmates were set up with host families, so instead of living in the barracks they lived with Russian immigrants.
Contrast that with the language training the Army’s providing to some of the soldiers in Iraq now: “About 100 U.S. soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq will soon have a new tool intended to help keep them safe, and perhaps make their jobs easier — a computer game designed to teach them how to speak Iraqi-style Arabic. … In one scenario, a fictional Sgt. John Smith leads a group of three U.S. soldiers into a café, looking for information. The game’s action changes in real time to reflect the actions of the soldiers — for example, if the Americans barge into the café, refuse to take off their helmets and don’t give the proper greetings or show respect, things can go wrong in a hurry.†http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4503426
If they were specifically designing a program to associate the language with dehumanization and violence, they could not have done a better job.
2 November 2006, 9:23 pmAudrey:
Some days the juxtaposition of stories makes my head spin. I did not realize the convicted Abu Ghraipists were being sent back to Iraq for more once they’d served their time.
“… According to a close friend with whom Cardona spoke just before his departure, the soldier is fearful that he remains a marked man, forever linked to the horrors of Abu Ghraib — he appears in at least one al-Qaeda propaganda video depicting the abuse — and that he and comrades serving with him in Iraq could become targets for terrorists. To make matters worse, his 23rd MP Company has been selected to train Iraqi police, which have been the target of frequent assassination attempts and, according to US intelligence are heavily infiltrated by insurgents.
…The friend said that Cardona had described trying to attach another soldier’s name tags to his uniform in hopes of concealing his identity from Iraqis, but was told by an officer to desist. …â€
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1554326-1,00.html
3 November 2006, 1:08 amTimothy R. Anderson:
Posting this on Friday, November 3, 2006 , two days before the verdict in Saddam Hussein’s trial is expected to be announced.
Uh, maybe I am missing several things here ( it happens ) but the thought that keeps creeeeping back into the low-watt brain is this ………. Alyssa Peterson is dead , yet Saddam Hussein is alive. Uh, is that what the ” American ” way has now become ?
Let’s review , shall we ? Saddam Hussein is knocked out of power in early 2003 , captured alive in late 2003 . The country of IraQ is awarded its ” sovereignty ” in June 2004 . THEN Saddam Hussein’s trial begins. Uh, what sovereign current Middle East country bothers with a TRIAL ? Uh, Saudi Arabia ? Uh, NO. Full of s– t , this mockery of justice is.
So, today, four days off from the American Congress’ election day type thingy , I am asking you to think about someone, anyone, Alyssa Peterson, Ben Colgan, Sharon Swardworth, Carrie French, that served the greeeeeedy interests of the Pentagon, that served the business interests of greeeeedy Wall Street and American greeeeeeedy capitalism, served it , sacrificed for it, and is now DEAD due to it. D-E-A-D . Compare their efforts, their lives, to that of Saddam Hussein.
Saddam Hussein has been protected , using up
American taxpayers’ money , every minute of every hour since his capture . Saddam Hussein has been fed , using American taxpayers’ money .
Saddam Hussein gets to wear fancy clothing to his trial . Meanwhile, Americans who had reasons to continue living ……. in the forms of relationships with children, neighbors, friends, co-workers, parents, cousins, nieces, and nephews are DEAD . They are dead.
Americans are dead. All this fancy-schmancy
stuff is a horrible, horrible reflection of a society gone totally off the rails.
Who oppresses the common people of Saudi Arabia ? Their leaders . Who keeps the leaders of Saudi Arabia in that position-of-power ? Our leaders. Who’s SUPPOSED TO BE the American goveR n ment ? The American people , ALL of them.
Who is the American goveRnment ? Well, at the moment it is those who THINK they are gonna get away with it ……………
I am gonna guess that at some point in her life Alyssa Peterson heard or saw or recited the Pledge Of Allegiance. That pledge has been rattling around my nearly-empty brain for a while now. Let’s review.
” I pledge allegiance to the flag, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ………. ”
Are the powerful so-called ” representatives ” in Washington D.C. displaying their allegiance to the republic ? The f - - k they are.
The hell they are. They are greeeeeeeedy, and short-sighted , and pathetic. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C .
And another thing. Bechtel. The mainstream media in the ” republic ” known as the USA is also pathetic. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C .
Bechtel is leaving IraQ . This is big news. It is not being treated as big news. That’s a big problem .
Due to the mainstream media’s ” priorities ” I know more about what Hollywood movie studio is ” sharing a bed with ” Tom Cruise than I know about the Bechtel leaving IraQ thingy . What I got so far I got from
http://www.sfgate.com and I ask for a search of their site regarding Bechtel .
Anyhooooooo, please visit http://www.warisaracket.org and please consider adding your name to the petition there.
Timothy R. Anderson, grandson of a farmer.
3 November 2006, 2:34 pmDeAnander:
and here is another juxtaposition which I will reproduce in full as it is fairly short.
They never wanted him to listen to what I said.
you know those mosaic images in which hundreds of small photos are used as pointillist units to paint a large picture? all these juxtaposed stories put together paint a picture.
3 November 2006, 3:29 pmIfy:
So Stan. What was going on the caaaaaggggeee. Have any idea ? As a war person may I ask you, why do people in these positions laugh at rapes sexual abuse filth etc. If you look at the Counter punch web site, you can see pictures of 3 American soldiers raping one Iraqi girl and taking pictures. Conservatives rushed to blame liberals for this behavior. They blame the sexual revolution. I personally believe they did this because conservative authoritarians don’t want to do what the bible says, correct men for sin. The bible says that evil situations are when men are dominating and oppressing other people. But this is not a cool thing to discuss for conservatives. One more thing, do you think that Alyssa committed suicide, or was she killed. I would like to believe that I would not have participated either. Keep up the good work liberals. I think that we should change our names to the people who love righteousness and hate evil. Its only here that I can find the right analysis for suicide. Conservative christians would have blamed the Alyssa for her poor choices. Of course with smirking condescending I don’t care if she is dead laughter.
4 November 2006, 1:29 amIfy:
Can you believe that I know people who think that what was going on in the cage was funny, and that Alyssa’s death is funny, something to be shrugged of, with a sneering “grow up” ! Is this earth ?
4 November 2006, 1:33 amIfy:
DeAnander, can you please tell this woman that she does not have a choice but to love her man ? Post war and all ?
4 November 2006, 1:38 amIfy:
One more thing. I tell you that in face of these soliders, conservative Christians will call the soliders crying, feminized girls. Conservative christians are angry about women going to war because they are scared that our “feelings might get in the way” of torture. If they saw this Alyssa case they would say that is why women should not go to war. They are too sensitive. They call what was going on in the cage, “politically incorrect”. Then they say political correctness kills. Weird. Then they fly into fits over abortion and selfish women who won’t stay at home and serve their husbands.
4 November 2006, 10:27 amAudrey:
“you know those mosaic images in which hundreds of small photos are used as pointillist units to paint a large picture? all these juxtaposed stories put together paint a picture.â€
That’s the sort of description that gets stuck in my head and won’t jar itself loose; brings to mind a giant AIDS quilt of sorts unfolding across us all, one newspaper story at a time.
The TIME magazine article about the dog handler resulted in the army reversing their decision; he’s being returned to the US for reassignment. One small piece of the picture erased, or unstitched. I remember my mom, watching me sew, commenting once on my propensity for heading down wrong paths with reckless abandon, saying: As ye sew, so shall ye rip.
Lost in thought here, contemplating how to unstitch so many things.
4 November 2006, 7:28 pm